Divin' & Grillin' in Dave's New Adventure

In the vein of surprising game updates, I was shocked when I saw a new snippet pop up in my Steam Library newsfeed about a new DLC for a game that I hadn't thought much about for quite awhile.  Several weeks ago (and I have no idea if I just blindly missed something) I saw an announcement video pop up in my newsfeed that Dave the Diver was getting a new DLC.  I love me some Dave, so this was a very pleasant and exciting surprise.  I've played my way through the new DLC (and thanks to being on summer vacation I've had plenty of time to play) and it's a great addition to the already existing adventure.

What is it?

An expansive DLC that offers up a new area for Dave to explore--a village located in the middle of a nearby jungle.  There's plenty of new diving to do and tons of other fun new content that manages to maintain the traditional Dave feel of gameplay and throw in lots of silly mini-games and goofy cutscenes.  It begins in the epilogue of the full game and sees you move fully away from your beloved Blue Hole and Bancho's Sushi restaurant.

How much additional playtime can I expect?

Depending on your playstyle, I would estimate ~10-20 for a story-focused playthrough and more for a completionist playthrough (which, at the moment, is a bit pointless...but I'll get to that).  It's not a bad chunk of game for $9.99 (I got it for $8.99 at release...but it's definitely worth that extra $1).

Pros:

+A new area to explore...in the jungle!  Dave and company venture out from their home base near the fantastic Blue Hole to a small village that has been experiencing the odd phenomenon of ancient sea creatures washing up on a nearby beach.  The villagers want someone to find out what the creatures are and where they are coming from.  The village just so happens to be located by a very large freshwater lake that is suffering from some pollution issues.  In true Dave fashion, solving this puzzle is going to require the work of the whole crew.

+ Gameplay loop that is similar to the base game but that offers up more time for above water activities.  Dave doesn't just dive--"In the Jungle" features a daily clock that starts when Dave first emerges in the morning.  Half the day can be spent wandering around the village, talking to the locals, or gathering materials.  If you want Dave to dive he has to enter the water before evening.  It's also possible (if you enter the water early enough) to dive more than once a day.  Once evening hits it's time for Dave to start prepping Bancho's newest venture--the Bancho Grill!  After tasting some less than delicious fish (and slightly offending the villagers), Bancho decides to work on his cooking skills and show the villagers how to create a truly delicious dish.  Running Bancho Grill is fairly similar to the sushi restaurant--you pick specific dishes to place on the menu and then are tasked with serving them to patrons in a timely fashion.  The menu starts off fairly basic but is expanded to include two different kinds of drinks and skewers.  Bancho doesn't mess with skewers so it's up to Dave to grill them up and serve them to anyone who orders them.  This throws in an additional layer of difficulty because you have to balance the normal chaos of serving drinks and meals as well as preparing and serving skewers.  At the end of the night you receive the same star rating based on your timeliness.  There are plenty of new recipes for Bancho to learn and lots of fun dishes to serve.

After the restaurant shift ends, Dave has a small window of time to do some nighttime roaming in the village.  He can chat up any villagers hanging around after dark (there aren't many, but a few), or gather unique nighttime items.  As this thin sliver of time gets closer to the end, Dave can choose to go to bed (and wake up at the same time with a full morning schedule) or stay up and lose part of his morning window.  Just go to bed Dave!

+ A new freshwater diving experience.  There are new fish to catch and catalogue, new items found in crates, and plenty of unique underwater resources to gather.  Diving ain't all fun and games though--there are many different types of aggressive fish and large predators lurking in the water.

+ The jungle gun is four unique weapons in one!  Sadly, Duff can't leave his anime girls behind so there's a new tech expert in residence.  Muna is an assistant to the OG Dr. Bacon and she has a knack for technology.  She grants Dave the jungle gun--one weapon that you can change into four different weapon forms (rifle, shotgun, sniper rifle, and net gun).  The jungle gun is great because you can just scroll through to the type of weapon that you want.  It also means that you have more ammo to use when you're facing a big bad.  All four types of gun can be upgraded in a similar fashion to the base game (provide the correct resources and some money).  One of the upgraded versions offers up a form of the sniper rifle that does a bunch more damage if you stay locked onto a target for more than 1 second--it's very powerful and great for sniping from afar.

Dave's complete skeleton display for the museum.

+ Two Point crossover content.  I'm a big fan of the Two Point games and both games added in crossover content.  Dave encounters an unconscious explorer in the jungle and finds out that he's gathering dinosaur bones for a museum.  There's a mission where Dave can collect bones from defeated creatures in the forest to help complete a unihornus skeleton.  In Two Point Museum they added in a new digiverse rift that features content from Dave the Diver.  There's even an option of open up a mini-Bancho sushi in your museum (...of course you'll be serving up the fist that you catch for displays in your museum which seems maybe a bit questionable).  

+ Befriending the villagers.  In order to gain the trust of the villagers, Dave can speak to them and learn about their preferences.  He can then find (or purchase) items that the villagers like and give them as gifts.  As their friendship level rises, the villagers will offer up gifts in return.  It's a fun way to learn about each individual and their preferences.  Villagers will also offer special missions to Dave--it could be an item they are looking for or a fish/larger critter they would like cooked up.

+ Dave goes exploring.  As you progress the story a new area unlocks that opens up a fun, new type of gameplay.  The Setah Forest is filled with dangerous creatures so Dave has no choice but to take Cobra with him as protection.  When Dave encounters an aggressive forest creature there's a new turn-based combat experience.  Dave and Cobra each have their own set of abilities (Dave's good at swinging a club and Cobra prefers an array of guns and bombs) and facing off against the forest denizens offers up a bit of variety.  Exploring the forest is part of the story but also a good way to find materials that are only found there.  As you progress through the story Muna also joins the party with her own set of abilities.

+ Tons of silly mini-games inspired by classic games.  There's a Duck Hunt-esque shooting game and a sequence with some definite Guitar Hero vibes (there was a bit of this in the base game too).  The games are enjoyable and the references are also fun to pick out.  There's a nod to Resident Evil in the forest as Dave can pick green, red, and yellow herbs to provide health and action point boosts.  (*Some of the references I didn't get because I think they're more related to popular Korean cultural references/shows/games)

+ A cast of new friends to staff Bancho's Grill.  Random people just show up in the middle of the jungle (weird, right?) and some of them offer to stick around and work in the grill.  You really wind up with a diverse group of employees--you'll just have to play to see what I mean.

Dave's hut can be personalized with tons of items.

+Collectibles to hunt down.  Marinca cards still track your fishy friends but there's also a new app called Insectgram for collecting the many bug species that populate the jungle.  Part of collecting bugs involves beetle battles--another mini-game that involves finding large beetles and engaging in a paper, rock, scissors style game where you fight another beetle.  If you win, you collect that beetle and add it to your arsenal.

+ Dave gets his own personalized hut that you can decorate with crafted and gifted items.  You can also personalize the look of the Bancho grill with lots of different options.

Cons:

- No achievements.  I was a bit surprised when I didn't see any achievements popping up.  I didn't even look to see if there were achievements and just assumed that there was (because there normally are).  Do I care about achievements?  Not particularly, but they do sort of gently encourage me to be more completionist.  Apparently this was a big complaint to the devs because just last week they issued a sort of apology video and indicated that they were adding in achievements in a future patch.

- Boss battles are a bit underwhelming.  In the base game Dave would often be facing off against some kind of giant, weird marine creature.  The fights sometimes involved using specific tactics that made them feel fun and unique.  I didn't get that same feeling about the boss fights in this DLC.  The fights are pretty straightforward.  The jungle gun also made the fights feel easier to me.  You have three different guns, so you can use up much more ammo than in the traditional game before you have to go hunt some down.

