DREDGE - The Iron Rig (XS) - Review

by Lee Mehr , posted on 14 September 2024 / 3,284 Views

Just as the original lighthouse of DREDGE's starting area acted as its center point, a new spire of light in the distance is essentially your North Star. Ironhaven Corporation's oil rig has arrived here, hungry for liquid gold buried deep beneath the waves. Whereas The Pale Reach expansion included a new frozen tundra biome, The Iron Rig is about strategically refining the original world with a new endgame and new events. Does Black Salt Games avoid the crude irony of drilling too greedily into its own reservoir?

While this floating derrick is available from the start, its strategic position between Twisted Strand and Devil's Spine visually intimates why it's treated more as an extended epilogue or post-campaign side story. Upon bumping into the disgruntled foreman, you're asked to dredge up some Ironhaven Crates scattered across the ocean. It's easy enough to get these supplies and power to this behemoth. Soon after cracking the ocean floor, a new crevice opens up and some oil spots rush to the surface. Convinced their drilling opened up a new world beneath them, the rig's scientist charges you with bringing specific fish species back for research.

The general fishing framework remains the same, but with a catch! With these creatures nestling underneath oil slicks, all of your rods and hoists need to be leveled-up by the rig's specialist. Doing that requires more Ironhaven Crates and special containers called "Dark Canisters," which are craftable with a mix of scrap metal and black goo that gets in your hull. You're able to trawl the oil spills to fill up said canisters, if equipped with the proper trawler. So, already there's this understood tempo of exploring the world for more parts, crafting (or disassembling) whatever else is necessary, cleaning oil slicks, and upgrading your old material to fish across these oil spots. Since these cracks eventually snake to each of the five original areas, you have to upgrade rods for each respective type: Coastal, Shallow, Oceanic, and so on and so forth.

Along with these necessary updates, it’s also advantageous to help improve the Iron Rig's operations by expanding upon its foundry, tech lab, and more. It captures this addictive cycle of improvements which beget more improvements. With an updated foundry, excess Ironhaven Crates can be broken down to different scrap, be it lumber, metal, or cloth; as a result, those materials can go towards upgrading your boat's hull, deck space, and available engine or fishing rod slots. Between the ability to upgrade tech, eventually sell leftover sea creatures, crafting options, and so on, this place is effectively acting as another critical outpost away from Little Marrow. The only nagging omission is not being able to sell specialty items – rings, earrings, trinkets, and other dredged things.

Past the mere mechanical upgrades, it's also visually stimulating to see your efforts build up the platform to maximum capacity; although, given the environmental impact in assisting, perhaps that feeling is short-lived. At first glance, any player can compare an oil rig with iterative additions and some oil spills across the original world to Pale Reach's brand-new island. Fair enough. I'd still argue that the devil is in the details. A plethora of new fish and crustacean types, along with their mutated variants, bolster its already-expansive roster to new heights. The additions and inclusions are less pronounced than a new biome, for sure, but they subtly build up the world to feel more comprehensive.

Likewise, Pale Reach's storyline is above Iron Rig – if only by a hair. The buildup of an older crew's trek through a frozen wasteland combined with cosmic horror feels more naturally intriguing than a predictable ecological disaster awakening new horrors. Who could guess Mr. Business with a Napoleon complex wants to "drill, baby, drill!" in spite of the foreman’s worries? It makes up for predictable plot points with a more robust narrative though. The various workers have distinct personalities, the world-building feels grander, and Joel Mason's concise syntax wonderfully illustrates this unsettling atmosphere. Despite such disparate tones, the two main narrative threads conclude on satisfying notes as well.

There's also something to be said for how complete DREDGE's world now feels. It's reminiscent of the final update to a World of Warcraft expansion, that final dungeon or raid that wraps a pretty bow on the story as well as you & your crew's past accomplishments. Although not as grand of an event, Iron Rig adds an oily layer to old places with a similar goal in mind. Past that, it also includes subtle design workarounds that make crafting and adventuring feel more rewarding.

Whether that experience is worth $12 will vary from person to person, but I think it's quite fair. The 3-4 hours of playtime focused on main quests doesn't wholly capture the invisible extras, like being the eco-minded fisher who'll clean up all of the oil spills or finally complete your rolodex of unique fish species. Pale Reach's modest price made its diminution of scope easier to swallow, but the ways in which this expansion bolsters its world also feels more substantial. Its arrival also introduces multiple options for new or old players: a bundle for both expansions for an extra dollar or a Complete Edition for $40 (retail). There's another bundle option for $15, but the less said about its day-one DLC the better; that said, even that choice is cheaper than both expansions purchased separately.

Symbolizing the twilight cruise of DREDGE, The Iron Rig feels like a great mix of old and new. While an artificial, towering spire disrupting this world's ecosystem seems less enticing than a new biome, Black Salt Games utilizes it in a way to subtly reshape how players engage with the endgame. The slight mechanical refinements bolster one's yearning to fish, the newly-unearthed species are visually distinct, and the new storylines retain the same Lovecraftian horror. Perhaps these hooks aren't quite as eye-catching as The Pale Reach's accomplishments, but there's a lesson to learn when certain gimmicks don't quite stick the landing: sometimes getting a consistent & more bountiful haul with less thrills can be a greater reward.

Contractor by trade and writer by hobby, Lee's obnoxious criticisms have found a way to be featured across several gaming sites: N4G, VGChartz, Gaming Nexus, DarkStation, and TechRaptor! He started gaming in the mid-90s and has had the privilege in playing many games across a plethora of platforms. Reader warning: each click given to his articles only helps to inflate his Texas-sized ego. Proceed with caution.