All Dredge endings explained

I've had the pleasure of immersing myself in this deeply psychological game of guessing called Dredge, and if you've played it as well, the chances are that you probably stopped in place at some point and wondered: is this really the true ending? 

In this article, I'll explain each of the game's endings, so that you can truly understand where the creators are coming from and get the bigger picture. Of course, Dredge is all fun and games until you're start to analyse every element you face, or every leviathan and Abberations that you catch. Worse yet, when you first cast your eyes over the messages you find scattered throughout the sea. 

There's an incredible amount of replay potential, especially if you want to discover all the endings possible, and, of course, if you add the DLCs to the mix there there are extra loose ends you might be looking to tie up.

Let's take a deeper look at what the story tells us about Dredge.

About Dredge

The plot of Dredge (core game, pre-DLC) revolves around a fisherman who lands himself a new job, and due to a series of unfortunate events, he finds himself in pretty deep waters (mind the pun). He ends up in The Marrows, a location surrounded by fog at night, full of dangerous creatures lurking beneath. 

You can upgrade your boat by selling your catches, as well as adding those catches to an index for documentation purposes. As the game unfolds, you discover a few odd messages in a bottle, which combined with the strange creatures (known as Abberations) that you fish up from time to time, slowly piece together the aforementioned, dark story behind the game.

That's all I will say at this point - I'll leave the spoilers for a little bit later on! 

Let's talk about the possible endings and what they mean

Since you got to this point, you already know that Dredge has many different ending scenarios. Below, you will find all the Dredge endings explained, not only for the base game, but also for every DLC.

At the moment of writing this article, the DLC catalog includes The Pale Reach and The Iron Rig. The base game offers two main endings (with a minor variation), while each DLC adds a single side-story ending.

So, at the risk of repeating myself, there are spoilers ahead - but that's what you are here for, right?

All Dredge endings explained - base game

1. The bad ending

Most players will likely reach the Bad Ending on their first playthrough. I'm one of those players, and that got me thinking - what if I had done things differently? 

To reach this ending, you need to deliver all the Relics to the Collector on Blackstone Isle and sail to the indicated coordinates. The Collector, then revealed to be The Fisherman (the player), performs a ritual to resurrect his wife, summoning a powerful, world-ending, eldritch god that triggers the apocalypse. 

From this, you will unlock the achievement Unshackled.

What does this mean?

If you're familiar with H. P. Lovecraft's Call of Cthulhu, it is often said that the creature at the end of Dredge featured in the bad ending is an eldritch god akin to those featured in that. It might have taken inspiration from it, since it is said that Cthulhu brings about the end of civilisation. 

That same concept is applied in the bad ending of Dredge, an ending where the character is consumed by the grief brought about by the passing of his wife, and his desire to be reunited with her. While the game doesn't show us anything further, it's easy to assume what comes next - and it's not pretty.

1.5. The bad ending with a slight variation

This is not exactly an "ending", but more like a minor stylistic difference. The timing of the ritual is different; there are some visuals that differ from the other one, but the end result is virtually the same. To my knowledge, after finishing the game a few times, this didn't bring any distinct achievements. 

2. The good ending

As a good ending, I would argue that it's rather... bittersweet. There is no happy ending in sight, unless you believe that Moby Dick was a fun story.

The good ending goes like this: After you collect all the Relics, you will have to sail to the unnamed island to meet the Old Mayor. You're then prompted to speak to the Lighthouse Keeper in Greater Marrow about the Crimson Book. That's where you start learning a little bit more about its true purpose.

You will then confront The Collector, essentially coming face to face with your very own past and fears. Afterwards, you will take the Book and return it back into the sea.

The bittersweet part I mentioned earlier is when the creature lurking beneath every step of the way during the story (known as Leviathan) consumes the Fisherman and Book together, lifting the curse that engulfed the islands. The game ends with the fog clearing up, revealing a beautiful aurora.

From this, you will unlock the achievement Sated.

What does this mean?

In Cthulhu mythology, Leviathan is known as Cthulhu's offspring. This could also play a part, given that the setup of Dredge is deep, unknown waters, and it's widely known that we humans know more about outer space than our own oceans. 

Dredge paints Leviathan as the good character, one who never meant any harm, just the salvation of the planet. While itis not apparent during the playthrough, it  ecomes obvious as the end credits roll through. It's a depiction of how, despite great tragedy and sorrow, we did manage to push through and do the right thing. It comes at a cost, but for the greater good, a small sacrifice -in this case, the Fisherman's life- is sometimes necessary.

Dredge DLC endings explained

Each DLC has a single ending - there are no alternative endings like in the original, but they're just as mesmerizing. 

1. The Pale Reach DLC ending

This, the first Dredge, DLC takes place in an icy biome - it's completely different from the original, and it comes with new, unique creatures. Mainly, you have a creature stalking you, the Narwhal, which you will have to overcome at one point. 

To reach the ending, which is fairly short (about 1-1.5h of playthrough), you have to collect four Ice Axes to dredge in a specific spot featuring a mystical figure, which you then release. That figure appears to be the spirit of the Narwhal (as depicted by the ice shape). After continuing the quest, you set sail to the designated spot and look for the Colossal Squid Aberration.

That pretty much sums it up for The Pale Reach DLC.

What does this mean?

I believe The Pale Reach has some beautiful visuals, but in terms of game complexity and hidden narrative/meaning, there is not that much depth to it. Yes, you have the spirit of the Narwhal, a creature that could be inspired by Jules Verne's beliefs that no such creature existed (as depicted in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea), but there is no confirmation of this.

From this, you will unlock the achievement Cold Corruptions.

2. The Iron Rig DLC ending

In The Iron Rig DLC, we have a more modern approach to Dredge - we see big corporations (The Ironhaven Corporation in this case) trying to extract something from the seabed, something that is happening in the real world too. We are prompted to collect unique fish specimens that surface when the fissures occur, spilling a black substance into the waters.

What does this mean?

The Iron Rig DLC ending (and playthrough) shows us once again The Leviathan, the creature considered as good, attacking the tentacles that wrapped around the rig. It gives us even more reason to believe that its role is to prevent major catastrophes from happening, mainly those caused by us humans.

I have to mention that The Iron Rig DLC resembles the television show The Rig in... incredible detail. Its backstory, the corporation trying to discover (and possibly exploit) the mystical creature hidden underneath, and the effects it has on the humans it touches or interact with it. As a side note, I highly recommend it if you've loved playing The Iron Rig.

From this, you will unlock the achievement Dark Shepherd.

About the DLC endings

The DLC endings are more like side-stories - you can play them at any point, and they have nothing to do with the game's actual endings. The Blackstone Key DLC is just an addon, so that won't give you additional endings. It just adds a workshop where you can get two additional items to make your dredging life easier.

Dredge has an absolutely outstanding narrative, and as someone who's a big fan of games with hidden narratives, this one scratched that itch perfectly. I tried my best to explain all the Dredge endings in here, but of course, this is a topic that could be discussed for hours and speculated upon. 

Now, if you plan on playing the DLCs as well, I recommend you start with The Iron Rig, and then play The Pale Reach. The Iron Rig offers some additional context as to Leviathan's true role (that of a protector of the world), which paints a better picture of the game's good ending.