You may have only heard of Dredge in passing, or you might only have a passing interest in this little Indie from NZ-based Black Salt Games, but we're here to tell you this is one you should absolutely be casting your line for in 2023. It's definitely grabbed us hook, line and sinker.

In playing a preview access build of the forthcoming Dredge we felt compelled, nay destined, to reach out to the young studio behind the game. And while we learnt Black Salt Games is no minnow in the world of game development, the studio's first owned IP and creatively free effort is looking to become a big fish in a rather large pond.

Here's an excerpt from our interview and hands-on with the game:

“I wouldn't say, necessarily, that we're all Lovecraft fans,” Mason says, who also served as the game’s key writer. “I think it's more [that] we like the atmospheric horror games because they have such a cool vibe, but also they're often too scary for us. So we wanted to make that vibe without the huge jump scares or anything.”

It’s interesting because playing through the game, there’s a very clear sense that you’re gonna find a “H.P. waz here!” carving or tag somewhere in the world, but at the same time there is a definite sense that Dredge is very much its own thing. The combination of exploration and collection -- the game’s two key pillars -- is split on an even keel that shouldn’t be, but is. And when you're not recalling item management from Resident Evil 4 or paying memory service to classic text-based adventure games, you're riding the high seas in a lustrous lo-fi game-world that is larger than you might at first think.

Dredge is at all times a surprising game that rolls in on you, like an unexpected fog with nefarious intent.

Click here for our full Dredge feature.