*SPOILERS* the collector not being in your cargo unlike the dog and other characters is such a nice detail because he is you. hes always taken up space
I played and discovered the Collector secret... So it didn't even occur to me that him not being in the cargo would be a tip-off for people who didn't smash the mirror! That's so cool. Such a nice touch.
"You take a step closer. The Collector lurches forward in response." I love this line, so subtle, but yeah, DUH your reflection steps closer to the mirror when you do, lol.
One thing about the story lore that really gets me is that the main character and Julie were on their HONEYMOON when she died at sea. All of the letters are from Julie's POV, and reading through all of them after you know the background opens up so many narrative elements. The engagement ring engraved with a J, the proposal in stellar basin, the renaming of the boat in her name, the dredging of the book, and then her pleading letter for her husband to throw her (and the book) back and move on. It's a tragedy.
I don't think she died in the crash. I think she was just lost at sea. Do I think she's dead? Oh, absolutely, at this point in the story she has to be. Especially given the context of some of the bottled messages. I only say that I don't think she died because.. Well, what sense would it make for someone to be writing messages in bottles to send them out if they died in the crash? Especially with the message asking the widowed husband to "throw me back".
@@nerdyfoxes8000 I never made conneetion that she was writing those messages, thanks What if he kept her spirit or something alive, and she is asking him to leave her, because she sees what he is doing
@@nerdyfoxes8000 Just wanted to add that the researcher at the fort does mention something along the lines of finding letters from her deceased sister that seemed like they were written after her demise, so perhaps there's something at play there
@@Nutu_134 He didnt do the traders voice or other characters like the fish trader lady's voice, it depends on a lot, like is the character important to the story and if you have the frequency range in your voice to do the character voice without messing it up and making a fool of yourself for trying. Or at some point you just straight up dont feel like roleplaying that day.
In the first ending (bad ending), the individual you lost is the woman who is frequently referenced in the notes found within the bottle. The completion of the curse causes a catastrophe to befall the entire map (You can see the in end credits, the village is on fire). The fog, the monsters in every region, and the abnormal fish that you always catch are all a result of that book. I don't know if you can call it good ending but the second one, that monster serves like a guardian or some sort. If your boat tried to leave the map in the game, the monster swallows you. In my perspective, you save the village from the curse but you also pay for your crimes.
I don’t think that it’s him paying for his crimes, I think it’s him finally letting go. One half of himself has lived in denial for so long, the other has been searching desperately for a way to defy death. The version that was in denial comes to terms with what happened, and takes the lighthouse keeper’s advice: He lets her go, for his sake and for hers. By letting her find peace in his watery grave, the leviathans essentially reward him for giving back the book by letting him be with her again in death. I think it’s a cool ending that’s meant to represent different sides of grief: The one that can’t cope and drags the world down with them, and the one that lets go and finds their own peace.
I mean, it's also granting his wish: reunion with his lost wife. But instead of subverting the order and falling for the trap, you join HER in a watery grave and meet her in the afterlife.
But i don’t think the character ever died. You can see just before the monster closes its mouth a bright pillar of light, which is perhaps him warping somewhere.
Looking back, the collector is always framed in reflections. First the glass of your ship window where he directs you to the old manor. Then from there, what appears to be a door frame is a full length mirror. If you ask around about the old manor people say that no one's lived there in years. It's well done how they kept the twist hidden whilst also dropping hints
honestly from the first video that jack did i was like "wait.... This is a mirror.. I wonder why he's in a mirror?" and then i saw this happen and i was like "oh, okay well that beats what i thought he was and apparently they're the same person just like the light house keeper said"
Wow. The addition of the northern lights after you’re swallowed really hit hard emotionally. In one the messages in a bottle, the woman was proposed to by her husband (the player) under the northern lights. It’s so tragic
I don't know if this is true or not, but in the pale reach DLC(I've 100%ed the game, play it), it's a ice area. So maybe because they *usually* only appear in cold places, this might connect it, but what eliteknight said might be true too.
Aww thats true! Just finished it myself, had to finish it before I watched Jack's finale, but yeah the lesson of having to move on, even if it costs so much, nearly brought me to tears. Such a good freaking game
One of the things I noticed, besides the collector’s first appearance being through the ship’s window, is that the manifest ability says “take you back to where it all began” which takes you to Blackstone Isle. It hints that the island is quite literally where everything all started for the main character, even if you as the player don’t know at first. I’m so happy he finished the game, as soon as I saw the first episode I immediately got and played it, it’s such a fun game
Same I don’t think I’ve ever watched a singular video on a game and bought it instantly until Dredge, and I’m thankful that I did. It gave the same vibe of outer wilds and hollow knight which are two of my favorite games.
I didn't even think of this but youre so right!! Also when we take the collector onto out boat, he doesn't take up any cargo space like the others we have brought on like the dog or the castaway, possibly hinting that the collector isn't who we thought (before the mirror reveal of course).
There are some others. When you talk to someone about Blackstone early on, they are confused because the island is deserted. You can also notice subtle glare off of the mirror's surface, when you are talking to the Collector.
This game's art direction is beyond amazing. The collector was always framed, like he was standing in a doorway. But he wasn't, he was in the mirror. Oh my god I love this game. Added note, absolutely love the ending that the guardian kills you, because even with your moment of clarity it doesn't trust that you wont go back and try to find the book again and start it all over again. Protecting and making sure the islands are safe.
It's so cool looking back to the first time we're introduced to the Collector, we're meant to imagine that he's looking at us through the window of the ship, but it's actually just the Fisherman's reflection in the glass of the window (the same art is used around 43:57 in this video). Absolutely genius writing all the way around; this game is a masterpiece.
@@iankstarr A small detail aswell is that near the end it says the collector is aboard your ship, instead of saying he stepped in it, since he was already in always
Yes it’s great. I love how you can tell the collector is a mirror the entire game, and when you have him go in your boat for the bad ending, he takes no space because it’s you, the driver
Yes it’s great. I love how you can tell the collector is a mirror the entire game, and when you have him go in your boat for the bad ending, he takes no space because it’s you, the driver
20 years ago, the Fisherman and Julie were engaged beneath the aurora at Twisted Strand. They were married, and in celebration the Fisherman changed the name of his boat--but because this area is so close to the eldritch, any slight error in the ritual could open a crack in the universe. And unfortunately, Julie keeping the keychain with the old ship's name allowed it to happen. The boat was jostled, and a few things fell overboard--presumably the trinkets, though some don't quite line up (like her engagement ring). Later, during a dredging trip, they pull up an old wooden casket that gives most of the crew a feeling of terrible dread. Inside is a book, crimson and silver, and from it pours power and an evil fog--and then a great creature (presumably the leviathan) attacks the boat. Some survive--including the Old Mayor and the Fisherman. But many die--including Julie. In his grief, the Fisherman divided his consciousness into the Collector, who looked as he did 20 years ago and remembers all that happened, and into a simple fisherman who could live without the pain of losing his wife. This is why so many people ALMOST recognize you--but the impossibility of it dissuades them, except for the lighthouse keeper who saw everything from the lighthouse. Some of the messages were written to you AFTER Julie died--that's why she describes being so cold, and slips into intelligibility. This is supported by the Researcher's comments that her dead sister had been slipping messages into her own glass containers--like messages in a bottle. Throwing the book back rights what was made wrong, including your transgressions and likely you surviving the shipwreck. In return, reuniting you with your wife.
What I love is that Dredge didn't go for the stereotypical version of Cthulhu. The one hulking creature with bat wings and what not. They gave their own interpretation of him. and they gave him that ethereal horror feeling that few games do for such a monster. Cthulhu was terrifying before we began cutting and pasting him for most water based horror media. This blew my mind. For the first time in a long time, I felt fear. The artists work on making Cthulhu look like that was what the monster was meant to be all along; Brilliant, and horrifying. just a glance at his eyes and you know why people would go insane looking at him. it's awesome. It's not just a flash of light showing the creature either, it's the slow pan that sets the scene. You see the wife slowly ascend from the water while thunder and rumbling occur. it's only when the camera pans far enough away that you see the source of that noise, the water torn asunder by a monster so large, your ship is no more than a flea in comparison. The endings also give the perfect example of hero vs villain trope. The Hero would sacrifice one to save many. The Villain sacrifices many to save one.
@@goobles64 An Eldritch monster believed to be sleeping at the bottom of the ocean in different books written by H.P. Lovecraft. According to said books, any who even glance at him will go insane. It's gives meaning to the term "Lovecraftian" when describing a monster.
The art direction fits well with the mythos too since most people tend to forget that Cthulhu is actually a shapeshifter; meaning he can technically look however he wants.
I's not really stereotypical because that's how Cthulhu looks. Is is the image that is used by Lovecraft himself. That would be like changing up Godzilla to be a Giraffe, he looks like he does because that is how he looks. There's no confirmation this was Cthulhu, specifically either, it could just be an analogue of him or even a reinterpretation of Dagon. If this had been a game that was more officially Lovecraft, I'd want it to be closer to the more known look. Since it's obviously a stand in, they could change up the look and sort of make him their own.
I thought the Collector's art looked a little weird. The background looked almost shimmery, like it had a glare, and the door frame looked like a picture frame. The fact that he didn't take up inventory space on the boat was a great detail as well. Very cool.
Oh. I just realized something else. Neither ending give you any additional items (Like the passengers), so that if you trigger them when at full capacity you wouldn't stumble on it by needing to throw any items away before heading out.
also if you go back, you can see a little shadow or something behind the "doorframe" that make it really obvious that it is actually a mirror. It's really a "once you see it, you can't unsee it" kind of thing
We assume it's a doorway because the first time you go there it says he's standing in a doorway (it just doesn't point out the doorway is the one you're standing in)
SPOILER SURELY IF I HIT ENTER A COUPLE TIMES IT HIDES THE ACTUAL SPOILER RIGHT So the bottles he'd been reading the whole time were written by his wife? That gives so much more meaning to the bottled messages especially the one he found in the lava area. Amazing game.
Im glad Jack found the old mayor and was able to do both endings. Finding out the man in the mansion was actually you in a mirror was a huge mind fuck and i loved it
I just realized that the reason why creatures from the sea chase you at night is because the fisherman in the game is traumatized from the events that took place (his spouse dying) at night. His mind won't let him truly forget anything that happened that night I guess. This was an awesome game; I was very enthused and highly entertained from start to finish. Seeing Jack's take on it all is great to watch too.
