Dredge is finally getting a fiend-free fishing mode and map markers

Directionally challenged anglers and frightened fishers rejoice, Dredge is getting some nifty new additions over the next few months. Black Salt Games has laid out a roadmap for what's to come in the eldritch fishing horror, with three free updates and one paid DLC in the works.

The first two updates should be arriving fairly soon, and will mercifully add two of my most-desired things: Map markers and a passive fishing mode. I semi-complained about the lack of map markings in my Dredge review—while it was nice having to try and get my bearings and remember locations, I struggled to keep track of smaller side quests and points of interest without any sort of automatic or manual way to mark them all. 

The update will let you individually mark out things like shipwrecks, mysteries and other dangers to look out for. As someone who spent far too long circling around a cluster of islands looking for a single sidequest I'd picked up but couldn't locate later in my playthrough, it's a much-appreciated quality of life change that'll make piecing together Dredge's mysterious puzzle far easier. It's currently got a vague release date of "Q2 2023," also promising "some fixes and balance changes."

A passive mode is also set to release before the end of June. Dredge's second update sedates those terrifyingly aggressive monsters that threaten to batter your ship and ruin a perfectly good fishing trip, allowing you to take in the cosier aspects of the overall experience. It'll also add a photo mode, which will add a new character to introduce you to photographing underwater mutated horrors.

Slightly less exciting is an update arriving sometime between July and September, adding boat customisation options. It'll include boat paint and flag customisation, so you can at least flee from giant tentacles and swarms of paranoia-induced crows in style. 

The paid DLC will be the final update Dredge receives this year, coming in late 2023. It'll involve the Ironhaven Corporation, which is alluded to in the game's base story. The company is "looking to establish an innovative drilling operation in the area to revitalise the towns and populations, but their ultimate goal is unknown." There'll be new characters, equipment and disgustingly deformed sea creatures to fish up.

It's a nice bundle of updates to round out an already solid 12-15 hour game. The first update should be here in a matter of weeks, which may very well tempt me to set sail on Dredge's waters once more to clean up some bits I missed.