If I had received a cent every time an unexpectedly successful fishing-themed video game was released in 2023, I’d have two cents, which isn’t much, but it’s surprising that it happened twice. But the reality is, indeed, two of the big indie games this year share this theme. Focusing on the dangers of the sea, the joys of fishing, and each highlighting very different aspects of both extremes, Dave the Diver and Dredge stand as two of the standout games of the year.
Now, even though it’s true that both games have been successful, they haven’t intersected in any way so far. And it’s important to emphasize “so far.” Because before the year ends, both indies are going to collide to offer a new experience where they will meet in a free DLC.
Named Dave the Diver x Dredge, this free update for Dave the Diver offers us, in the words of Mintrocket, “to explore new depths and discover exclusive content from the fantastic world of Dredge.” Giving us the possibility to encounter the characters and fish some of the fishes—and what necessarily aren’t fishes—from Dredge, this update will bring the sinister Lovecraftian world of Black Salt Games into the friendlier world of Dave the Diver.
This update will arrive before the year ends because it will be released next Friday, December 15, for both the Switch and PC versions of Dive the Driver, completely free of charge.
Whether this crossover will have any kind of counterpart in Dredge is something we don’t know right now. However, Dredge has its first DLC available, The Pale Reach, which invites us to delve into a new icy archipelago where new horrors and environmental challenges await us in an even more dangerous sea than we’ve visited so far. But we wouldn’t turn down the idea if, in the future, a Dredge x Dave the Diver were to arrive as well.
