Dave the Diver is an extremely diverse, distinctive, and captivating adventure RPG. It does not stick to a specific genre and has constant surprises for players. I have never played anything even remotely similar and am blown away at the amount of interesting concepts jumbled masterfully together to create the memorable experience that is, Dave the Diver. This astonishing Indie is well deserving of its “overwhelmingly positive” rating here on Steam and I am ecstatic to see it rightfully receiving its success and well-deserved recognition.

Pros

• Constant new content to learn & discover that regularly evolves
  
• Extremely addictive & distinctive gameplay loop
  
• Immense attention to detail
  
• Brilliant pacing and delivery of new concepts
  
• Quirky pixel art
  
• Comedic dialogue

♥♥♥♥

• Prolonged loading screens
  
• Minor mechanics not fully explained

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You play as Dave, and you guessed it, he is a diver. Dave begins diving in the “blue hole” which is a marine biological hotspot that provides habitat to a diverse range of aquatic life. Dave dives and collects marine life to be used in the accompanying sushi shop. Dave soon finds himself entangled in the mystery of a long-forgotten “sea people” civilisation and will use his diving skills to discover more about them and help various other characters along the way.

Whilst there is a strong narrative in the game, the characters are all so lovingly wacky. From the Anime-girl-obsessed-gun-making nerd, to the stoic sushi chef, or the vegetable loving rapper. Despite the crazy characters, there are fantastic foundations for each of them and I adored them all.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3029080380

As aforementioned, I have never played a game with as much variation as Dave the Diver, but I will attempt to explain the core gameplay. During the day, Dave is able to dive into the ocean, explore it, collect fish via various methods, pick up objects, complete quests etc. At night, the sushi bar opens and he will help serve there. This means typical Cooking Dash style gameplay, running around clicking on food and taking it to the customer and serving drinks. Have to be quick though, as customers do not have high patience levels. Dave will earn money after each sushi serving shift and this can then be used on upgrades and many other things. The games pacing is absolutely fantastic despite the enormous amount of extra content that gets added later, things are introduced slowly and are generally easy to understand. Perhaps the biggest downfall about this game is the lie I would tell myself after playing until the early hours of the morning, saying “one more dive, then I will go to bed.” Definitely not.

Diving
In the beginning, Dave can only dive to limited depths and has restricted cargo capacity. These will increase as different elements are upgraded such as oxygen tank capacity etc. Dave can hunt fish via a variety of methods, using a harpoon to manually pull fish in, or various guns and tools. Everything can be upgraded and there are also different types that can be added such as incendiary, poison or tranquiliser. Bigger fish such as sharks require more effort and stronger guns, and sometimes quick time events will trigger where a button must be mashed to pull in a fish. While diving, Dave must be careful of his oxygen levels as if it runs out, he will need to be rescued resulting in everything in his inventory being lost except 1 item. Oxygen also acts as his health, and if hurt by other fishes or the environment, his oxygen levels will quickly deplete. There are lots of goodies to be found in exploration that can be used in crafting and also includes plenty of oxygen spots to refuel. As the game progresses, players will have access to further locations such as glacier waters, caves and of course, the deep sea. Each area has unique fish to be discovered, with over 200 to find in total.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3030272423


Combat
There is a decent amount of combat in the game, including many boss fights. The boss fights are all exceptionally different and vary in difficulty. As said earlier, guns can be crafted and upgraded to help in the battles. Specific fish will also automatically target Dave if he gets close and these first encounters can actually be quite scary, specifically with the large sharks!


Cooking
Further to the basic Cooking Dash style mechanics, the menu must be selected daily based off the fish Dave brings back from his adventures. Recipes must be researched, additional staff can be hired, décor can be purchased and later in the game, even a second branch of the shop can be opened and managed. Each dish is priced differently, usually depending on rarity and can be upgraded with special items to increase its value and “tastiness”. This variation from diving to serving was absolutely phenomenal and kept me addicted from the get-go.

Extras
I cannot possibly describe everything in this game as there is just too much, and it constantly switches genre. However, some of the highlights include having a fish farm, VIP visits, cooking competitions, rhythm mini games, managing a vegetable farm, side quests, taking photos of wildlife, chase sequences, puzzles, unique segments controlling two characters at once, riding a beluga whale, tranquilising large sharks and using a drone to transport them back to the fish farm and so, so much more. The game can easily be continued after completing the story and there is enough in management style mechanics to keep you busy for hundreds of hours. From collecting all of the fish, to running a successful fish and vegetable farm, to operating and managing your sushi employees and second branch. No two dives are the same.



Dave the Diver is visually stunning, utilising a combination of pixel art with 2D/3D art to create a beautiful oceanic environment brimming with aquatic life. Seeing whales, turtles and manta rays created a sense of awe within me. A testament to the efficacy of the gorgeous environment.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3030272266

The soundtrack is casual yet addictive, giving a laidback beach vibe, but ramping up the stress during fast-paced sequences. Characters are not voiced, but speak in a robotic monotone voice that at first I didn’t like, but it grew on me shortly after.

This game was played using a keyboard & mouse, and with the following PC specs.:
AMD Ryzen R5 7600x 5.4 GHz
32GB DDR5 5200 CL36 RAM
Radeon RX 6800 XT
2560x1440 resolution
NVMe 3.0 SSD
Windows 10

Playtime: 22-25 hours to complete the story. 50+ hours for completionists, or plenty of additional content to enjoy after finishing the game.

Controller Recommended? Player choice

Dave the Diver is an experience that I will hardly forget and is well deserving of its many accolades. It is almost unbelievable that developers managed to pack this much content into one Indie game and make it not only coherent, but brilliant. From a quirky story, an extremely addictive gameplay loop to new engaging mechanics introduced throughout the entirety of the game, there is an abundance to love and I highly recommend it at its bargain full price cost of only $AU29.99.

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