The fisherman asked the “collector” (his corrupted reflection/tiny little voice inside his noggin) to erase his memories because he couldn’t live with the guilt from basically dooming his wife after his obsession with treasure hunting. But as you said, he still has the PSTD from that night in the ocean… That and also the fact that the waters are legitimately cursed by the horrors of the abyss partially unleashed after he dredged up the crimson book
Unpopular opinion all games are indie games because they don't hire play testers anymore you are the play tester and you will pay them 60 buck for the privilege
@@minekush1138 you are absolutely wrong, i don't know where did you get this "they don't hire play testers anymore", when even this "an indie game" has credits for it's play testers.
In the first episode of this series at 15:30 the old lady at the lighthouse already knows who you are. Speaking as if you are merely trying to "act" as if you remember nothing. It was something I caught onto immediately, and seeing 40:20 in this episode shows that she knows specifically who you are at this moment. "You're really asking me? After all this time? You know it must be returned."
@@Dokomoturtle this very niche fact made me realize it was really him all along, before he decided to "take" the book from the Collector. Before this, when anyone else asked to tag along, they would take up space in the cargo. So it makes sense that he himself would not take up any extra room.
Sidenote: The Collector would use the term "we" or "us". This is due to him talking to himself. Though we aren't really given any hard evidence until we "take" the book
fun fact: in the intro cutscene showing your character sailing into the storm that causes him to crash at greater marrow, you can actually see the crimson book near his right hand. he’s had it all along. also also! Whenever our character spoke to the collector, he always had these rays of light across his body and legs. it’s the reflection of the light bouncing off the mirror. the “door’s” frame was a mirror frame all along. it’s how he simultaneously has never left the island while also appearing through the window of your ship after finding your first abnormality.
I find this game so therapeutic. Sad that it’s over ! it was such a good series. I have it in the background while I do my essays for uni. My dad is like. “ how can you concentrate with that Irish man screaming” lmao but it helps
The dev's have already come out with a roadmap for further updates, Map markers, new game modes like a Passive mode where the monsters don't attack the boat and a Photo Mode with a new NPC, Boat customisation and that theyre goign to be doing DLC for the game
As a New Zealander, it's awesome to see such a big youtuber like Jack play a locally-made indie game. Such a neat idea and a great story, loved it from start to finish!
Thoroughly overjoyed to see you finished Dredge and attained both endings too! This was such a great, atmospheric little game. Many have already commented on the story elements, so I just wanted to say a small thing on the actual gameplay. I found that the game has a really nice balance in terms of exploration, story and upgrading your boat. At the start, the world seemed large, just crossing between Little Marrow and Greater Marrow. As the game progressed and you discovered other areas and upgraded your boat, it was surprising to me to find that the original journey across the bay was so small, I could make the trip multiple times in a day, whereas at the start, I barely even dared venture over for fear of what creatures lurked below. The upgrades worked well too, I thought, in that you find enough upgrade parts passively to get what you want to progress through the game, without having to spend hours grinding for them, but should you decide you want to 100% the game and collect them all, it's not too hard to go about either. The fact that the original area felt so big at the start, only to be dwarfed by the rest of the map was very well done I thought, especially with the fog obscuring the furthest areas. Additonally, the way your slow engines and small storage at the start prohibit you from venturing too far helps make the start of the game feel more contained and bigger than it really is. Finally, alongside the ease of upgrading (never so easy as to feel irrelevant), was the ease of making money. You were never in a drought and unable to proceed. If you did run out, all you had to do was spend a little time fishing (or jsut hawl a net behind you all the time for that nice passive income) and you were good to go. I think the balance of the game's mechanics worked very well with each other to always give you more to do, but never make it tedious to do it, even backtracking to previous areas was no bother since the engine upgrades and boost skill made it trivial. As said, I wont' say anything on the actual story or theories, as many, many people have covered those already, but this was such a great little game, I wanted to say soemthing on it, so decided to express my fondness of its overall structure. My apologies to anyone that took the time to read all of this, have a coffee on me to keep yourselves awake. XD
Brother, really good detail, I like you explained it thoroughly and appreciate your fondness for this game. some really good insights you mentioned here😮😊
Very well put. Dredge is such a well-balanced and atmospheric game. Even after watching the series in full, I think I very well would buy it for myself to check the bits of what Séan missed and just for the experience. It seems right down my alley. This game is a labor of love and it shows.
47:07 The design in this game is awesome. It wasn't innocent that the Collector was the only NPC to be "framed", either in your ship's porthole or in the manor.
its genuinely so cool what they did with the mirror reveal. the writing really pulled it off in such a poetic fashion. the character fighting himself in a struggle of internal conflict, the one with amnesia who sees what he would have been, had he continued to hang on to the past that affected him so. really cool story.
The porthole reflection was clever, but him standing in the 'Doorway' in every conversation only to realize that it's instead a MIRROR--it gave me goosebumps, what an amazing detail
Yo and with the twist??? It makes me think of a movie I watched with Jason Momoa in it called “Sweet Girl”. It’s about him and his daughter investigating his wife’s death, but holy shit is there an equally astonishing twist in that too. Could definitely see them doing this style game as a movie and it being a major hit.
Imagine we never see anything but the protagonist's back. He can speak, but it's a Green Goblin situation where their voices are different. Then the mirror reveal when he shatters it is this wide panning shot where the protagonist is revealed holding the book, leaning against the broken mirror maybe blood running down his hand and raised arm. I want to make this now!
Oh my god I need to see this now. Imagine a final battle of having to get rid of the book to stop Cthulhu. And the plot twist of the Collector being your mirror would be an awesome twist.
After the old Mayor told us he recognized us, and once Seán went back to the Collector, I figured the frame around the Collector's figure looked like a mirror, and the light on his face looked like a reflection. Little details that you don't realize during the game, but once a few clues are given, you get the whole picture Edit: also the way the "Collector" didn't take up any slots in the boat is another clue, he can't take up a space he already fills
From what I can piece together, the main character was married. The messages in the bottles that you collect were all written by his wife, and everything pertained to him. If you read it closely, it started out as bits and pieces of their relationship from the beginning, and his slow descent to an obsession to the unknown. In a voyage, I think he dredged out the book. But in the process, he lost his ship and his wife. The trinkets he collected were all from his own shipwreck scattered all around, and the items were owned by his wife. In the end, the book could bring her back, but bring destruction to the world by bringin all that is bad together with his wife. Or he could throw the book back into the sea and pay the price; his own life - in turn ridding the world of all that is bad. Except that one gnarly beast that swallowed them whole. Who knew that you could DREDGE this D E E P???
According to some other comments here that I've read, that 'gnarly beast' is actually the guardian of this place and has come to eat you because it thinks that you'd repeat your mistake by seeking out that damned book (under the influence of those dark powers or completely sane, doesn't really matter to the guardian tho) and bringing that Cthullu-like monster to its realm. So it eats us and the book to prevent it from happening ever again. However apparently, you could see a flash of fire (?) right before the jaws of the guardian close around you, and I'm not really sure what that means for the time being... Maybe you escaped to the present? Or maybe you were transported to the Cthullu realms? Also some players say that if you try to leave the map the guardian would eat you up!
Glad you finished it Jack, there are a lot of mysteries still remaining in the game which leads to a lot of theories but I'm happy that you understood the main plot. Also, the Collector boarding the ship but you can't see him in storage is the game's final hint that he is not a physical being. Overall, loved the series, I hope to see more games from this small company in the future. I'd love to know your theories in the game as well. Edit: Another hint pointing out that the Collector is actually the fisherman is in the game's first cutscene where the fisherman crashes the boat. You can see the crimson book on the right side of the cutscene. The first time we get to see the Collector, he is on the window of the boat. This event happens immediately after we sell the aberrant fish to the fishmonger. If you have keen attention to detail, you'll notice that the Collector was on the window of the boat, in fact, inside of it yet he is not in your storage, implying that he is only a reflection Mysteries still unsolved (for me) - What was the black stuff infecting your fish and the dockworker - Who are the hooded figures - What are the big crab-like creatures - Why Devil Spine is a flooded city yet there are docks for the right height of the water - Is there a possibility that someone tried to summon the monster ages ago but failed and did the good ending and the current fisherman repeated history (basis: the ancient lighthouse)
I can answer some of these The black stuff and the giant crabs came from the fog much like the monsters did when your character first dredged up the wooden casket The hooded figures arent quite explained and many people just believe them to be fanatics who also came through the fog hence why they are so grotesque And as for the docks at devils spine those are simply for convenience for the player so they know where they can stop and find different things
The hooded figures are actually referenced by the cultist in Devil's Spine if you interrogate him enough. He mentions that there are others beside himself and the player that follow the same path. But that he didn't much like them and "left them to their hunger". Practically, the hooded figures are just others like the cultist, but far less lucid.
The collector not being an object in ur storage is for lore but also for gameplay because if you had damaged ur boat the collector would’ve fallen off so they made him not an item but it also clicks in with his story
Certain NPC's do talk to the player as if they've known him before you "first" arrive in the game. Great story and like Jack said, the different fishing mechanics were a nice touch in order to not make it stale after the 1st hour
I thought the ending where the fish eats you kind of scary, until the piano started playing. It’s actually quite sad, the story of a man who lost his wife, and in his struggle to bring her back realised the error of his ways, and in trying to do what is right, dies. But at least he fixed things. That is quite depressing
Unfortunately, him throwing the book back does not forgive him for all the horrors he brought into the world by dredging up the book, all the eldritch magic he used for his own personal gain. He had to pay for his crimes, and the leviathan, revealed in in-game lore as the guardian of the depths, was there to enact karma.
@@bobwilson679 That, and possibly knowing that the chance of someone who went THAT close to summoning the dark god, continuing to say sane (cold turkey) after quitting like that, is close to zero. Maybe it wasn't taking any chances of a relapse, one that could bring apocalyptic consequences.
The fact that you were the collector the whole time was a twist I never saw coming. Wow. What a great game. The second ending was jaw dropping. Great game. Really enjoyed it. The art style was really great. It added so much to not just the characters themselves but the game as a whole.
