Dredge has been described as “a cosmic horror-fueled fishing game,” so don’t expect a knockoff of Bass Masters when it hits Apple Arcade in April. If that doesn’t pique your interest, it got named iPad Game of the Year.
And rather than the usual $25 charge for the app, Apple Arcade subscribers can play for $6.99, plus enjoy hundreds more titles.
Dredge+ brings eerie fishing to Apple Arcade
Dredge by Black Salt Games is a fishing adventure game that quickly drifts into something far stranger. Players pilot a small trawler through a chain of remote islands, catching fish by day and dredging the ocean floor for relics, scrap and unsettling curiosities. As night falls, the sea becomes increasingly hostile and bizarre, with thick fog, distorted wildlife and monstrous shapes moving beneath the waves.
The deeper you explore and the more you haul up from the depths, the clearer it becomes that the waters hide secrets best left undisturbed, turning what begins as a quiet fishing game into a tense, Lovecraftian descent into maritime weirdness.
The Apple Arcade version is dubbed Dredge+, and Apple promises that “players can experience the full breadth of this haunting maritime journey.” That means it includes all released bonus content.
Coming to Apple Arcade in April
Playing through Dredge requires a $24.99 in-app purchase, and Black Salt Games charges extra for downloadable content, including The Pale Reach, The Iron Rig and Blackstone Key. But when Dredge+ joins Apple Arcade on April 2, the cost sinks to $6.99 a month for everything.
Rather than buying games individually, or putting up with the endless hassle of “free” games begging for money, Apple Arcade offers over 200 titles for a single monthly subscription. No in-app purchases are allowed, nor is player tracking or loot boxes.
Ready to plumb the depths of Dredge+? You can sign up to get notified by the App Store when it launches. The app can be played on Mac, iPad and iPhone.
Plus Unpacking+, My Very Hungry Caterpillar+ and more
Unpacking+ also joins Apple Arcade on April 2. This is a relaxing puzzle game about taking items out of boxes and finding the perfect place for them in a new home.
Presented in charming pixel art, each level represents a different stage in a person’s life, from childhood bedrooms to first apartments and beyond. Players carefully arrange belongings around the room, deciding where books, clothes, kitchenware and personal mementos belong. As the spaces evolve, the objects themselves quietly tell a story about the character’s relationships, interests and life changes, turning the simple act of unpacking into a gentle, wordless narrative about growing up and moving on.
The regular version of Unpacking costs $9.99, but will soon come with all the other games that come with a single $6.99 a month Apple Arcade subscription.
The same goes for My Very Hungry Caterpillar+. This invites players to care for their own adorable caterpillar companion. By feeding him, playing with him and exploring his colorful world together, the caterpillar grows larger and unlocks new activities along the way. Eventually he spins a cocoon and emerges as a beautiful butterfly, bringing Eric Carle’s classic story to life through a charming interactive experience the whole family can enjoy.
All three of these join Apple Arcade on April 2.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh SE/30 (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer.
That’s because he’s a “tablet first” type of guy. Rather than use a Macbook, he connects a keyboard case to the iPad. And instead of a desktop Mac, he connects his tablet to a 27-inch display and full-size keyboard. (So don’t try to tell him that everyone has to use a Mac to be productive.)
Before coming to Cult of Mac, Ed wrote for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