- The gift giving aspect of the game is pretty meh.  You can purchase different items from one of the villagers every day.  If you chat with the villagers they will tell you what food and gifts that they prefer.  Providing them with either will increase their friendship level.  You can also experiment with gifts, but don't get as much of a boost from more neutral options.  Friendship level rises fast, so the experimentation part just felt extraneous.  Just focus on giving them their preferred gifts and you'll get to max level quickly.

-I want to see ALL the DANG LIZARDS!  One collectible-esque task involves catching the many species of very cute, big-eyed lizards that populate the jungle.  A specific villager LOVES lizards and has a terrarium in their hut where you can go and view the lizards.  The downside...you can only view a few at a time and there's no way to keep track of which lizards you have caught.  Lizards should have their own tracking or some type of list that is tied to the terrarium.

Recommendation:

It had been quite awhile since I had even thought about Dave the Diver.  "In the Jungle" takes much of what I enjoyed about the base game and improves on it.  I liked the storyline and getting to know the villagers.  The diving aspect is maybe a bit underwhelming compared to the base game, but the other added elements (like the turn-based battles in the forest) are something new to enjoy.  There's also that undergirding of silliness with the cutscenes that feature dancing jungle creatures or Bancho's jungle-creature inspired research sequences.  Paying $9.99 to re-visit one of my favorite indie (*yes, I know that term is debatable) games was definitely worth it.  If you're a Dave fan then you'll want to add in this fun, new adventure.

Yakuza Holiday

In a week of absolute insanity (tariffs on!  Tariffs off!  Sheesh.), there was one highlight--the release of the "Ichiban's Holiday" DLC for Dave the Diver!  I almost forgot about it amidst all the craziness (and, I don't think it has been particularly well advertised).  I played through it this weekend, so here are my thoughts.

What is it?

A short crossover DLC for Dave the Diver that features characters from the popular Yakuza series.  I am not familiar with Yakuza, but I know there are some folks out there who are big fans and will enjoy seeing some of the characters (and possibly some aspects of gameplay) related to the series.  It cost $6.99.

How much new content/playtime can I expect?

It's pretty short, so unfortunately, not a lot.  There is some downtime between missions/events, but the DLC is basically 1 mission and then a post-mission celebration/sushi bar scene.

Kasuga shows up with a mysterious guest.

Pros:

+ Even though the DLC is on the short-side (the real questions folks are likely to be asking themselves is whether they should spend $6.99 for a small amount of content), what does get added in is enjoyable and adds to the weird randomness of gameplay that is central to Dave the Diver.  A central part of the mission turns into a Street Fighter style fighting game where Kasuga and Cobra team up to fight their way through a horde of dolphin poaching pirates.  It's fun (and doable even if you immediately forgot the controls and just button mash your way through it like I did) and adds something novel to the gameplay.

+ If you are someone who is a fan of the Yakuza series you'll probably enjoy (and recognize) the characters who make appearances in the DLC.  There are several and a few tidbits related to the stories in the series.  There's also some karaoke...which is apparently a part of the Yakuza series.

+ New items!  Unfortunately it's nothing diving related, but instead are more cosmetic.  There's a new phone charm for Dave's phone (it's cute) and the addition of a cocktail shaker for the sushi bar.  Now Dave can mix up some fancier drinks for the patrons of Bancho Sushi!

Cons:

- As mentioned above, it's short.  Many people might balk at paying $6.99 for very little additional content.  If you don't want to pay that price, give it a wait and it will likely go on sale in the summer.  A lot of the DLC content has been crossovers, so they are definitely going after fans who might be more likely to shell out additional coins.

Recommendation:

$6.99 seems a bit steep for what you actually get, but as a big fan of Dave, I was happy to spend more time diving in the Blue Hole and running Bancho Sushi.  The new content is fun and throws in some new gameplay and there's definitely plenty there for fans of Yakuza.

It's a Good News/Bad News Kind of Thing

This week has really turned out to be a mixed bag for me.  I've basically finished playing through Two Point Museum (apparently you can just keep playing your museums forever and gain more stars--I still haven't discovered/unlocked all the exploration locations, so that's a bit of a reason to keep playing) and have been trying to puzzle out what to play next.  Weirdly, I've gone back to an oldie that I felt compelled to play--SteamWorld Dig.  Here's the good/bad that I'm feeling at the moment.

