Dredge - Story and 3 Endings Explained

Dredge is not about fishing, it's about seeing a bigger fish...
Hi! My name's Bill Bounce, in this video I'll recap the story of Dredge in a nutshell and then explain it, as well as 2 endings.
DREDGE is a single-player fishing adventure with a sinister undercurrent. Sell your catch, upgrade your boat, and dredge the depths for long-buried secrets.
00:00 - Prologue
03:13 - Story Recap and Explanation
11:06 - Bad Ending
11:57 - Good Ending
15:16 - Genuine Bad Ending
15:58 - Summarizing
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[@MrOvergryph]

I finally understand why the Leviathan eats you when you explore the uncharted waters. Its one and only goal is actually to destroy the book and you just happen to be holding it the whole time. Wow. Great writing! A lesser company would just say the Leviathan is there to keep players away from out of bounds areas, and it's added convenience is it gets to also be the end boss to the story so it eats you no matter what, like the Yeti from SkiFree. But these developers went the extra mile and said, nah bro, it's not a bad monster, it's actually a hero of the sea, it has no interest in eating people, it just wants to destroy the book you happen to be holding. See, that's great writing.

[@BillBounce]

Yeah, that’s insane! Those leviathans are some sort of ancient judges that know better 😮

[@BillBounce]

And here’s what bothers me, the leviathan which swallowed the book, will die one day, decompose, and the book will be found again, so it doesn’t actually stop anything but delays

[@Boeing__747]

@@BillBounce i was thinking this exactly a few seconds before i read your comment 🤣

[@BillBounce]

such a coincedence 🙂

[@DarkArtistKaiser]

I honestly was under the impression the leviathan was under the control of the Eldritch god, but that makes sense, as eating the book with you basically makes it impossible or at least hard for anyone to actually get it again.

[@goldthunder2529]

Something I haven't seen anyone discuss in a video yet, even videos with spoilers in it, is that the big "twist" of the story is actually revealed in the opening. *Spoilers* which seems unnecessary if you've watched the video... . . . But you see both the Collector's crimson book and glasses on the counter next to the main character (Matthew in this video), making it obvious that you and the Collector are the same person. So if you are someone with a photographic memory or you take special notes of any detail you see, you might recognize those two items having been in your possession originally. Plus... Ya know, they also look the same. I do love when developers have the guts to do something as bold as all that knowing that it is a detail most people will never catch on their first playthrough.

[@BillBounce]

Yeah, that’s right! You only have a second to take a look at the fisherman, then the shipwreck happens and the memory of everything before gets completely erased. Hence that mess you see distracts you, so you spot nothing familiar at the collector’s look later!

[@Boeing__747]

i find it funny that when we see the collector for the first time while we're in the big marrow dock. he's "spying" on us on from a different boat as the game wants to imply at first and if you think about it we're the only fisherman in that dock. it wouldnt make sense if hes in little marrow coz that's too far away to spy from. turns out we were just staring at a reflection this whole time. i've never been mindblown about a game since cod black ops campaign.

[@cathygrandstaff1957]

That’s more a replay bonus, when you see it the first time the red book and glasses don’t mean anything to you so you overlook them.

[@charliemcloughlin1761]

Insane that the game lets you throw an actual human overboard and says nothing

[@BillBounce]

"It's not a crime if you don’t get caught"

[@donklus4489]

when?

[@ibegream5854]

I have not tried it yet... But can you discard humans?

[@BillBounce]

@@ibegream5854 yes, but I don't recommend it, you can't redo it, the game will be saved immediately

[@BillBounce]

@@ibegream5854 And it doesn't give anything except fun

[@Autismo4]

„Anyway I‘m gonna pee in my bed tonight. Not because of them. Just for fun!“ KEKW HOLY SHIT DUDE THAT KILLED ME 😂😂😂😂

[@BillBounce]

😂 JOIN ME

[@Autismo4]

@@BillBounce aight i just watched patapon 😂

[@BillBounce]

@@Autismo4 😍🤘

[@StripesZB]

I just finished playing the game recently, and I played it in a way that prevented me from getting either bad end. After recovering the watch, I went to see the Collector, but the watch wasn't in my possession, it was in storage. Because of that, I didn't get any option to give it to the collector. However, it still let me interrogate and attack him (I had found the old mayor earlier). So by the end of the conversation, I had the book but no idea what to do. The collector was still telling me to get the last piece but it didn't give me the option to give it to him because it was in storage. I eventually guessed my way to the lighthouse keeper and got the good ending.

