Started this with a lot of interest, but quickly found DAVE THE DIVER to be shallow. The gameplay loop is honestly pretty inconsequential, because the game keeps offering you plenty of opportunities to just NOT play it.
Why manage your sushi restaurant when you can just hire more chefs and waiters to do it for you? Why catch fish to stock up your kitchen when you're given a fish-farming option very early in the game? Why grind for upgrades when money is shoveled down your throat so quick and so early, that diving loses most of its danger?
And on top of all that, the game just feels very un-focused. Aside from being a rougelike-collectathon-management sim with 2D combat elements, you're always being introduced to some sub-mechanic or chore system that the titular David will take on with an annoyed attitude that quickly spread to me. Part of the reason I play video games is for escapism, so it's darkly comical how much time I spent on Dave's smartphone, pouring through apps and notifications, instead of my own.
Going back to the concept of Dave getting annoyed a lot - The unspoken premise of this game is: A meek but well meaning man walks away from a tropical vacation to work 2 separate full-time jobs for "friends" who really don't seem to like Dave, all while dozens of strangers pile favor after favor, request after request on Dave's plate. Go back to the island, Dave. You had it right the first time.
Why manage your sushi restaurant when you can just hire more chefs and waiters to do it for you? Why catch fish to stock up your kitchen when you're given a fish-farming option very early in the game? Why grind for upgrades when money is shoveled down your throat so quick and so early, that diving loses most of its danger?
And on top of all that, the game just feels very un-focused. Aside from being a rougelike-collectathon-management sim with 2D combat elements, you're always being introduced to some sub-mechanic or chore system that the titular David will take on with an annoyed attitude that quickly spread to me. Part of the reason I play video games is for escapism, so it's darkly comical how much time I spent on Dave's smartphone, pouring through apps and notifications, instead of my own.
Going back to the concept of Dave getting annoyed a lot - The unspoken premise of this game is: A meek but well meaning man walks away from a tropical vacation to work 2 separate full-time jobs for "friends" who really don't seem to like Dave, all while dozens of strangers pile favor after favor, request after request on Dave's plate. Go back to the island, Dave. You had it right the first time.