DREDGE: Basic Sanity/Panic Guide

This game explains that there are consequences for staying out at night and many of the tool tips on things also hint at it. But just in case you are brand new to the genre and don’t know anything about elrdich/lovecraftian horror, here is what you need to know:

There is a sanity meter. It takes many different forms over many different games but it’s always there. The idea is that the more you see, the more you lose your mind aka sanity. And if you’re a fisherman in this world, you will end up seeing a lot. In this game the Sanity is called Panic and it seems to be mostly fueled by night time and then the mind-boggling spells that you learn to cast as you progress with the plot. Also, as the game progresses, you can read books to lessen the negative effects, so it’s not all so bad.

On the Graphic User Interface, or GUI, the overlay on top of the gameplay, in the middle of the screen there is an thing that shows what time of the day it is and your status. On that top space there is normally nothing special, at least not on the daytime. And on some games there’s nothing in there because it’s The Premium Spot as some would say but also, the most useless waste of space, as others would. Welcome to video games, there is not a right way or wrong way to do thing, they’re all WRONG.

But when the time gets past 6pm and it gets dark, some things start to show up, so the space on the upper middle of the screen starts to blingle.

Then an eye appears. At first it’s blue and blue eye means it’s starting to be late at night and a bit scary so hold on to your pants.

Then if you stay out the eye might turn green and it means we’re getting in there. It’s not yet quite that bad but you should not be seeing eyeballs in the first place, now would you? So what are you doing out here without a good reason?
Brown is your absolute last warning. If you see this eye, you need to stop fishing and look for the nearest port where you can spend the night.

Red means PANIC. It means you are entirely entitled to freak out. This could mean game over, but no, the red eye also has stages. You’re not entirely lost if the eye turns red. What you will get is things obstructing your view so you will not be able to spot safe spaces as easily or anything in fact. The more deeper you go the more weird it gets. Like distorted vision and dozens of red eyes popping in and out of view. This is the spot where external influence like your skill and the location you’re in might have some sway so depending where you are, you might be okay or absolytely screwed, unless something is following you. But common sense says gtfo.