(The above video from Paul's Hardware lays out the GPU pricing insanity)

Let's start with the bad news and just get it out of the way.  I've been hoping and planning to build a new PC this summer and it is shaping up to be one of the absolutely worst times for a couple of reasons.  The first reason is the GPU nonsense that is currently happening.  Both NVIDIA and AMD released new generations of GPU's--you would think that would be great news; new, faster, better hardware!  Unfortunately actually getting your hands on one of these GPU's--or, even worse, one of the last gen GPU's--is an absolute crapshoot.  Both NVIDIA and AMD releases were immediately sold out (and ridiculously scalped) and stock has been very meager with little news about when to expect it to start rebounding.  So why not just buy a last gen CPU?  In anticipation of the new gen, they stopped producing the last gen and people started grabbing up all of those GPU's too.  As a result, the prices on older GPU's is absolutely insane--you're talking a 125% plus markup over MSRP on some GPU models!  Plus, with the announcement of new tariffs (including a 34% increase on the already 20% tariffs on China) it means that this might be the most expensive time to build a new PC.  Maybe I'll just have to keep my 6 year old PC stringing along...this means I'm definitely not going to be playing anything new, but that's okay.

It's always nice to end on a good note, so now for the good stuff.  On April 10th, a new DLC for Dave the Diver is releasing!  It's a crossover story (which they seem to be doing a lot of...and I don't hate it!) with Yakuza and features characters from the series.  I'm not familiar with Yakuza, but I do love me some Dave, so I'm definitely looking forward to scooping it up and spending some more time exploring the Blue Hole with Dave and crew.

At least it's spring and the weather is starting to improve.  Happy gaming (and maybe some outside time) to everyone!

So Far, So Good

Dragon Age: The Veilguard released on Thursday--no, I haven't purchased it (it's a potential future investment) or played it, but I'm watching the chatter on a very active Dragon Age fan page.  I've also been semi-reading at least the headlines for reviews and they seem pretty good.  I figured that if it was an absolute dog that I'd know pretty quickly--so far folks seem content.  There have been some gripes (normal release day stuff like slow downloads) but it seems like things have mostly been smooth sailing.  I'm awaiting the impressions from first playthroughs from the fans--reviews are great and all, but I like to see what actual players say too.  If you are playing, I hope you're having a great time and you get that Dragon Age fix that folks have been waiting for.

The stage plays mxmtoon's songs during the week.

Me, I'm still re-playing Dave the Diver but am about to the point where I'm getting ready to move onto something else.  It's still great--(and this playthrough has gone exponentially better since I understood the upgrade system for food and have made way more money than on my first playthrough) and there are a few new events.  One event involves a budding music star who wants to dive with Dave to find green sea urchins for a special dish.  It winds up being an escort style mission where she searched for the urchins and you have to defend her from unfriendly fish.  Completing the mission rewards a new item, a speaker and microphone that can be placed in Bancho Sushi and the singer (mxmtoon--no clue who this person is in real life) will perform on the weekends.

The best event that has been added is the Dredge crossover.  Once in awhile a red mist will show up--this allows you to play a sort of Dredge mini-game where Dave can pilot the ship to special whirlpools and dive for aberrated fish.  The fish are the same as those found in Dredge and they are aggressive, so it's similar to a regular night dive.  The best part is that those aberrated fish can be cooked into special dishes for the hooded figures who appear in Bancho Sushi--they'll pay a premium for the dishes and any extra fish can be sold to the merchant (from Dredge).  You can make a decent amount of cash from this event, but it only appears once in awhile (I've only had it pop up twice in my current playthrough).

I did purchase the DLC Pilgrim Pack for Cult of the Lamb and will probably give it a go once I'm done diving with Dave.  Happy gaming eveyone!

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).