[@BillBounce]

One way or another you saved the world!

[@Annnoura]

Can't believe you tossed her overboard 😂.

[@BillBounce]

Ahah I regret nothing 😂

[@GameBoiBoi]

@@BillBounce Did you throw the dog and castaway overboard too?

[@BillBounce]

@@GameBoiBoi Since I'm not completely nuts (yet), I've saved both of them. If I'd thrown away the dog, I wouldn't be able to sleep now...

[@Tuskbumper]

Great video I don't have the balls to play this game with my fear of literally anything chasing me. But I watched vids and was curious about the lore. It's interesting and sad but like you said most lovecraftian stories end badly or in this case bittersweet

[@BillBounce]

Neither do I have balls to play this game, I have a fear of fish in some way, so most of times I moved my camera up to avoid eye contact with sea creatures 😅But it was worth it, sadly we don't have many games like that, especially, in a Lovecraftian manner.

[@Rumade]

It's not that scary! I'm an absolute wuss (like I really squeal when playing Resident Evil 4, I had to quit Omori), but Dredge was fine :)

[@Leo-zk9rd]

it’s not that scary im a huge scardy cat and there’s actually ways you can avoid and ward off every monster so they can’t hurt you. If it ever gets too scary use your “banish” ability and you will be immune to dangers. You can also strategically avoid the monsters in different ways. Please play it, it’s one of the best games i’ve ever played and it’s very fun!

[@ankelssj1988]

how do u even survive in real life? lol

[@setster007]

I just fear all the things. Also too much of a terrified coward / horror disliker to play the game, but horror always has the BEST lore - hence my paradox, and why videos like these bring me great happiness.

[@ryandavidjacobs]

Really great work on this! Super funny and a great recap on the game (I just finished it tonight). Hope to see your channel keep growing.

[@BillBounce]

Thank you! Congrats with completing the game!🤗

[@FoulballProductions]

Great video, this has been my entire world the past few days. I appreciate the thourough and funny analysis

[@BillBounce]

Thank you, this game is worth every minute

[@mariosuarez1563]

Great video! i was looking for all the notes explained but a got so much more

[@BillBounce]

Thank you! I'm glad I was useful

[@mr.cobalt1668]

Another thing I noticed about the bad ending- was it just me, or did the wife not look human until *after* she came out of the water? I might just be remembering something weird but I could have sworn what became the dress outside the water was the mantle of some kind of squid creature while it was under the water, like the wife you got back was a decoy sent by Cthulhu as "payment" for setting it free.

[@StripesZB]

Like said in a LOT of stories that include bringing loved ones back from the dead, they rarely come back as they were. She was likely just his wife's corpse, possessed by some primordial creature.

[@mr.cobalt1668]

@@StripesZB Or perhaps some entirely different creature that could take the appearance of his wife...

[@spoonsmcgee]

Thoroughly entertained, 10/10

[@mythias]

"Those Old Ones were gone now, inside the earth and under the sea; but their dead bodies had told their secrets in dreams to the first men, who formed a cult which had never died. This was that cult, and the prisoners said it had always existed and always would exist, hidden in distant wastes and dark places all over the world until the time when the great priest Cthulhu, from his dark house in the mighty city of R’lyeh under the waters, should rise and bring the earth again beneath his sway. Some day he would call, when the stars were ready, and the secret cult would always be waiting to liberate him." The events that had to play out for those 5 items to exist, to end up in Julie's possession and then go in to the sea (including her going into it) in the way it did, amazing odds that it all it came together as it did... remember the idiom, 'the stars aligned'. "...there were arts which could revive Them when the stars had come round again to the right positions in the cycle of eternity." As for that big leviathan in the end: The Lord... err, I mean the Sea giveth and the Sea taketh away. In the beginning (evolution), From the Sea we came and in the end, to the Sea we shall return. Also, this story is a lot like the movie Haute tension (aka High Tension). Like that movie (could even include movie Joker here), you see things from the villain's deranged perspective/side of the story and you don't realize you can't trust anything you are seeing, don't realize you can't trust the reality presented until the end. You don't realize they are even the villain in the story until the end. The nature of why that is the case in the movie is exactly why it is the case for this game too. How can we be sure this wife even existed? I mean existed as his wife or even just as an actual person? Maybe this is a bit inspired by the sort of thing that happened in the movie Memento. Maybe things like those messages in bottles are things he left for himself to find when his memory would be gone, a lot like Memento.