I wouldn't call the second one a bad/sad ending. It's bittersweet. Yeah the fisherman died, but he's finally reunited with his wife. Not to mention he saved an entire region from the fog and the nightmares.
@@spoomks Bittersweet still means sad. But regardless, the ending can still be both, depending on how you view it. You don't see it as such because his death prevents a catastrophe, but others see it that way because he dies. We don't know if he'll be reunited with his wife.
@@depressantdrug By reunited I mean so within the afterlife, or perhaps the sea. His wife was taken into a watery grave and so was he later on. I can only assume that in death they are together again. Going with that assumption, I'd argue that the "sad" ending is much more palatable than condemning your world to destruction by the hands of an eldritch god just to revive your wife. However, I can understand if others don't see it that way. Death is a tragedy, after all.
@grenouillesupreme9490 No direct confirmation, but it's a logical step to assume there is. If Cthulhu exists within the lore, it's pretty likely some sort of higher power exists as well, and consequently, an afterlife. It's not that far-fetched when you have a book that can grant magical powers. Also, there'd be no way to revive the wife without the presence of a higher power. She'd be a skeleton, or at least far too bloated to recover. Something had to have recreated her.
OMG that second ending is so beautiful! As he throws the book back, he throws his only chance of bringer her back. The book, instead of sinking like the relics did, floating there just beneath the surface, so that he could look down to it, and look down into his reflection, be reminded of who he is. In this moment of peace and acceptance, the deep comes to claim him, and he invites it openly. With this, all of the horror, the destruction, the eldritch intrusion, all is gone. His story came to a close, just as the book did, and now he can truly reunite with her in death.
Its a nice touch where the collector is the only character with a background in his character picture. Others have items or held interactables, but The Collector is bound within the mirror, showing the background of the house which would clue you in that you're not actually standing in a doorway. I also appreciate that you took the time to see the multiple endings through! This was a really nice watch, and i might come back to it again some day :>
BOAT POWERS ACTIVATE Yes, but from what I saw, he maybe got like ~%60 of the achievements, and missed *lore*, like when he moved forward, the reflection also "Lurched forward in response", connecting to him(the reflection), being a reflection. And how a bunch of the characters being like "Hey wait, I kno-, never mind"(obviously indicating that they realaise it's you, but shant saw anything about it).
it makes so much sense why everyone "mistook" him for the previous guy, who he IS the mayor or whatwasit, wouldn't really hang out with the fishermen, and therefore wouldn't really recognize him, also that explains why the Collector didn't take up any space, where even a dog took space, as did the brother you took back, etc... I don't think the Collector is necessarily a fabrication of the book, I think it *IS* actually part of the dredger, it is really just that he found the weird book, but was so traumatized by losing her wife, he didn't want to remember her death, didn't want to suffer constantly due to the memories, so he used a memory-erasing spell, the Collector is the old him, who got tempted by the book, the player, is the new him, who forgot his own past, to escape his pain, they ARE the same character, but they are also different people, just as he says, the Collector is what you could have been, but because you kept the book, the temptation never ceased, you could never truly forget, you merely pushed your past to the back of your mind, unseen, but present still, the unseen burden
@@billbill6094 It could be denial. Like a "No, she's still out there, all of that never happened" kinda thing.. But even as I'm typing this out, it feels bs and like it could be more amnesia. And to talk about OP's comment... That first part is entirely wrong. You can find the mayor around Devil's Spine, I think. But the old mayor is still alive. Even starts to freak out at you a bit. Edit: It's not Devil's spine, my bad. It's south of Little Marrow
I think it's implied the Fisherman/Collecter has a split personality disorder as mentioned in the whole "fracture" dialogue, this causes the Collector to appear as the Fisherman did 20 years ago and remembering everything while the present day Fisherman remembers very little if anything at all since he's somewhat disconnected from his own memories of Julie and the events that transpired. It's also a rather clever way to go about introducing a player into a story and world that has already been developed prior to the gameplay timeline without immediately infodumping with the background and setting.
In the bottles we have found the story of a couple that ends tragically. I believe that the couple is in fact the protagonist and the woman he tries to bring back. He made an attempt to resurrect her but it failed into catastrophic results. Driven by guilt he forced himself to forget everything about his old life but a remnant of him took the form of the Collector, a souless version with the sole goal of bringing the woman back, no matter the cost.
They are, but what happened was when the book was taken from the casket, the Leviathan destroyed the boat. He didn't fail a resurrection--he never got to try.
When they started talking about how YOU should forget and move on i instantly went like "wait is he the collector???" and its really fun to see the tiny hints they give along the way. Awesome game and a well appreciated series from you Seán!
Dredge is one of the greatest games I've ever played. You never really directly see any eldritch horrors until Cthulhu right at the end, but it's still so good at keeping up the tension with smaller things, like the Mind Suckers, or the monster hiding in the crater at the Stellar Basin, or the aberrations.
Yeah an atmosphere can really make or break a game I know it sounds weird but I like the atmosphere of choo choo Charles like he was playing a folk tale
This play-through made me cry more than i have in probably about 8 to 10 years and I am 18. I have always been a, “I am too manly to ever cry, ever” kind of man based off of the way my parents have raised me and only recently have I started to realize that life has so more to offer and as a man that enjoys fishing and a good story this game hit specifically deep for me and with that being said I am grateful for this series and want to thank Sean and anybody who sees this for their time and I hope this comment will offer a breakthrough of sorts for anybody
Once he got to the end so much came back: - the lighthouse lady thought he looked familiar, becauze she was there when he caused the curse. - the old mayor thought he looked familiar too - when dredging the artifacts, they were from the past so the descriptions were as if you alresdy knew what they were. It was almost as if the whole story was the main character trying to remember what happened to his wife and reliving it as an outside perspective. Very interesting game, i loved it!
Before I watch this video, I just wanted to say that this has been my favorite miniseries that you’ve done in a hot while, I love fishing and spooky scary monsters so this game was perfect, and since I spent my money on Di2, I couldn’t purchase this game yet. Love you Seán
This playthrough was just a delight, the plot twist that we were actually the ones collecting the relics, and we were in a way delusional and thought we could bring back an lost loved one really took me by surprise. I loved this.
The fact that the collectors background is a mirror the whole time is just staring you in the face the whole game but you don't realise it until he says "we" That's awesome!
There was a little thing foreshadowing the fact that you are the collector. He first interacts with you, through your own Cabin window, with the shadow covering his face. If he would have been outside, his face would have had light on it, but he stood in the shade in which you inside of the cabin stand. So yeah
Today's Fact: In 1973, a man named Major Summerford was struck by lightning; years earlier, he had been struck by lightning three more times in different parts of the world.
Yeah, with how we usually think of lightening it's surprising that being struck multiple times has happened itself multiple times. The world record is like double that, which is nuts if true. I say if true because although he's credited with the record of multiple strikes I've seen more recently that a few don't have much proof behind them. Iirc he was hit like 8 times-- although from what evidence I saw only 3-5 were 'certain.'
In love's desperate grasp, he dared to tread, Saved the one he loved from shadows spread. Yet the cost he bore, a world in strife, For love's fierce flame consumed all life.
I don't think that's true. Where you went down and where his son went down are completely different places. Your boat went down with your wife on the opposite side of GREATER Marrow, whereas the son was lost on the opposite side of LITTLE Marrow.
I love how you put a big spoiler in the thumbnail that I can’t avoid. When the end happen I didn’t experience any emotion bc I had already seen it. I was only let down bc I was expecting more
SPOILER WARNING ⚠️ I went back through several videos and looked online at the different notes and came to this conclusion. Don’t continue reading if you haven’t finished the game. . . . . In 1927 The main character was married to a woman and they spent a lot of their Honey moon sailing around and enjoying the sea. A few months later the Main characters mother dies and leaves him an Estate in her will and his wife an old pocket watch. I believe the estate to be the house on Blackstone Isle. The Couple then continues on with their life, fishing on the coast of Greater Marrow. The Main Character renames the boat “Julie” after his wife and puts a blessing on the boat. Then one night they are out late at night fishing and a bump into a rock causes a lot of their possessions to be tossed overboard. One of them being the watch. This causes the Main character to become a bit distraught, as with such bad luck he assumes he did the blessing on the ship wrong. However Julie didn’t really care much for the watch or his mother in the first place and thought nothing of it. Within the next few days the Main character attaches some salvaging equipment on the boat in order to dredge for the lost watch and other items and refuses to let his wife back on the boat as the crew finds her intolerable and are often crass with her. Perhaps they spread rumors about how having a lady on the ship is bad luck. Regardless Julie convinces the MC to let her back on the boat and he continues to dredge, searching for necklaces and other things to sell along with their previously lost valuables. However as he continues to dig up lost treasures the more darkness he brings up from the depths as well, until one fateful day he dredges up a large wooden casket and within is a magic book from an ancient evil civilization that lived in the land long ago. The book possessed evil magic and brought with it an evil monstrosity, possessing the crew to return to the land, a creature then rose out of the sea and brought the town into darkness. This lead to the death/murder of the MCs wife. After what seemed like ages later the town and the crew awoke on the shore with the MC still holding the book The Old Mayor begs the MC to throw it back into the ocean but instead the MC keeps it. Realizing his wife’s dead the MC blames himself and looks to the the only thing he has left for answers. The book. The book shows him a spell that could wipe his memory of this situation and the MC agrees. Forgetting his wife, forgetting the town and even forgetting the book. Leaving him an empty shell of a man with a dark past that still lingers in the back of his mind. (The game starts here) The MC awakens on a dock and thinks of himself as a lone fisherman. The old mayor has since been replaced with a money mongrel mayor and the town has been rebuilt. However as the MC gets back to work he starts digging up items from his own past and it isn’t until he dredges up an item from his diseased wife that his fractured mind is awakened. He sees a figure staring at him through the porthole window of his ship. The “man” tells him to meet him on Blackstone Isle. And there the man reveals himself as the collector and that he needs items in order to complete something in a magical book. Unbeknownst to the MC he has been talking to his own reflection and the book he dredged up long ago has taken ahold of his now fractured mind in order to open a portal to the dark realm and bring the MCs wife back.
