Dredge’s endings, explained

Drag into the depths Dredging, you encounter a range of different people to help – or not – you on your journey. One of those people is the Collector, a man who lives alone in a ruined mansion and tasks the player with, well, collecting a bunch of items that are thought to be lost in the sea. He is the key to the mysterious story of the game and he will lead the fisherman to the end of the game.

[Ed. note: This guide has spoilers for Dredge’s two endings.]

DredgingThe “bad” ending of ‘s is essentially the default, the one most players will stumble upon without knowing there is another option. Want to force one of these endings? Here’s how you’ll do it.

How to get the “bad” – or default – ending in Dredge

To get Dredging‘s bad ending, you just have to do what the Collector says: Find and bring him the five lost relics scattered across the ocean and its various archipelagos.

Once you get them all, you’ll need to return to the Collector (who lives in the mansion on Blackstone Island). He gives you the option to continue to the end of the game; there is a warning that there is no turning back. If you choose to move forward it will mark a location on the map, but you should also be able to see a column of red light emerging from the depths of the sea. Send the ship there and interact with the column of light.

How to get the ‘good’ secret ending in Dredge

For the good ending, you still have to take all five relics at the request of the collector, but instead of bringing the last one to him, keep him and take the red book from him. (By the way, you can skip the old mayor and just go against the collector, but it’s harder to understand the story.) Here’s what you need to do to understand the whole story:

1. You’ll sail to an unnamed island near Devil’s Spine, on the northeast side of the map. The small island is located south of Devil’s Spine at the P10 coordinates on the map.
2. Cruise around the island until you find a jetty to stop. There’s a man there, the old mayor of The Marrows.
3. Talk to him and he will begin to reveal the truth of the matter, telling you to go to the Lighthouse Keeper.
4. Go back to Greater Marrow to see her and she will tell you about the book And the secrets of the collector.
5. Go back to the Collector and take the book from him. He resists a few times, but keeps asking for the book.
6. When you get to the Step Closer prompt, press that and get the book.
7. Than return to the Lighthouse Keeper who will guide you to another spot, G8, on the map – the lighthouse illuminates the spot.

Dredge’s endings, explained

In the evil “standard” ending, the Collector and fisherman use the relics to resurrect the dead woman, which roughly happens, but a horrible monster is also revived – probably the Collector’s actual purpose. This is basically the end of the world, and the surrounding islands go up in flames and everyone dies. oops!

In the good “secret” ending you throw the book back when prompted, hold on and you And the book is devoured by a large sea monster.

Wait what?

Are you confused? Let me explain. The game begins with the fisherman ending up in Greater Marrow with no memory. That’s because his memory has been erased, perhaps by the power of the book. But the events leading up to that moment is what you discover throughout the game: he and the fisherman’s wife sail the seas together and find the red book. A monster attacked the boat when they found it, and it was so horrific that the old mayor fled to that deserted island while the lighthouse keeper stayed.

The book created the Collector to point the fisherman to the relics and unlock the evil forces of the ocean – that huge monster that sets the area on fire. The Collector, you realize, is a reflection of the fisherman himself. In the bad ending, the woman floating above the sea is his wife, brought back to life with the sea monster. My theory is that the fisherman doesn’t realize that the Collector is a reflection of his own ghost in the “evil” ending.

The “good” ending is when the fisherman do realizes it and understands the power of the book – that’s why he throws it back.