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Not every fishing game wants to relax you. Dreadmoor, a dark fishing adventure from developer Dream Dock and publisher Digital Vortex Entertainment, got a new gameplay deep-dive during the Day of the Devs Summer Game Fest Edition showcase (at 13:22 in the video above) a couple of days ago, and it's safe to say that this one is a long way from a peaceful afternoon by the water.
Fishing at the bottom of the food chain
Basically, you trawl the depths of a bayou cursed in the wake of nuclear armageddon, where a plague called the Sea Blight has twisted all life into a new and dangerous ecosystem. Your ramshackle fishing boat is your lifeline, fortified with scavenged materials, but the catch of the day can just as easily be you. As the studio puts it, for a big enough fish, anything looks like a meal.
For a fishing game, there's a tidy gameplay loop here too, wrapped in strong grim atmosphere. You learn the waters, find the best fishing spots, and haul in mutant creatures, which can then be dissected and turned into more advanced lures to hunt ever more dangerous prey. Fill the ship's hold with predatory fish and you can sell them to Gill and Bozur at the local tackle shop, which is perched on a set of giant crab legs, then fuel up and head back out.
Crucially, you're not glued to the boat. CEO Rostislav Fedorov explained in the trailer that you can explore the world on foot, meet the survivors who call it home, and learn about their lives before heading back onto the water. That mix of fishing, crafting, exploration and a touch of survival horror is an interesting blend, and the team's genuine enthusiasm for fishing, twisted as it is here, comes through.
Platforms and release
Dreadmoor is coming to PC via Steam in Q4 2026. Wishlisting is open now.