More or less accurate, however I wish to point out that it wasn't necessarily because the crew thought her intolerable. It was considered bad luck back in the day for women to be on board as it could distract sailors from their duties and cause accidents. The other superstition is concerning the renaming of a ship. It's normally considered bad luck to rename a ship, but if you do, you're supposed to conduct a renaming ritual which includes getting rid of all things that have to do with the ship's old name. The fisherman got rid of everything, but his wife kept the keychain with the old name on it. The bad luck seems to come into play in the note where she talks of him rechecking the steps of the ritual believing he did something wrong. If the superstition is to be believed in this game, his wife was the one that brought bad fortune onto them and their boat because she kept something she shouldn't have.
Good observations, though from what i've seen on this series i don't think she was murdered. Rather i think she fell overboard and died at sea, in the exact spot where you end the game; The place where he lost her.
Oh my god, what an excellent early hint that the Collecter first comes to you through the porthole of your boat at night, meaning once again the MC is talking to his reflection
@@fallatiuso ah thank you! I got confused with connecting the dots as to if she got lost as sea or if they went back to the island cause in the Old Mayors speech he said they both came back to the island with the book. But what you said sounds right. Maybe they went back then he lost her at sea later.
@@FletcherPatton ooo I didn’t know about the bad luck that came from renaming a ship. That just adds even more to the sad beautiful story that is this game!! 🔥
The artwork style lends itself well to the Lovecraftian storyline. Very much enjoyed it, and would love to see the developer do more in the same genre!
Nooooooo! You gave the dock worker the package. I was screaming at the screen! I'm glad you played this game. I played through it twice. Good and bad ending. So much fun!
I’m really happy to see the endings. Absolutely crazy. Also, if you didn’t figure it out yet, all the bottle messages are from you or your wife who you resurrect in the first ending .
There's no way I could play this, with my anxiety and such, but am so interested and glad to get to experience it with someone so exuberant and fun. Thanks!
I absolutely love the message of the two endings, foreshadowed by the cave drawings at Devil's Spine. The reveal that the Collector was simply you in the mirror, formed in desperation and regret, begging the book to make you forget the horrors brought by you dredging it, shows how dangerous it already is. With every item you give the Collector, to yourself, to the power of the book, to your unending desire to bring back what was lost, you play with a dangerous power far beyond your comprehension. Despite your original self being unaware, fractured such, the Collector shows that truly your pain was only repressed, and the comments from the townspeople who know you show that you cannot erase the past. To dare to try and undo your mistakes, to play God and bring back the dead, you temper with that power to the point of no return, and in testing it so you raise something you never wanted. BY trying to erase your mistakes you unleash an even greater one, and as the drawings show your selfish naivety brings the fall of your civilization. But... if you let the past die, if you shatter it like the Collector's mirror, the people around you can flourish and being to move on, and with your sacrifice the world can heal.
ITS ALL IN THE BOTTLES JACK! You are the husband! It even talks about the items. Like the watch the wife got from the deceased mother. Thats really freaking cool wow! Thanks for playing it for us.
Same. I won't have time until I go on vacation in August, but it sure seems like the kind of game that I could play until the sleep deprivation knocks me unconscious. Until then I'll have to settle that Lovecraftian craving with Fallen London.
I bought the game after I saw Sean playing it, I rarely buy a game after I watch a play through because I know how it ends but this one was an exception it’s amazing!
I was so antsy the whole week until this came out lol I was desperate to see Jack get to the end. Never expected to love Dredge so much, but now I've bought it myself! What a game
dredge is definitely one of my favourite games now. ever since i saw the art style, i fell in love with it, and now that i've finished watching this series, i fell in love with it even more. the storytelling is wonderful, immersive and heartbreaking. there's always a melancholy tone hanging over the story, especially with those endings. and wow... that image of cthulhu made me think that it's majestic and awe striking, yet it's horrifying and dangerous. it looked otherworldly, as if it was only a figment of imagination. but the way it strikes fear makes that danger real. this is brilliant, i don't think i have enough words to praise this masterpiece.
“I wanna open a portal to another dimension and Cthulu comes bumbling out”
It’s like he can see the future
It's almost as if it was obvious
The amount of foreshadowing in the first episode was so great💀
the thumbnail changed the prespective
1000th like
It’s called foreshadowing
*SPOILERS*
the collector not being in your cargo unlike the dog and other characters is such a nice detail because he is you. hes always taken up space
I played and discovered the Collector secret... So it didn't even occur to me that him not being in the cargo would be a tip-off for people who didn't smash the mirror! That's so cool. Such a nice touch.
*unlike
@@samwarren6008 whoops I definitely know english
Having watched evelyn's (sp?), this didn't even occur to me. Such a clever little easter egg thing
it would be funny if the collector was just a profesional contortionist
"You take a step closer. The Collector lurches forward in response." I love this line, so subtle, but yeah, DUH your reflection steps closer to the mirror when you do, lol.
I wouldn't have realized it if you didn't point it out
I THOUGHT IT WAS WEIRD HE APPROACHED JUST THE SAME
since the beggining it allways seemed that the collector was either in a mirror or a window, it's also a great detail
Not to mention, during the intro cutscene, you can see the book on the desk on the right side
@@Howler196 omg how did I not notice that, when The Collector was first introduced XD
One thing about the story lore that really gets me is that the main character and Julie were on their HONEYMOON when she died at sea. All of the letters are from Julie's POV, and reading through all of them after you know the background opens up so many narrative elements. The engagement ring engraved with a J, the proposal in stellar basin, the renaming of the boat in her name, the dredging of the book, and then her pleading letter for her husband to throw her (and the book) back and move on. It's a tragedy.
I don't think she died in the crash. I think she was just lost at sea. Do I think she's dead? Oh, absolutely, at this point in the story she has to be. Especially given the context of some of the bottled messages. I only say that I don't think she died because.. Well, what sense would it make for someone to be writing messages in bottles to send them out if they died in the crash? Especially with the message asking the widowed husband to "throw me back".
@@nerdyfoxes8000 I never made conneetion that she was writing those messages, thanks
What if he kept her spirit or something alive, and she is asking him to leave her, because she sees what he is doing
@@jakubpollak2067 Y'know what, considering there's a giant tentacled being in this game, I feel like that's plausible.
@@nerdyfoxes8000 Just wanted to add that the researcher at the fort does mention something along the lines of finding letters from her deceased sister that seemed like they were written after her demise, so perhaps there's something at play there
@@ashaiguygames Y'know what, fair enough, tbh. Maybe we'll need to get Game Theory to get a solid lore standing for Dredge /j
Jack: I’m not doing voices for this game, sorry guys.
*Jack then proceeds to do voices for everyone and make them unique to everyone. The room claps.*
I think he just meant for the first episode because his throat was a bit sore and he didn't want to lose his voice
I think he saw the black character and didnt really want to do her voice but did the other ones 😂😂😂 because he said that right when he met her
Imagine not doing a black character voice me personally couldn’t be me but that just me
@@Nutu_134 no i think he was just sick....
@@Nutu_134 He didnt do the traders voice or other characters like the fish trader lady's voice, it depends on a lot, like is the character important to the story and if you have the frequency range in your voice to do the character voice without messing it up and making a fool of yourself for trying. Or at some point you just straight up dont feel like roleplaying that day.
In the first ending (bad ending), the individual you lost is the woman who is frequently referenced in the notes found within the bottle. The completion of the curse causes a catastrophe to befall the entire map (You can see the in end credits, the village is on fire). The fog, the monsters in every region, and the abnormal fish that you always catch are all a result of that book.
I don't know if you can call it good ending but the second one, that monster serves like a guardian or some sort. If your boat tried to leave the map in the game, the monster swallows you. In my perspective, you save the village from the curse but you also pay for your crimes.
I mean considering dude’s been alive since the 1920s I really don’t think he had much longer anyways
Yea the leviathan does seem like a protector of natural order, Like somth that is stopping the madness from spreading
I don’t think that it’s him paying for his crimes, I think it’s him finally letting go. One half of himself has lived in denial for so long, the other has been searching desperately for a way to defy death. The version that was in denial comes to terms with what happened, and takes the lighthouse keeper’s advice: He lets her go, for his sake and for hers. By letting her find peace in his watery grave, the leviathans essentially reward him for giving back the book by letting him be with her again in death. I think it’s a cool ending that’s meant to represent different sides of grief: The one that can’t cope and drags the world down with them, and the one that lets go and finds their own peace.
I mean, it's also granting his wish: reunion with his lost wife. But instead of subverting the order and falling for the trap, you join HER in a watery grave and meet her in the afterlife.
But i don’t think the character ever died.
You can see just before the monster closes its mouth a bright pillar of light, which is perhaps him warping somewhere.
Looking back, the collector is always framed in reflections. First the glass of your ship window where he directs you to the old manor. Then from there, what appears to be a door frame is a full length mirror. If you ask around about the old manor people say that no one's lived there in years. It's well done how they kept the twist hidden whilst also dropping hints
Yeah it's made so you don't realize it early but when they do the reveal you're like "OOOOOOOOOOHHHH"
Also when the collector gets on the boat he doesn’t show up in its inventory like other characters do
And the lighthouse keeper saying that she recognized you early on too
honestly from the first video that jack did i was like "wait.... This is a mirror.. I wonder why he's in a mirror?" and then i saw this happen and i was like "oh, okay well that beats what i thought he was and apparently they're the same person just like the light house keeper said"
He always says us instead of me aswell
when he punched the collector and his face "shattered" i lost my damn mind! what an AWESOME twist!
I must be stupid. XD When it said that, I was like, 'dang, how hard did you punch the man?'
@@whispery_cloud14 I thought the same
43:11 "Oh he's aboard my vessel but he doesn't show up"
I didn't even realize that was a hint from the game for the plot twist! That was so cool
Yes, as someone whom'st'v'ed'ly played the game(100%ed), when I saw this, it was like a child seeing an eclipse, but with the realization of LORE.
@@The_Apostate_Of_Fire that contraction is fire
@@waewae 🗣️🗣️🗣️🔥🔥🔥💯💯
Wow. The addition of the northern lights after you’re swallowed really hit hard emotionally. In one the messages in a bottle, the woman was proposed to by her husband (the player) under the northern lights. It’s so tragic
Never even pieced that together!