[@BillBounce]

Wow, these are amazing ideas! If we stick to the first reference and to the idea he might be the villian it might explain a few points, for instance, how he knew so much about the spells and how to read them. Second, I've been suspicious about the former Mayor who has been living ALONE on an uninhabited island for 20 years. I think it's the fisherman's subconsciousness or the blast from the past, as I found him only closer to the end of the game when, perhaps, the fisherman's memory started recovering. Speaking of the 20 years period, as you said he might've been waiting for the stars to align, I think you're right! That completes the puzzle. Great reference to Memento, I haven't thought about it, but know I do, thanks for food for thoughts. I'm still confused about the handkerchief, is it the first piece to start transforming into a different person to later summon Cthulhu? Or does it discover dark corners of the soul? Or all together... It seems the handkerchief is attracting people to twist them and start the party. I believe the wife was real, otherwise, the story wouldn't have so much weight. It sounds way more tragical when one lover is an obsessed/possessed madman, who puts on a mask of a lover to kill another one for the sake of an insane idea.

[@mythias]

I have started to wonder if the "wife" being risen is the leviathan transformed and rising. If not, why doesn't it appear in the bad ending, scared off? Unless it's what transformed into the Great Old One we see rising up. As for the handkerchief, maybe it was a sign that the time was near? It has no affect on the fish trader, he just hands it over like it's nothing. If it had power, nothing came of it, didn't get tossed in the sea. We hear nothing more about it once you take it to Black Isle. In a story like this, being mindful of possible red herrings is a good idea. I

[@Ratweener]

This game lowkey scares the crap out of me bc of the massive ocean creature in the out of bounds area

[@BillBounce]

That’s why I actually never went there. Seeing it once on KZbin was enough to stay away

[@sl7b2]

​@@BillBounce it's not just if you go out of bounds. I was headed to The Devil's Spine for the first time when it swam under my boat. Scared the shit out of me.

[@BillBounce]

@@sl7b2 you mean leviathans or the Cyclops fish?

[@BillBounce]

What do you guys think about the video? 🤔

[@Billyasbob]

This was honestly good man, I really wasn't expecting it. I'd definitely watch more recap/lore videos if you made them

[@BillBounce]

@@Billyasbob thank you very much!🤩 You can find other videos like this one on my channel

[@Billyasbob]

@@BillBounce ill check them out for sure bro, thanks

[@Autismo4]

I hope u gonna get shit tons of views on the vid! Insane! Well done Sir! 10/10 masterpiece

[@BillBounce]

@@Autismo4 thank you very much bro 🥰

[@imilya9831]

a great ship asks deep waters, sending hb vibes to you🎂, bud, long time no see, love to enjoy the stories you tell in your vids. hoping for more to come! a warm hello and best regards to those participating in the production process ❤

[@BillBounce]

ahaha thank you big time, always glad to see your comments! I'll send all the bests to the closest ones 🥰

[@shocknawe]

2:44 - Welcome to the world of indie games hahaha

[@BillBounce]

😂

[@BlackEyedFish]

great game

[@BillBounce]

Agreed

[@basementmonster3147]

So the 3rd ending was pretty much the exact same as the bad ending? Wow.

[@BillBounce]

Generally yes, with only slight changes

[@Magnus_Caramelo_55]

There's a new DLC for the game and it opens an arctic area

[@BillBounce]

I’m planning to play it later, but I’m not sure if there will be something noteworthy, anyway I’ll check it out 👍

[@fasbinder62]

there's the good ending and the bad ending, what's the third ending?

[@BillBounce]

The one in which the fisherman goes out on his own terms

[@fasbinder62]

@@BillBounce watched the video (funny voice over. by the by) spoilers.. spoilers.. I see the bad ending (cthulhu rises) and the good ending (hero throws book overboard, colecenth chomps him) but no third ending

[@BillBounce]

@@fasbinder62 thanks for appreciation and I understand what you say about, I just wanted to emphasise my point of view with additional choice at the end ☺

[@083kaziashif7]

there should be mod support ... SUNLESS MOD

[@BillBounce]

That's for sure!

[@user-yg2cn2kg5q]

I'd like a mod where you do not see your location on map and have to use map, compass and lighthouse to navigate