Jumping off the back of my DREDGE playthrough, I decided to pick up another aquatic adventure – this time, one a bit more calming than a horror title. I’d heard nothing but good things about Dave the Diver since its launch but kept away from spoilers (or any content at all, really, as I didn't even watch the trailers) so I could go in blind when the time came to play it myself. This turned out to be a great call, as I could never have expected what I thought to be a simple restaurant management game with a deep-sea twist to instead centre itself on a quest to locate and save an ancient race of seafolk... a revelation which happens pretty much right at the beginning!
This is a game so packed full of content I’m not even sure where to begin. The gameplay loop is satisfying and fun, if a little infuriating at times – I’ve been locked in a corner and mauled by a shark more times than I can count. Aside from the occasional unfair game over, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the Giant Blue Hole. There’s an incredible density of content, ranging from simple upgrades to creature collecting, to farm management, to a range of minigames – including a Tamagotchi and a rhythm game! It may seem overwhelming at first glance, especially looking at the game from afar, but it’s all introduced at a very fair pace, with ample time for the player to get used to new mechanics before the next one is introduced. The pacing of the story is also well thought-out, as VIP customers and party events encourage you to spend time away from the main story to collect ingredients off the beaten path. This simulates a much greater passage of time than if one were to ignore all these incredibly lucrative events and blaze through the main storyline with reckless abandon. I took noticeably longer to beat this game than most, as my avid completionist mindset led me to completing as much side content as I possibly could before progressing the main story (my hubris, which naturally leads me to complete games slower than a monkey on a typewriter). I rolled the credits at around 33 hours, with 35/48 achievements under my belt. I decided to write this review prior to achieving 100%, as I didn’t want the tedium of grinding optional achievements to lower my rating of an otherwise wonderful game.
On the subject of achievements, most are easily attainable if you take your time. The grinding only comes into play for a select few: Strange Fish (at least 5 in-game weeks after unlocking FishMon), GYAO! Master (Several in-game weeks after unlocking GYAO!), and Catman (20 in-game days, provided you have the required items). Arguably the restaurant-related achievements could be considered grindy as well if you’re delegating your funds to other things, like iDiver or the farm. All they really require is money, which isn’t difficult to get – especially when you’ve finished the game and have enough ingredients stocked up to justify skipping to the evening for a few days straight. This is all to say that, while there is some grinding required for 100%, Dave the Diver does have mercy on the player. There is no achievement attached to catching every possible fish (boss fish aside), nor is there an achievement for winning every seahorse race. These would be welcome achievements for try-hard completionists like me, but to the average player they would just end up being a nuisance.
The graphics are absolutely gorgeous. I’ve always been a fan of pixel art, being an occasional pixel artist myself, but this game takes it to a whole new level. It’s a unique art style I’ve not seen anywhere else, and the intricately animated and dynamic cutscenes are always a joy to watch; the semi-realistic art style and minimalist shading really cements the style as unique and expressive, while (hopefully) not making it too arduous a process for the animators. I adore the practically seamless combination of 2D sprites with 3D environments and entities (eg. larger fish like sharks). The subtle chromatic aberration underwater definitely adds to this effect, and makes the environment seem all that more unusual and intriguing. Fantastic art direction – I genuinely can’t get enough of it!
In conclusion, Dave the Diver is a fantastic casual game with stunning pixel graphics, and bucketloads of love poured into it by the developers. The gameplay loop is simple and satisfying, and it never gets boring thanks to the side content spicing it up at every turn. I had a blast playing through it, and though I don’t see myself restarting from scratch anytime soon, I absolutely anticipate returning to the game to chase my last few missing achievements. Despite its minor controversies last year, it holds up as a fab title I would definitely recommend trying out. 8/10.
This is a game so packed full of content I’m not even sure where to begin. The gameplay loop is satisfying and fun, if a little infuriating at times – I’ve been locked in a corner and mauled by a shark more times than I can count. Aside from the occasional unfair game over, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the Giant Blue Hole. There’s an incredible density of content, ranging from simple upgrades to creature collecting, to farm management, to a range of minigames – including a Tamagotchi and a rhythm game! It may seem overwhelming at first glance, especially looking at the game from afar, but it’s all introduced at a very fair pace, with ample time for the player to get used to new mechanics before the next one is introduced. The pacing of the story is also well thought-out, as VIP customers and party events encourage you to spend time away from the main story to collect ingredients off the beaten path. This simulates a much greater passage of time than if one were to ignore all these incredibly lucrative events and blaze through the main storyline with reckless abandon. I took noticeably longer to beat this game than most, as my avid completionist mindset led me to completing as much side content as I possibly could before progressing the main story (my hubris, which naturally leads me to complete games slower than a monkey on a typewriter). I rolled the credits at around 33 hours, with 35/48 achievements under my belt. I decided to write this review prior to achieving 100%, as I didn’t want the tedium of grinding optional achievements to lower my rating of an otherwise wonderful game.
On the subject of achievements, most are easily attainable if you take your time. The grinding only comes into play for a select few: Strange Fish (at least 5 in-game weeks after unlocking FishMon), GYAO! Master (Several in-game weeks after unlocking GYAO!), and Catman (20 in-game days, provided you have the required items). Arguably the restaurant-related achievements could be considered grindy as well if you’re delegating your funds to other things, like iDiver or the farm. All they really require is money, which isn’t difficult to get – especially when you’ve finished the game and have enough ingredients stocked up to justify skipping to the evening for a few days straight. This is all to say that, while there is some grinding required for 100%, Dave the Diver does have mercy on the player. There is no achievement attached to catching every possible fish (boss fish aside), nor is there an achievement for winning every seahorse race. These would be welcome achievements for try-hard completionists like me, but to the average player they would just end up being a nuisance.
The graphics are absolutely gorgeous. I’ve always been a fan of pixel art, being an occasional pixel artist myself, but this game takes it to a whole new level. It’s a unique art style I’ve not seen anywhere else, and the intricately animated and dynamic cutscenes are always a joy to watch; the semi-realistic art style and minimalist shading really cements the style as unique and expressive, while (hopefully) not making it too arduous a process for the animators. I adore the practically seamless combination of 2D sprites with 3D environments and entities (eg. larger fish like sharks). The subtle chromatic aberration underwater definitely adds to this effect, and makes the environment seem all that more unusual and intriguing. Fantastic art direction – I genuinely can’t get enough of it!
In conclusion, Dave the Diver is a fantastic casual game with stunning pixel graphics, and bucketloads of love poured into it by the developers. The gameplay loop is simple and satisfying, and it never gets boring thanks to the side content spicing it up at every turn. I had a blast playing through it, and though I don’t see myself restarting from scratch anytime soon, I absolutely anticipate returning to the game to chase my last few missing achievements. Despite its minor controversies last year, it holds up as a fab title I would definitely recommend trying out. 8/10.