Dang :(
Welp ig in a way, they’re together once again, hence the northern lights
BUT DANG THAT WAS POETIC
You helped me realize this XD
I don't know if this is true or not, but in the pale reach DLC(I've 100%ed the game, play it), it's a ice area. So maybe because they *usually* only appear in cold places, this might connect it, but what eliteknight said might be true too.
Aww thats true! Just finished it myself, had to finish it before I watched Jack's finale, but yeah the lesson of having to move on, even if it costs so much, nearly brought me to tears. Such a good freaking game
One of the things I noticed, besides the collector’s first appearance being through the ship’s window, is that the manifest ability says “take you back to where it all began” which takes you to Blackstone Isle. It hints that the island is quite literally where everything all started for the main character, even if you as the player don’t know at first.
I’m so happy he finished the game, as soon as I saw the first episode I immediately got and played it, it’s such a fun game
Same I don’t think I’ve ever watched a singular video on a game and bought it instantly until Dredge, and I’m thankful that I did. It gave the same vibe of outer wilds and hollow knight which are two of my favorite games.
I didn't even think of this but youre so right!! Also when we take the collector onto out boat, he doesn't take up any cargo space like the others we have brought on like the dog or the castaway, possibly hinting that the collector isn't who we thought (before the mirror reveal of course).
I also got it and played it a lot, trying to keep ahead of the videos so I wouldn't get spoilers!
There are some others. When you talk to someone about Blackstone early on, they are confused because the island is deserted. You can also notice subtle glare off of the mirror's surface, when you are talking to the Collector.
also lighthouse lady recognizes you at the start and the old mayor as well
This game's art direction is beyond amazing. The collector was always framed, like he was standing in a doorway. But he wasn't, he was in the mirror. Oh my god I love this game.
Added note, absolutely love the ending that the guardian kills you, because even with your moment of clarity it doesn't trust that you wont go back and try to find the book again and start it all over again. Protecting and making sure the islands are safe.
It's so cool looking back to the first time we're introduced to the Collector, we're meant to imagine that he's looking at us through the window of the ship, but it's actually just the Fisherman's reflection in the glass of the window (the same art is used around 43:57 in this video).
Absolutely genius writing all the way around; this game is a masterpiece.
alternatively: you were reunited with your lover in the end after all. the leviathan was the one that swallowed her when they found the book!
Yes thats why i absolutely adore this ending👌👌👌
and i believe it swallows the book too
@@iankstarr A small detail aswell is that near the end it says the collector is aboard your ship, instead of saying he stepped in it, since he was already in always
So Happy Jack finished Dredge! one of my fave games this year
HI JACK
@MichelJackson-xc5zucappity cap
I loved the game so much I 100%ed it on steam. I wish it could get some DLC or something.
Yes it’s great. I love how you can tell the collector is a mirror the entire game, and when you have him go in your boat for the bad ending, he takes no space because it’s you, the driver
Yes it’s great. I love how you can tell the collector is a mirror the entire game, and when you have him go in your boat for the bad ending, he takes no space because it’s you, the driver
20 years ago, the Fisherman and Julie were engaged beneath the aurora at Twisted Strand. They were married, and in celebration the Fisherman changed the name of his boat--but because this area is so close to the eldritch, any slight error in the ritual could open a crack in the universe. And unfortunately, Julie keeping the keychain with the old ship's name allowed it to happen. The boat was jostled, and a few things fell overboard--presumably the trinkets, though some don't quite line up (like her engagement ring). Later, during a dredging trip, they pull up an old wooden casket that gives most of the crew a feeling of terrible dread. Inside is a book, crimson and silver, and from it pours power and an evil fog--and then a great creature (presumably the leviathan) attacks the boat. Some survive--including the Old Mayor and the Fisherman. But many die--including Julie. In his grief, the Fisherman divided his consciousness into the Collector, who looked as he did 20 years ago and remembers all that happened, and into a simple fisherman who could live without the pain of losing his wife. This is why so many people ALMOST recognize you--but the impossibility of it dissuades them, except for the lighthouse keeper who saw everything from the lighthouse.
Some of the messages were written to you AFTER Julie died--that's why she describes being so cold, and slips into intelligibility. This is supported by the Researcher's comments that her dead sister had been slipping messages into her own glass containers--like messages in a bottle.
Throwing the book back rights what was made wrong, including your transgressions and likely you surviving the shipwreck. In return, reuniting you with your wife.
thanks ❤
Huh… you know that clears up the second ending a bit.
I just assumed it was because nobody gets a happy ending in Lovecraftian horror
The ending where he got eaten makes sense now. Dang
Woah this is well written imo :O
@@eliteknightsk3035 Haha, thanks, I do hope to be a professional, full-time author one day ☆
What I love is that Dredge didn't go for the stereotypical version of Cthulhu. The one hulking creature with bat wings and what not. They gave their own interpretation of him. and they gave him that ethereal horror feeling that few games do for such a monster. Cthulhu was terrifying before we began cutting and pasting him for most water based horror media. This blew my mind. For the first time in a long time, I felt fear. The artists work on making Cthulhu look like that was what the monster was meant to be all along; Brilliant, and horrifying. just a glance at his eyes and you know why people would go insane looking at him. it's awesome.
It's not just a flash of light showing the creature either, it's the slow pan that sets the scene. You see the wife slowly ascend from the water while thunder and rumbling occur. it's only when the camera pans far enough away that you see the source of that noise, the water torn asunder by a monster so large, your ship is no more than a flea in comparison.
The endings also give the perfect example of hero vs villain trope.
The Hero would sacrifice one to save many.
The Villain sacrifices many to save one.
What's cthulhu)
@@goobles64 An Eldritch monster believed to be sleeping at the bottom of the ocean in different books written by H.P. Lovecraft. According to said books, any who even glance at him will go insane. It's gives meaning to the term "Lovecraftian" when describing a monster.
The art direction fits well with the mythos too since most people tend to forget that Cthulhu is actually a shapeshifter; meaning he can technically look however he wants.
I's not really stereotypical because that's how Cthulhu looks. Is is the image that is used by Lovecraft himself. That would be like changing up Godzilla to be a Giraffe, he looks like he does because that is how he looks. There's no confirmation this was Cthulhu, specifically either, it could just be an analogue of him or even a reinterpretation of Dagon. If this had been a game that was more officially Lovecraft, I'd want it to be closer to the more known look. Since it's obviously a stand in, they could change up the look and sort of make him their own.
@@queentophat225 I thought Lovecraftian was something to do with Minecraft at first
I thought the Collector's art looked a little weird. The background looked almost shimmery, like it had a glare, and the door frame looked like a picture frame. The fact that he didn't take up inventory space on the boat was a great detail as well. Very cool.
Oh. I just realized something else. Neither ending give you any additional items (Like the passengers), so that if you trigger them when at full capacity you wouldn't stumble on it by needing to throw any items away before heading out.
also if you go back, you can see a little shadow or something behind the "doorframe" that make it really obvious that it is actually a mirror. It's really a "once you see it, you can't unsee it" kind of thing
I’m glad I’m not the only one who noticed when u go back that it’s so obviously a mirror u just never realise it I also assumed it was a door frame
The fact that you are talking to a MIRROR the entire time and we just assume it's a doorway just blew my mind. Such a great story, I loved this game.
also the reason we only see him on the window of your ship too
We assume it's a doorway because the first time you go there it says he's standing in a doorway (it just doesn't point out the doorway is the one you're standing in)
Typical Lovecraftian fiction
such a cool detail too that when you stepped to take the book from him, HE came closer as well (cuz reflections lol) so subtle, so dope
When the top comment spoils a major part of the game and you haven't even finished the video intro 😢
SPOILER SURELY IF I HIT ENTER A COUPLE TIMES IT HIDES THE ACTUAL SPOILER RIGHT
So the bottles he'd been reading the whole time were written by his wife? That gives so much more meaning to the bottled messages especially the one he found in the lava area. Amazing game.
Yep! The whole plot twist is that he is the collector, attempting to resurrect his wife after her death at sea.
i missed the note in the lava area & can’t find it 😭 there’s no way anyone can give me the time for it for me?
@@embadly 7:38
Thanks for the spoil man
@@shannonrobbins59 don't read comments unless you finish the video then?? the comments are to comment ON THE VIDEO dummy
A man literally begins to chant and ignites into flames. Jack basically just did the “Oh no. Anyway” and took the man’s watch.
Every time the game said “throw it back” I just pictured the characters aggressively dancing 😂 made the ending much more lighthearted for me lol
throw it back now y'all
I'm not the only one lol 😅
same lmaoo
I did imagine the Fisherman twerking every time someone told him to throw it back, tbf
Can we just appreciate Jack voice impression, he literally gave every single character in this game their own voice which brought them to life
Yeah he did them really well
@@adriono202 88aààà111111à1😮
I almost forgot that wasn't original voice over😂
You know Sean loves the game when he finishes it in like 2-3 weeks, the commentary is on point
Burger
I just saw you on captainSauce’s video earlier
Bro, this is my 3rd time seeing you today, what the hell
Bot infestation
@igger I agree your content is better.. for reporting for unwanted commercial spam bs
Im glad Jack found the old mayor and was able to do both endings. Finding out the man in the mansion was actually you in a mirror was a huge mind fuck and i loved it
Dredge is an incredible example that the Good Ending of a story might not always be a Good Ending for you.
I felt like the character didn’t have purpose, so for them to see their long lost love for their final moments isn’t really a bad ending
@@coolcat5540but you doom the world to whatever that "creature" is
I just realized that the reason why creatures from the sea chase you at night is because the fisherman in the game is traumatized from the events that took place (his spouse dying) at night. His mind won't let him truly forget anything that happened that night I guess. This was an awesome game; I was very enthused and highly entertained from start to finish. Seeing Jack's take on it all is great to watch too.
The fisherman asked the “collector” (his corrupted reflection/tiny little voice inside his noggin) to erase his memories because he couldn’t live with the guilt from basically dooming his wife after his obsession with treasure hunting.
But as you said, he still has the PSTD from that night in the ocean… That and also the fact that the waters are legitimately cursed by the horrors of the abyss partially unleashed after he dredged up the crimson book
Best indie series we got in years, i salute you jack for listening to us.
