Dave the Diver's charm shines through, despite its simple gameplay loop of diving into a vast ocean to catch a wide variety of different sea creatures to keep a sushi restaurant in business in order to upgrade our tools. It's carried by charming visuals, endearing characters, and a well-paced introduction of new mechanics that have kept me so absorbed and very relaxed at the same time with this game.

Yahtzee Croshaw made a good point in his Zero Punctuation episode about this game having a ton of charisma, but some people, including him, have criticized the game for diverting from the main gameplay loop to introduce new features. I understand where they're coming from, but I personally disagree. I believe the game introduces new elements at the right moments, so it doesn't feel overwhelming when they all come together. Moreover, the core gameplay loop is not overshadowed by the new features. I don't think the game loses its focus or becomes bored of itself in order to encourage us to engage with the new stuff. It does become easier, but I would argue that the game wasn't very challenging to begin with.

Overall, this is definitely the best game that I missed out on back in 2023. I wish I had played this sooner, but I guess it's better to be late than never. Play this game already if you can!