It's Got Depth--Dave the Diver Review

I am constantly on the lookout for new, interesting, and positively reviewed games.  It was a bit of a surprise that a certain pixel graphic game with a simple title kept popping up.  Since the post-Stardew Valley glut of pixel games came out I've been a bit skeptical.  After consistently seeing overwhelmingly positive reviews, I decided to set my skepticism aside and give Dave the Diver a try.  It was a great choice and it has quickly become one of the best games I've played this year.

What is it?

The first thing that's worth stating about Dave the Diver is that comparisons to Stardew Valley are fairly off the mark.  They do share some characteristics, but I walked into Dave expecting a gameplay loop that was similar, and it's so much more than that.  My advice--drop any preconceived notions about what to expect.  The Steam tags describe it as a singleplayer adventure RPG and to me that's much more aligned with the gameplay.

Each dive is slightly different.

Each day is split into three phases--morning, afternoon, and night.  During the morning and afternoon Dave can take dives.  The game touts the fact that there are some roguelite elements--each dive the environments are slightly different.  Dave is equipped with a harpoon and dive knife and can utilize those tools to catch fish.  The Blue Hole where Dave takes his dives is also scattered with crates, objects, plants, and treasures that can be collected.  The RPG elements come into play because as gameplay progresses, Dave can upgrade his gear allowing him to dive to even greater depths, carry more items, and wield more powerful weapons.

Catching fish is one of the central activities because at night Dave helps out in Bancho Sushi--a small, struggling sushi restaurant.  The gameplay in the restaurant portion is more management oriented--you get to pick the menu (based on the fish caught previously) and help serve drinks and food to the customers that arrive.  Eventually you unlock the ability to hire more staff and then the management gets slightly more complicated as you need to balance training and placing them where their skills are best suited.  You want to do a good job in the restaurant portion because the money made each night determines the ability to purchase upgrades (for Dave's gear and for running the restaurant).

The part that surprised me the most was that there's a central story and boss fights--the Stardew Valley comparisons that I had read made me think the game was mostly about the daily gameplay loop.  The story is fun and provides more depth than I was expecting.  It also helps give the game more playtime--I completed the story at around 35-40 hours--not too shabby for a $20 game.

Pros:

+ A cast of goofy, fun characters that grows as you progress through the story.  Each character offers something different to help Dave or provides more tasks--Duff, the anime-girl loving weapons expert can craft and improve Dave's weapons; Sato teaches Dave about collecting Marinca cards (a Pokemon-like collecting task--each fish you catch or photograph unlocks a new card--Gotta Catch em' All); Leah offers up Ecowatch objectives to gather certain items to unlock rewards...and there are many more!

+ The gameplay and story takes a lot of surprising turns.  You might find yourself in a boss battle with a giant shark or completing rhythm game-like QTE's as part of a character sequence.  They're always fun and provide a lot of variety to the gameplay.  Random characters arrive at the sushi restaurant throughout the game and will provide opportunities where certain ingredients need to be gathered.

+ Low requirements.  Even if you have a PC that's on the more potato side of things, it should run like a charm.  I had zero performance issues.

+ The daily loop gets more complex and there's more management as gameplay advances.  Eventually you unlock the ability to grow fresh vegetables and manage a fish farm to supply ingredients to the restaurant.  Both require making decisions around where to spend resources and what crops to grow/fish to stock.

+ Plenty of collectibles and side goals.  There's Marinca card collecting, seahorse racing, catching rare fish, and completing Ecowatcher goals (which include things like collecting certain plants or eliminating invasive species).

+ Diving is fun and challenging.  Each depth (which must be unlocked through upgrades to Dave's diving suit) has unique fish and features--there are also aggressive fish (such as sharks) which must be avoided or killed.  The diving environment does change slightly with each dive and certain unique biomes can appear on a dive.

+ Boss fights that are challenging, but not too tough.  This is where I think some people who are walking into the game with Stardew Valley expectations might be a bit surprised.  The game is mostly a casual affair, but some of these sequences might be tough for gamers hoping for a truly casual experience (there is a menu option to automate button tapping sequences--this might help some people).  Some of the boss fights are optional, but others are part of the story.  The nice thing about the boss fights is that you don't get penalized for dying (if you die on a dive you can only loot one item and must return to the boat--basically you lose a chunk of time during the day and almost all of your items).

Dave's boat with a lightning skin unlocked from an event.

+ Personalization options for the restaurant and Dave's boat.  As you progress you unlock interior decorations for Bancho Sushi and can choose the look of the restaurant.

+ Tons of upgrades and unlockables to choose from.  You can opt for powerful weapons--good for dispatching aggressive fish--or net guns/tranquilizer guns which are better for catching and capturing fish in good condition.  Each weapon has multiple branches of upgrades so you can pick the options that best suit your preferences.

+ Gameplay continues beyond the end of the story.  There are some pretty lofty goals related to the sushi restaurant that will keep you playing.

Cons:

- Certain parts of the gameplay aren't explained very well and you might find yourself having to Google.  There aren't a ton, but occasionally you might find yourself stymied about some aspect of the gameplay.  I had to look up what the little arrows on the seahorses (one side activity is seahorse racing) meant because I don't think it was ever explained.  I also didn't understand how enhancing dishes in the sushi restaurant worked and didn't do it for a long time (which impacted the amount of money I made).

Recommendation:

For only $20, Dave the Diver is an absolute bargain.  The game has a surprising amount of depth and so many fun, unexpected moments.  I would highly recommend grabbing it--even at full price, it's well worth it.  It has been one of the best games I've played this year (and I'm still playing it).