Unpopular opinion all games are indie games because they don't hire play testers anymore you are the play tester and you will pay them 60 buck for the privilege
Why I only play retro video games now
@@minekush1138 you are absolutely wrong, i don't know where did you get this "they don't hire play testers anymore", when even this "an indie game" has credits for it's play testers.
@@minekush1138 Indie doesn’t mean “no play testers” it means developed without a large studio or lots of people/money. usually just 1 person.
@@minekush1138 your brain stay retro it seems
In the first episode of this series at 15:30 the old lady at the lighthouse already knows who you are. Speaking as if you are merely trying to "act" as if you remember nothing. It was something I caught onto immediately, and seeing 40:20 in this episode shows that she knows specifically who you are at this moment. "You're really asking me? After all this time? You know it must be returned."
Also the fact that the collector did not take space on the ship when he came aboard.
The old mayor talked like he knew the main character too
@@Dokomoturtle this very niche fact made me realize it was really him all along, before he decided to "take" the book from the Collector. Before this, when anyone else asked to tag along, they would take up space in the cargo. So it makes sense that he himself would not take up any extra room.
Sidenote: The Collector would use the term "we" or "us". This is due to him talking to himself. Though we aren't really given any hard evidence until we "take" the book
fun fact: in the intro cutscene showing your character sailing into the storm that causes him to crash at greater marrow, you can actually see the crimson book near his right hand.
he’s had it all along.
also also! Whenever our character spoke to the collector, he always had these rays of light across his body and legs. it’s the reflection of the light bouncing off the mirror. the “door’s” frame was a mirror frame all along.
it’s how he simultaneously has never left the island while also appearing through the window of your ship after finding your first abnormality.
I find this game so therapeutic. Sad that it’s over ! it was such a good series. I have it in the background while I do my essays for uni. My dad is like. “ how can you concentrate with that Irish man screaming” lmao but it helps
😅 hahaha can relate, my mom told me so
I feel like the developer might make something else
The dev's have already come out with a roadmap for further updates, Map markers, new game modes like a Passive mode where the monsters don't attack the boat and a Photo Mode with a new NPC, Boat customisation and that theyre goign to be doing DLC for the game
As a New Zealander, it's awesome to see such a big youtuber like Jack play a locally-made indie game. Such a neat idea and a great story, loved it from start to finish!
This was made by Kiwis?!
How did I not know that lmao
@@glitchedember3629 yeah it's kinda crazy ay
totally agree! and nice to see bird calls from DOC in the end credits :)
DUDE AS A FELLOW NZER I HAD NO IDEA???? THATS SO COOL???
same bro i was so happy to see jack play it
Thoroughly overjoyed to see you finished Dredge and attained both endings too! This was such a great, atmospheric little game. Many have already commented on the story elements, so I just wanted to say a small thing on the actual gameplay. I found that the game has a really nice balance in terms of exploration, story and upgrading your boat. At the start, the world seemed large, just crossing between Little Marrow and Greater Marrow. As the game progressed and you discovered other areas and upgraded your boat, it was surprising to me to find that the original journey across the bay was so small, I could make the trip multiple times in a day, whereas at the start, I barely even dared venture over for fear of what creatures lurked below. The upgrades worked well too, I thought, in that you find enough upgrade parts passively to get what you want to progress through the game, without having to spend hours grinding for them, but should you decide you want to 100% the game and collect them all, it's not too hard to go about either.
The fact that the original area felt so big at the start, only to be dwarfed by the rest of the map was very well done I thought, especially with the fog obscuring the furthest areas. Additonally, the way your slow engines and small storage at the start prohibit you from venturing too far helps make the start of the game feel more contained and bigger than it really is.
Finally, alongside the ease of upgrading (never so easy as to feel irrelevant), was the ease of making money. You were never in a drought and unable to proceed. If you did run out, all you had to do was spend a little time fishing (or jsut hawl a net behind you all the time for that nice passive income) and you were good to go.
I think the balance of the game's mechanics worked very well with each other to always give you more to do, but never make it tedious to do it, even backtracking to previous areas was no bother since the engine upgrades and boost skill made it trivial.
As said, I wont' say anything on the actual story or theories, as many, many people have covered those already, but this was such a great little game, I wanted to say soemthing on it, so decided to express my fondness of its overall structure. My apologies to anyone that took the time to read all of this, have a coffee on me to keep yourselves awake. XD
Brother, really good detail, I like you explained it thoroughly and appreciate your fondness for this game. some really good insights you mentioned here😮😊
Very well put. Dredge is such a well-balanced and atmospheric game. Even after watching the series in full, I think I very well would buy it for myself to check the bits of what Séan missed and just for the experience. It seems right down my alley. This game is a labor of love and it shows.
how do i attain this mentioned free coffee? good point btw
47:07 The design in this game is awesome. It wasn't innocent that the Collector was the only NPC to be "framed", either in your ship's porthole or in the manor.
Exactly. When you see him in the porthole you’re just seeing your reflection
Also that he's the only character who doesn't take up space on your ship when he's on it
its genuinely so cool what they did with the mirror reveal. the writing really pulled it off in such a poetic fashion. the character fighting himself in a struggle of internal conflict, the one with amnesia who sees what he would have been, had he continued to hang on to the past that affected him so. really cool story.
i thought it was a doorway the whole time
The porthole reflection was clever, but him standing in the 'Doorway' in every conversation only to realize that it's instead a MIRROR--it gave me goosebumps, what an amazing detail
Imagine how sick a movie based on this game would be
Yo and with the twist??? It makes me think of a movie I watched with Jason Momoa in it called “Sweet Girl”. It’s about him and his daughter investigating his wife’s death, but holy shit is there an equally astonishing twist in that too. Could definitely see them doing this style game as a movie and it being a major hit.
Imagine we never see anything but the protagonist's back. He can speak, but it's a Green Goblin situation where their voices are different. Then the mirror reveal when he shatters it is this wide panning shot where the protagonist is revealed holding the book, leaning against the broken mirror maybe blood running down his hand and raised arm. I want to make this now!
Oh my god I need to see this now. Imagine a final battle of having to get rid of the book to stop Cthulhu. And the plot twist of the Collector being your mirror would be an awesome twist.
@@giveawormaspine yesssss
i cant get over the fact that jack is so on point with his guess about the ending lol
This is something we would like to call foreshadowing
It is admittedly not that uncommon of an ending for a lovecraft-derived game or story.
It's pretty obvious
Never played those kind of games before so it was unexpected, played the game and it surprised me since it was my first time
He always does this, so frequently in fact
After the old Mayor told us he recognized us, and once Seán went back to the Collector, I figured the frame around the Collector's figure looked like a mirror, and the light on his face looked like a reflection.
Little details that you don't realize during the game, but once a few clues are given, you get the whole picture
Edit: also the way the "Collector" didn't take up any slots in the boat is another clue, he can't take up a space he already fills
From what I can piece together, the main character was married. The messages in the bottles that you collect were all written by his wife, and everything pertained to him. If you read it closely, it started out as bits and pieces of their relationship from the beginning, and his slow descent to an obsession to the unknown. In a voyage, I think he dredged out the book. But in the process, he lost his ship and his wife. The trinkets he collected were all from his own shipwreck scattered all around, and the items were owned by his wife. In the end, the book could bring her back, but bring destruction to the world by bringin all that is bad together with his wife. Or he could throw the book back into the sea and pay the price; his own life - in turn ridding the world of all that is bad. Except that one gnarly beast that swallowed them whole. Who knew that you could DREDGE this D E E P???
this is so cool to think about!! thank you so much
According to some other comments here that I've read, that 'gnarly beast' is actually the guardian of this place and has come to eat you because it thinks that you'd repeat your mistake by seeking out that damned book (under the influence of those dark powers or completely sane, doesn't really matter to the guardian tho) and bringing that Cthullu-like monster to its realm. So it eats us and the book to prevent it from happening ever again. However apparently, you could see a flash of fire (?) right before the jaws of the guardian close around you, and I'm not really sure what that means for the time being... Maybe you escaped to the present? Or maybe you were transported to the Cthullu realms? Also some players say that if you try to leave the map the guardian would eat you up!
I have to wonder what the casket was then, and the other fisherman?
Glad you finished it Jack, there are a lot of mysteries still remaining in the game which leads to a lot of theories but I'm happy that you understood the main plot. Also, the Collector boarding the ship but you can't see him in storage is the game's final hint that he is not a physical being. Overall, loved the series, I hope to see more games from this small company in the future. I'd love to know your theories in the game as well.
Edit: Another hint pointing out that the Collector is actually the fisherman is in the game's first cutscene where the fisherman crashes the boat. You can see the crimson book on the right side of the cutscene.
The first time we get to see the Collector, he is on the window of the boat. This event happens immediately after we sell the aberrant fish to the fishmonger. If you have keen attention to detail, you'll notice that the Collector was on the window of the boat, in fact, inside of it yet he is not in your storage, implying that he is only a reflection
Mysteries still unsolved (for me)
- What was the black stuff infecting your fish and the dockworker
- Who are the hooded figures
- What are the big crab-like creatures
- Why Devil Spine is a flooded city yet there are docks for the right height of the water
- Is there a possibility that someone tried to summon the monster ages ago but failed and did the good ending and the current fisherman repeated history (basis: the ancient lighthouse)
I can answer some of these
The black stuff and the giant crabs came from the fog much like the monsters did when your character first dredged up the wooden casket
The hooded figures arent quite explained and many people just believe them to be fanatics who also came through the fog hence why they are so grotesque
And as for the docks at devils spine those are simply for convenience for the player so they know where they can stop and find different things
I'm pretty sure the hooded figures are like cultists that follow the way of the book
The hooded figures are actually referenced by the cultist in Devil's Spine if you interrogate him enough. He mentions that there are others beside himself and the player that follow the same path. But that he didn't much like them and "left them to their hunger". Practically, the hooded figures are just others like the cultist, but far less lucid.
The collector not being an object in ur storage is for lore but also for gameplay because if you had damaged ur boat the collector would’ve fallen off so they made him not an item but it also clicks in with his story
@@surianiriyagunarajh7042 important items don't fall overboard I believe. It's explained in one of the first messages
Sean not understanding what the npcs mean while also not talking to any of then for more information is so funny 😂💜
literally like watching him skip over extra info about stuff i want to know about hurt me lol
Funny and infuriating
Certain NPC's do talk to the player as if they've known him before you "first" arrive in the game. Great story and like Jack said, the different fishing mechanics were a nice touch in order to not make it stale after the 1st hour
I thought the ending where the fish eats you kind of scary, until the piano started playing. It’s actually quite sad, the story of a man who lost his wife, and in his struggle to bring her back realised the error of his ways, and in trying to do what is right, dies. But at least he fixed things. That is quite depressing
Unfortunately, him throwing the book back does not forgive him for all the horrors he brought into the world by dredging up the book, all the eldritch magic he used for his own personal gain. He had to pay for his crimes, and the leviathan, revealed in in-game lore as the guardian of the depths, was there to enact karma.
@@bobwilson679 That, and possibly knowing that the chance of someone who went THAT close to summoning the dark god, continuing to say sane (cold turkey) after quitting like that, is close to zero. Maybe it wasn't taking any chances of a relapse, one that could bring apocalyptic consequences.
The fact that you were the collector the whole time was a twist I never saw coming. Wow. What a great game. The second ending was jaw dropping. Great game. Really enjoyed it. The art style was really great. It added so much to not just the characters themselves but the game as a whole.
It doesnt matter what ending you get, its gonna be a bad, or sad ending, litterally made me tear up-
I wouldn't call the second one a bad/sad ending. It's bittersweet. Yeah the fisherman died, but he's finally reunited with his wife. Not to mention he saved an entire region from the fog and the nightmares.
@@spoomks Bittersweet still means sad. But regardless, the ending can still be both, depending on how you view it. You don't see it as such because his death prevents a catastrophe, but others see it that way because he dies. We don't know if he'll be reunited with his wife.
@@depressantdrug By reunited I mean so within the afterlife, or perhaps the sea. His wife was taken into a watery grave and so was he later on. I can only assume that in death they are together again.
Going with that assumption, I'd argue that the "sad" ending is much more palatable than condemning your world to destruction by the hands of an eldritch god just to revive your wife.
However, I can understand if others don't see it that way. Death is a tragedy, after all.
@@spoomksthere is no confirmation afterlife exists in this game right ?
@grenouillesupreme9490 No direct confirmation, but it's a logical step to assume there is.
If Cthulhu exists within the lore, it's pretty likely some sort of higher power exists as well, and consequently, an afterlife. It's not that far-fetched when you have a book that can grant magical powers.
Also, there'd be no way to revive the wife without the presence of a higher power. She'd be a skeleton, or at least far too bloated to recover. Something had to have recreated her.
OMG that second ending is so beautiful! As he throws the book back, he throws his only chance of bringer her back. The book, instead of sinking like the relics did, floating there just beneath the surface, so that he could look down to it, and look down into his reflection, be reminded of who he is. In this moment of peace and acceptance, the deep comes to claim him, and he invites it openly. With this, all of the horror, the destruction, the eldritch intrusion, all is gone. His story came to a close, just as the book did, and now he can truly reunite with her in death.
Its a nice touch where the collector is the only character with a background in his character picture. Others have items or held interactables, but The Collector is bound within the mirror, showing the background of the house which would clue you in that you're not actually standing in a doorway. I also appreciate that you took the time to see the multiple endings through! This was a really nice watch, and i might come back to it again some day :>
I just know I'm gonna re-watch this series for nostalgia in a few years.
Now it makes sense why he could use all those boat powers because HE had the book on him all that time 🤯
BOAT POWERS ACTIVATE
Yes, but from what I saw, he maybe got like ~%60 of the achievements, and missed *lore*, like when he moved forward, the reflection also "Lurched forward in response", connecting to him(the reflection), being a reflection. And how a bunch of the characters being like "Hey wait, I kno-, never mind"(obviously indicating that they realaise it's you, but shant saw anything about it).
@@The_Apostate_Of_Fire bro you watched this video 7 months later ? 😂
@@Itslikeareward are we supposed to not watch videos anymore if time has passed? where's the logic in this?
it makes so much sense why everyone "mistook" him for the previous guy, who he IS
the mayor or whatwasit, wouldn't really hang out with the fishermen, and therefore wouldn't really recognize him, also that explains why the Collector didn't take up any space, where even a dog took space, as did the brother you took back, etc...
I don't think the Collector is necessarily a fabrication of the book, I think it *IS* actually part of the dredger, it is really just that he found the weird book, but was so traumatized by losing her wife, he didn't want to remember her death, didn't want to suffer constantly due to the memories, so he used a memory-erasing spell, the Collector is the old him, who got tempted by the book, the player, is the new him, who forgot his own past, to escape his pain, they ARE the same character, but they are also different people, just as he says, the Collector is what you could have been, but because you kept the book, the temptation never ceased, you could never truly forget, you merely pushed your past to the back of your mind, unseen, but present still, the unseen burden
Like the idea of the spell, I mistook it for him having amnesia.
@@billbill6094 It could be denial. Like a "No, she's still out there, all of that never happened" kinda thing.. But even as I'm typing this out, it feels bs and like it could be more amnesia. And to talk about OP's comment... That first part is entirely wrong. You can find the mayor around Devil's Spine, I think. But the old mayor is still alive. Even starts to freak out at you a bit.
Edit: It's not Devil's spine, my bad. It's south of Little Marrow
It did say in the game dialogue that the collector is “what fractured from you” 47:55 when you lost her. Kinda clearly saying what you suggest
I think it's implied the Fisherman/Collecter has a split personality disorder as mentioned in the whole "fracture" dialogue, this causes the Collector to appear as the Fisherman did 20 years ago and remembering everything while the present day Fisherman remembers very little if anything at all since he's somewhat disconnected from his own memories of Julie and the events that transpired.
It's also a rather clever way to go about introducing a player into a story and world that has already been developed prior to the gameplay timeline without immediately infodumping with the background and setting.
In the bottles we have found the story of a couple that ends tragically. I believe that the couple is in fact the protagonist and the woman he tries to bring back. He made an attempt to resurrect her but it failed into catastrophic results. Driven by guilt he forced himself to forget everything about his old life but a remnant of him took the form of the Collector, a souless version with the sole goal of bringing the woman back, no matter the cost.
They are, but what happened was when the book was taken from the casket, the Leviathan destroyed the boat. He didn't fail a resurrection--he never got to try.
@@AnakhaSilver Thanks for clearing that out.
My favorite part of 3:02 is the fact that I'm pretty sure Evelyn can hear him screaming shit like that through the walls 😂
Now that its been pointed out I cant stop thinking about her possible reactions XD
😂😂😂😂😂
There was a video recently she posted where she heard him yelling while playing and it was super funny.
By the way Sean looked over, it seems like he wanted Evelyn to hear him 😂
@@lesliewilliams1322 do you know what video?
When they started talking about how YOU should forget and move on i instantly went like "wait is he the collector???" and its really fun to see the tiny hints they give along the way. Awesome game and a well appreciated series from you Seán!
Why can't this level of talent in writing a story, be employed in the AAA industry? So many surprises and twists. Truly a writer who know their craft!
AAA studios need profit seeking obedience, and too often prefer it over actual effort and creativity.
Dredge is one of the greatest games I've ever played. You never really directly see any eldritch horrors until Cthulhu right at the end, but it's still so good at keeping up the tension with smaller things, like the Mind Suckers, or the monster hiding in the crater at the Stellar Basin, or the aberrations.
I've absolutely fallen in love with Dredge.
The artstyle and somber atmosphere reminds me of Disco Elysium.
Yeah an atmosphere can really make or break a game I know it sounds weird but I like the atmosphere of choo choo Charles like he was playing a folk tale
Yes! Similar ish art style.
What an game! Dredge’s Creature design was top notch, especially with those endings! I’m so glad Seán stuck with this and played through it!
This is the story of a man overcoming is grief and learning to throw it back. Amazing.
Fun fact: in the first cutscene at the beginning of the game you can see the crimson book in the fisherman's cabin
You can also see the glasses the collector wears sitting on top of it
i just got an EPIC dose of happiness from the energy Seán has
I love that ha found both endings without us having to tell him! Also, all the bottles point to the past, before she was lost!
Omg the ending was amazing and then to find out he played out both endings was a blessing
This play-through made me cry more than i have in probably about 8 to 10 years and I am 18. I have always been a, “I am too manly to ever cry, ever” kind of man based off of the way my parents have raised me and only recently have I started to realize that life has so more to offer and as a man that enjoys fishing and a good story this game hit specifically deep for me and with that being said I am grateful for this series and want to thank Sean and anybody who sees this for their time and I hope this comment will offer a breakthrough of sorts for anybody
Good for you ashpip, treat yourself well, and keep going!
That Searobin/see-Robin bit was both hilarious and adorable.
Once he got to the end so much came back:
- the lighthouse lady thought he looked familiar, becauze she was there when he caused the curse.
- the old mayor thought he looked familiar too
- when dredging the artifacts, they were from the past so the descriptions were as if you alresdy knew what they were.
It was almost as if the whole story was the main character trying to remember what happened to his wife and reliving it as an outside perspective. Very interesting game, i loved it!
Before I watch this video, I just wanted to say that this has been my favorite miniseries that you’ve done in a hot while, I love fishing and spooky scary monsters so this game was perfect, and since I spent my money on Di2, I couldn’t purchase this game yet. Love you Seán
I love the voices Jack does for every character, they’re always spot on 👌🤣
the detail when you have the collector on the boat and there is no-one on the cargo is such a nice touch
Hoping this gets a nomination at the game awards when that rolls around
This playthrough was just a delight, the plot twist that we were actually the ones collecting the relics, and we were in a way delusional and thought we could bring back an lost loved one really took me by surprise. I loved this.
Thank you so much for continuing the series and listening to the viewers! We really appreciate it jack :)
If you rewatch all the episodes, the diary pages or the "letters" were actually about the fisherman and the artifacts he was Dredging.
The fact that the collectors background is a mirror the whole time is just staring you in the face the whole game but you don't realise it until he says "we"
That's awesome!
There was a little thing foreshadowing the fact that you are the collector. He first interacts with you, through your own Cabin window, with the shadow covering his face. If he would have been outside, his face would have had light on it, but he stood in the shade in which you inside of the cabin stand. So yeah
I was half asleep during the video because I’m tired, but I was brutally awoken by a screaming Seán demanding my money.
Today's Fact: In 1973, a man named Major Summerford was struck by lightning; years earlier, he had been struck by lightning three more times in different parts of the world.
Guess you could say he was pretty *shocked* by his experiences
Must of been frightening…
Yeah, with how we usually think of lightening it's surprising that being struck multiple times has happened itself multiple times.
The world record is like double that, which is nuts if true. I say if true because although he's credited with the record of multiple strikes I've seen more recently that a few don't have much proof behind them.
Iirc he was hit like 8 times-- although from what evidence I saw only 3-5 were 'certain.'
Today's fact: nobody cares
@@ashleyr6809 You don't speak for everybody, Ashley.
Absolutely phenomenal series, there wasn’t a single boring second throughout all 4 episodes, great job Jack!
In love's desperate grasp, he dared to tread,
Saved the one he loved from shadows spread.
Yet the cost he bore, a world in strife,
For love's fierce flame consumed all life.
43:10 even this makes sense if you know the plot twist, god this game is a hidden gem.
The fact sean enjoyed this game so much makes me even more upset that he never finished outer wilds lmao
Glad to see someone remember that wonderful game lol
@@thegongoozler5509 Yes
One of the only series so far Im loving! So unique and ambitious. Its so sad it ended. Thank you Jack!
Now that you know the ending it makes the part with the grieving father so much sadder... He was grieving his don as he was talking to him.
So you're saying the fisherman is actually the lost son of the grieving father?
@@TheAk4r yes
@@jaclynvanwagoner2542 how did you figure that out?
im not sure if that's true or not because i can't find any info that would confirm it but if thats true omg thats so sad
I don't think that's true. Where you went down and where his son went down are completely different places. Your boat went down with your wife on the opposite side of GREATER Marrow, whereas the son was lost on the opposite side of LITTLE Marrow.
I love how you put a big spoiler in the thumbnail that I can’t avoid. When the end happen I didn’t experience any emotion bc I had already seen it. I was only let down bc I was expecting more
Thanks for plopping that spoilerific thumbnail right into my recommendations! Really appreciate the end being spoiled for me.
This series was the absolute BEST. I’m so glad Sean listened to our pleas and finished this game!
SPOILER WARNING ⚠️
I went back through several videos and looked online at the different notes and came to this conclusion.
Don’t continue reading if you haven’t finished the game.
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.
.
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In 1927
The main character was married to a woman and they spent a lot of their Honey moon sailing around and enjoying the sea. A few months later the Main characters mother dies and leaves him an Estate in her will and his wife an old pocket watch. I believe the estate to be the house on Blackstone Isle. The Couple then continues on with their life, fishing on the coast of Greater Marrow. The Main Character renames the boat “Julie” after his wife and puts a blessing on the boat. Then one night they are out late at night fishing and a bump into a rock causes a lot of their possessions to be tossed overboard. One of them being the watch. This causes the Main character to become a bit distraught, as with such bad luck he assumes he did the blessing on the ship wrong. However Julie didn’t really care much for the watch or his mother in the first place and thought nothing of it. Within the next few days the Main character attaches some salvaging equipment on the boat in order to dredge for the lost watch and other items and refuses to let his wife back on the boat as the crew finds her intolerable and are often crass with her. Perhaps they spread rumors about how having a lady on the ship is bad luck. Regardless Julie convinces the MC to let her back on the boat and he continues to dredge, searching for necklaces and other things to sell along with their previously lost valuables. However as he continues to dig up lost treasures the more darkness he brings up from the depths as well, until one fateful day he dredges up a large wooden casket and within is a magic book from an ancient evil civilization that lived in the land long ago. The book possessed evil magic and brought with it an evil monstrosity, possessing the crew to return to the land, a creature then rose out of the sea and brought the town into darkness. This lead to the death/murder of the MCs wife. After what seemed like ages later the town and the crew awoke on the shore with the MC still holding the book The Old Mayor begs the MC to throw it back into the ocean but instead the MC keeps it. Realizing his wife’s dead the MC blames himself and looks to the the only thing he has left for answers. The book. The book shows him a spell that could wipe his memory of this situation and the MC agrees. Forgetting his wife, forgetting the town and even forgetting the book. Leaving him an empty shell of a man with a dark past that still lingers in the back of his mind. (The game starts here) The MC awakens on a dock and thinks of himself as a lone fisherman. The old mayor has since been replaced with a money mongrel mayor and the town has been rebuilt. However as the MC gets back to work he starts digging up items from his own past and it isn’t until he dredges up an item from his diseased wife that his fractured mind is awakened. He sees a figure staring at him through the porthole window of his ship. The “man” tells him to meet him on Blackstone Isle. And there the man reveals himself as the collector and that he needs items in order to complete something in a magical book. Unbeknownst to the MC he has been talking to his own reflection and the book he dredged up long ago has taken ahold of his now fractured mind in order to open a portal to the dark realm and bring the MCs wife back.
More or less accurate, however I wish to point out that it wasn't necessarily because the crew thought her intolerable. It was considered bad luck back in the day for women to be on board as it could distract sailors from their duties and cause accidents. The other superstition is concerning the renaming of a ship. It's normally considered bad luck to rename a ship, but if you do, you're supposed to conduct a renaming ritual which includes getting rid of all things that have to do with the ship's old name. The fisherman got rid of everything, but his wife kept the keychain with the old name on it. The bad luck seems to come into play in the note where she talks of him rechecking the steps of the ritual believing he did something wrong. If the superstition is to be believed in this game, his wife was the one that brought bad fortune onto them and their boat because she kept something she shouldn't have.
Good observations, though from what i've seen on this series i don't think she was murdered.
Rather i think she fell overboard and died at sea, in the exact spot where you end the game; The place where he lost her.
Oh my god, what an excellent early hint that the Collecter first comes to you through the porthole of your boat at night, meaning once again the MC is talking to his reflection
@@fallatiuso ah thank you! I got confused with connecting the dots as to if she got lost as sea or if they went back to the island cause in the Old Mayors speech he said they both came back to the island with the book. But what you said sounds right. Maybe they went back then he lost her at sea later.
@@FletcherPatton ooo I didn’t know about the bad luck that came from renaming a ship. That just adds even more to the sad beautiful story that is this game!! 🔥
The artwork style lends itself well to the Lovecraftian storyline. Very much enjoyed it, and would love to see the developer do more in the same genre!
The whole story was actually just the ocean being mad about an overdue library book.
The best ending is where you completely ignore the collector and just get your side quest on
Nooooooo! You gave the dock worker the package. I was screaming at the screen! I'm glad you played this game. I played through it twice. Good and bad ending. So much fun!
I’m really happy to see the endings. Absolutely crazy. Also, if you didn’t figure it out yet, all the bottle messages are from you or your wife who you resurrect in the first ending .
There's no way I could play this, with my anxiety and such, but am so interested and glad to get to experience it with someone so exuberant and fun. Thanks!
I absolutely love the message of the two endings, foreshadowed by the cave drawings at Devil's Spine. The reveal that the Collector was simply you in the mirror, formed in desperation and regret, begging the book to make you forget the horrors brought by you dredging it, shows how dangerous it already is. With every item you give the Collector, to yourself, to the power of the book, to your unending desire to bring back what was lost, you play with a dangerous power far beyond your comprehension. Despite your original self being unaware, fractured such, the Collector shows that truly your pain was only repressed, and the comments from the townspeople who know you show that you cannot erase the past.
To dare to try and undo your mistakes, to play God and bring back the dead, you temper with that power to the point of no return, and in testing it so you raise something you never wanted. BY trying to erase your mistakes you unleash an even greater one, and as the drawings show your selfish naivety brings the fall of your civilization.
But... if you let the past die, if you shatter it like the Collector's mirror, the people around you can flourish and being to move on, and with your sacrifice the world can heal.
ITS ALL IN THE BOTTLES JACK! You are the husband! It even talks about the items. Like the watch the wife got from the deceased mother. Thats really freaking cool wow! Thanks for playing it for us.
Amazing playthrough, I'm glad he decided to finish the game
Oh man seeing this playthrough has made me want this game even more than before. I'm definitely going to be getting it at some point.
Same. I won't have time until I go on vacation in August, but it sure seems like the kind of game that I could play until the sleep deprivation knocks me unconscious. Until then I'll have to settle that Lovecraftian craving with Fallen London.
I'm currently streaming this on Twitch, and it is so much fun, I'm obsessed
I bought the game after I saw Sean playing it, I rarely buy a game after I watch a play through because I know how it ends but this one was an exception it’s amazing!
@@helenanilsson5666 it looks like so much fun. Another lovecraftian game you could try is Gibbous: A Cthulu Adventure.
This is my favourite game in a while. It’s so unique and has a certain vibe to it that is just so good. Loved this series!
I need more games to hire Jack as a voice actor, he’s so good! Those cold readings were gold star!
Jack: "It only took me around 5 hours to finish."
Me, looking at my 20 hour play time: "..."
This comment is dedicated to expressing how cute Sean's hair looks in this hairstyle with this blue ribbon/tie
It’s a clip (I think those kind are called hair claws) but agreed!
God, Jack made a lot of people happy. I'm definitely rewatching this series.
I was so antsy the whole week until this came out lol I was desperate to see Jack get to the end. Never expected to love Dredge so much, but now I've bought it myself! What a game
I thought the Collector was standing in the doorway to the house, but once you know, it's obvious that it's the mirror frame.
dredge is definitely one of my favourite games now. ever since i saw the art style, i fell in love with it, and now that i've finished watching this series, i fell in love with it even more.
the storytelling is wonderful, immersive and heartbreaking. there's always a melancholy tone hanging over the story, especially with those endings.
and wow... that image of cthulhu made me think that it's majestic and awe striking, yet it's horrifying and dangerous. it looked otherworldly, as if it was only a figment of imagination. but the way it strikes fear makes that danger real.
this is brilliant, i don't think i have enough words to praise this masterpiece.