Dredge is a fishing game that has a narrative intertwined with Eldritch horrors and creatures with inexplicable origins. As its name implies, the story began—or at least the most relevant story to the protagonist, when a mysterious book was dredged out of the depths of the sea. This book appeared to be the catalyst for the events that have transpired just before the game starts, but its influence stretches way beyond what the locals of the islands could dare to conceive.
In this guide, we will be looking at the different endings of Dredge and explain the events that transpired, as well as answer some questions about the story told through the notes.
Dredge’s Plot
At the start of the game, we are introduced to the unnamed protagonist as he sails his boat to Greater Marrow to take on the job offer as their local fisherman. This was cut short when the fog at sea thickened and the boat crashed into a rock. Luckily, the protagonist survived and made his way to Greater Marrow. In the next couple of days, the protagonist does his job of catching fish for the town, but then strange aberrations of fish started getting caught in the lines, and stranger things happen when night falls.
The protagonist then gets introduced to a mysterious person known as The Collector, living alone in Blackstone Isle, not too far from the Marrows. He asks for the protagonist’s help to gather lost relics and bring them back to him. With every relic we retrieve, The Collector grants our boat a strange ability that would help make our job and journey through the seas easier. But also, with every relic that we need to find, the locations where it can be retrieved become more dangerous. We also get to find out more about strange events that happened involving the past civilization and how they all tie up to the present.
All of these, coupled with the bottled notes that appear to be irrelevant at first, would piece together the story of what really happened on one fateful day, explain why the seas around The Marrows appear to be cursed, and point towards a greater event that could mean the end of everything.
Dredge Bad Ending
Dredge’s bad ending happens when all five relics have been collected and handed over to The Collector. You will then be told to prepare for your final voyage and instructed to sail over to a specific section of the map (G8), just west of Greater Marrow. This has to be done at the dead of night and only when the fog gets thick enough.
At the destination, The Collector throws each artifact into the water, throwing the music box last. A glowing body of a woman then rises up from the depths of the water, followed by a gigantic creature full of tentacles in the far distance. The final scene then cuts to Greater Marrow, which is now in flames, suggesting that the creature has also started its course of destruction.
The giant creature seen rising from the ocean is a Cthulhu-esque elder god that has been resurrected by the ritual that The Collector performed. Because of its powers of manipulation, the creature has made The Collector do its bidding by masquerading its revival ritual as a way to revive The Collector’s late wife. In the end, the creature did its end of the deal, but it was never revealed if the body was actually The Collector’s wife or just the husk of her, or maybe even just an illusion.
Dredge Good Ending
To get the good ending in Dredge, you will have to collect all five relics, but instead of handing over the fifth relic to The Collector, you will need to head over to the Old Mayor, who has now lived alone on a secluded island (P10). After talking to the Old Mayor, he will then tell you to talk to the Lighthouse Keeper at Greater Marrow. You can then ask her what she knows about the Crimson Book. These additional interactions will allow you to learn more about the events that happened a few years ago.
You can then head to The Collector at Blackstone Isle, but choose the option to conceal the relic. This will allow you to choose more dialogue options to ask more about the Crimson Book. After doing so, choose to step closer and take the book. At this point, it will be revealed that The Collector and the protagonist are just the same person and that the protagonist is simply talking through a mirror. Being the same person, the protagonist has had the book all along. You will still have the option to hand over the relic, but you should keep the relic for yourself and go back to the Lighthouse Keeper.
The Lighthouse Keeper will then tell you to sail to that marked spot on the map (G8) after you tell her that you are ready. Once you are at the right spot at the right time, you then get the option to throw the Crimson Book into the sea. After doing so, a huge, serpent-like creature comes in from the depths and swallows you, your boat, and presumably the book too. Right after, the skies will show some auroras, indicating that the imminent threat has been thwarted for now.
Dredge Bonus Ending
The bonus ending of Dredge happens when you choose to grab the book from The Collector, but you still decide to hand over the fifth relic and proceed with completing the ritual, leading to the bad ending.
The only difference in this ending is that instead of the events being narrated as though it was The Collector who threw the relics into the water, the narration changes to show that it was “you” as the protagonist who threw the relics.
Dredge’s Story Explained
Dredge’s endings answer a lot of the questions thrown on the table by the mysterious nature of the strange events and entities, as well as upon seeing the bits and pieces of information given by the inhabitants of the islands and the notes left by the protagonist/The Collector’s late wife. Despite that, some parts of the story are still left open for the players’ interpretation of what really happened and how the events transpired. We have seen a couple of good interpretations and listed the ones that make the most sense and also make Dredge’s story a lot more interesting.
The Protagonist and The Collector
The good ending of Dredge reveals a lot more about the events and the story behind the strange occurrences in the sea. Starting off with the protagonist and The Collector being the same person, The Collector is simply the consciousness of the protagonist corrupted by the malevolent entity seen in the bad ending. The reason why the protagonist appears to not have much objection about collecting the relics is that they share the same longing of seeing their dead wife once more.
Julie, The Late Wife
With regards to the late wife and her marriage to the protagonist, pieces of detail that reveal who she really was and what her significance was to everything were revealed by the notes that she left before, and even after she died. A record suggests that her name was Julie, supported by the relics that had markings or records addressing to a “J”.
During the events of their wedding and honeymoon, Julie has noted that the protagonist has been working on something other than just fishing. She also noted that he changed the name of the boat to “Julie”. But Julie secretly kept the keychain, which still had the old name of the boat on it. This served as a bad omen for the events that followed.
The Fateful Day
During a dredging expedition, the protagonist, accompanied by the previous mayor of Greater Marrows, dredged out a wooden casket from the sea. It just so happened that this was also the expedition when Julie first came with the protagonist on the job after convincing him to let her go with him. Upon opening the casket, a crashing wave crashed upon the boat. According to Julie’s notes, she remembers “crimson cloth” spilling out of the casket. She also mentioned that the protagonist looked into the open casket before turning and seeing the void in his eyes.
It is at this point that the story gains a couple of interpretations. The date of Julie’s death was not clearly specified, but some interpretations believe that she died when the waves crashed and tossed her into the sea. This may look like it conflicts with the existence of the written note about that day, but it was revealed that Julie’s sister is the Research Assistant that has been working in the Stellar Basin, and she states that she was still getting notes from her sister despite Julie being dead.
As for the protagonist, there are interpretations that believe that he has also died because of that event but was later revived by the malevolent entity to be used as the executor of its own revival, hence The Collector persona. Despite being revived, he begged that his memory of Julie be wiped from his mind, and so only The Collector can remember her.
The crimson cloth may be interpreted as the Crimson Book. The casket may have been the work of the previous fisherman, who was also once controlled by the malevolent entity, but like in the good ending, realized what was actually happening and decided to bury the Crimson Book deep into the ocean.
The Leviathan
Although it wasn’t officially coined in the game, the Leviathan was the creature seen in the good ending who came out of the water and ate the protagonist and his boat. It is believed that the Leviathan is not actually a fish that was corrupted by the malevolent creature, but rather a protector that prevents the coming of the malevolent creature. This is why, despite looking like a sea monster, it does not look morbidly grotesque like most of the aberrated fishes.
Check out this video by Games With Wavy talking about the different endings in Dredge:
