Release Date: June 23rd, 2023
Developed by: MintRocket
Published by: Mintrocket
Available on: Windows and Mac
Reviewed on: Steam Deck
▫️ Code provided by the publisher ▫️
There is a certain charm to fishing games; I have waxed lyrical about The Legend of the River King on many occasions and the Full Aquariums across various Animal Crossing games may exhibit the passion I have for whipping my rod out. (Yeeeooo!!) When our very own Pure Dead Captain dangled the opportunity to review this title as if it were groundbait for a cunning and handsome Pike: I bit hard. This game has been on my radar for some time. Especially after hearing some unique recommendations from gaming familiars, who had taken the plunge with the Early access version of DAVE THE DIVER. Yes, all caps. If you are reading this piece aloud, shout the name and in my accent.
Starting off and the first thing that hits you is the visual style. Pixel Art is going through yet another renaissance and I’m loving every moment of it. DAVE THE DIVER is a prime example of what can be accomplished by masterfully placing little coloured squares together with skillful precision. There is an alchemical mastery at play here; reminiscent of the likes of Norco from last year. There is a short opening cinematic featuring the titular “DAVE THE DIVER” and it’s hard not to be charmed from the offset. The cutscenes in particular are incredibly over the top and do so much more character building than twenty paragraphs of lore ever could. Every character that has been blessed by a cutscene is instantly memorable, they capture their essence in a few frames, which feels so pure and instantly endearing. They definitely had an atmosphere in mind and it was captured perfectly.
Dave is introduced relaxing on a beach when he receives a call from his friend Cobra, who seems to be a shady criminal, but a lovable one. Who spurs Dave out of retirement to become “DAVE THE DIVER” a heroic harpooning piscator by day, lowly green tea barista and sushi waiter by night. We are introduced to Bancho, a Stoic Sushi Chef that seems to run on the raw passion for his craft alone. Bancho is under the impression that Dave is the waiting staff Cobra had promised to recruit for his restaurant. In typical hapless Protagonist fashion, Dave gets signed up for a lot of tasks that he never actually volunteers for. This is the core of the game; as DAVE THE DIVER you will catch fish during the day. Once the evening rolls around you return to being regular Dave who sells the daily catch for sweet currency to upgrade equipment and in turn improve the reputation of the Sushi bar. This game loop is so solid, it reminds me of a brilliant mobile game, which is not a comparison intended as an insult. Which it could be, because mobile games are as terrible as the people who enjoy them. This title will melt away time in a similar manner to a Kairosoft title, without you fully realising where the time went. I finished this game at three in the morning on a work night. You could say it really got its hooks in. Even though DAVE THE DIVER doesn’t use hooks, he uses a harpoon. That’s a pathetic attempt at wordplay.
Although it takes you a while to get a handle on the finer details. Crafting a menu is no simple task. The random dungeon crawler meets business simulator is so refreshingly satisfying, everything that surrounds it is a bonus. You must compose a menu each night with the ingredients you have gathered. If you have a surplus of certain materials, you can enhance the dish. Upgrading the dish allows it to sell for a higher price and will raise customer satisfaction. You soon learn that filling your menu with a hundred items is a waste. You have to bin everything you don’t sell. Creating a modest menu, then adding more ingredients if you run out is a better strategy. You will also find vegetation down below which can help expand what’s available on your menu. As each chapter unlocks, you will gain more methods of gathering ingredients. Both the Diving and Business sides of this game open up the further you go. Even after completion there are things I’ve yet to unlock and elusive beasties to capture. You get a lot of entertainment in this game, dense without being overwhelming.
As the game’s title may have alluded to, you will not be sitting on a jetty with a few cans of Special Brew and a bluetooth speaker playing some Pig Destroyer, as is the traditional way to fish. You will be wiggling into your wetsuit and using a harpoon to snag some swimmers to drag back to the surface. As with the rest of the areas in this game, the subaquatic portion is beautiful. The music, the visual effects on the sprawling backgrounds and the rich colour palette that shifts subtly the deeper you explore. These are all used together for a marvellous effect. It’s reductive to compare this to other games; but for anyone that has experienced the underwater Donkey Kong Country levels will get the back of their nostalgia kneecaps tickled. “The Blue Hole” as it has been christened by the local characters, is a diving area that changes structure every time you take a dip. As players we know this means a procedurally generated area to explore. For the characters, it’s a magical wonder of Speleology, beyond the realms of explanation. Your variations of available fish depend on which depth of The Blue Hole you’re exploring. You don’t have to go far or deep in the early portions of your adventure. Which will be welcome news to the PDG readership who lack the equipment to go neither Far nor Deep in their endeavours.
It doesn’t take long before you meet some foul tempered and finned foes that don’t take kindly to being pierced with a harpoon. These cranky customers are marked with a red diamond over their head to alert you to their intent to nibble on your supple frame. Your harpoon may not be able to subdue them easily, so you have to look at other means of attack. You have your trusty knife, just in case you want to stab a shark in the face. The safer option is to carry a gun and pick off better predators from afar. You only have a finite number of shots, but you can find ammo, upgrades and crafting materials littered throughout the reef. You are rewarded more meat by catching bigger prizes with your harpoon rather than going full Rambo on the poor subaquatic sucker. All equipment can be upgraded up on your boat and various weapons can be crafted by an Otaku called Duff; as long as you have the required materials and blueprints. The new weapons and upgrades you discover underneath are fragile. They’re destroyed when you resurface; meaning you have craft weapons to unlock them permanently. An upgrade to the rifle so it can fire tranquiliser darts should be on everyone’s shopping list. The deeper you dare to go, the stronger your prey will become. Upgrades should remain high on your priority list.
You get two opportunities to dive during the day, which I was very thankful for during my early play sessions. I had a habit of filling my pockets with fresh catches, picking a fight with something ornery and having the oxygen kicked out of me. You can usually evade attackers with some fancy aquatic manoeuvres, but not when you’re weighed down with freshly murdered menu items. Repeated drownings kept happening until I learned to restrain myself down below. This is why I was very thankful for the second chance to catch something I could bring back to the Sushi Bar. Without ingredients, Bancho can still prepare plain meals for the customers, but they’ll not be thrilled. You’ll never upgrade your rank on Cooksta without people uploading pictures of your fanciest dishes from the deep. More importantly, Bancho will be disappointed in you. Which is worse than drowning.
Speaking of repeatedly drowning: your oxygen level behaves as your health bar. It depletes as you explore, you can also swim faster which will consume oxygen at a quicker rate. Being attacked will also reduce your oxygen level and when it hits zero, you’re dragged back to the surface with only one item from your inventory to your name. To prevent this, you can locate oxygen tanks or not get beaten up by jellyfish. There are items that let you move quickly through the water, without using up your air. Which can really help you escape from injudicious fights with bus sized sharks. As early as your first set of upgrades, you’ll notice a big improvement on your performance. A stronger wetsuit will let you sink deeper without worrying about pressure, increased air tanks allow you to get chewed on for a little bit longer. You can also raise the capacity of what you can carry, if you stay within sensible weight limits, your travel speed won’t be reduced. Nearly every aspect of your diving can be improved. Cobra will eventually open a store with disposable items to aid your cause too. You’ll be upgrading absolutely nothing without the currency to back it up however.
Enter Bancho’s Sushi Bar, your primary source of income. Your bucket of smelly fish isn’t going to net you the sort of coin required to become the best DAVE THE DIVER you could possibly be. But with Bancho’s expertise, people will soon be flocking in droves to throw coins at you for some freshly prepared cuisine. While Dave is as graceful as a swan when he’s descending into the depths; he’s not as light on his feet back on land. It quickly becomes apparent once you start drawing a crowd, poor Dave is unable to serve everyone on his lonesome. Bancho will prepare food to order and you must deliver the meals to customers in a timely fashion, if they are left too long, they will leave. Leaving scathing reviews of the Sushi Bar online. You must also clear up dishes and serve beverages with a steady hand. It does take a while before you get up to this level of trade. The game gives you plenty of time to learn the ropes before throwing you into the deep end. Once you find yourself overrun, it’s time to start hiring staff, both kitchen and serving. Training a wide range of curious characters to carry some of the burden.
As well as upgrading your aquatic equipment and hiring staff, you can also improve the Sushi Bar, new decorations, furniture or themes. This game is so pleasantly compelling in every area. I found myself hunting down a particular breed of fish that sold well in work the night before, slowly improving equipment to venture deeper. You will accept quests from a multitude of characters and if you are required to locate materials, which are in turn clearly marked out by quest icons. I found myself dividing the two diving sessions, the first to grab stock for the Menu, the second to explore and move the plot forward if possible. I did focus more on getting the Sushi Bar upgraded before moving the story along. Looking back on my time with the game this was a mistake. Each Chapter you progress through in the game also brings up the opportunity to unlock mechanics which will help run your night trade. You’ll have a much more fruitful time if you focus on your business after the first few chapters. Ah Well; We Live, We Learn.
As always, we have to nitpick. The loading screens that occur every time you go for a dive can feel quite prolonged at times. Especially during portions where you transition between screens rapidly. This seemed to be slightly remedied by closing out of the game and relaunching. Perhaps the Steam Deck’s standby function was causing issues. I also had certain tasks that couldn’t be completed due to the quests being bugged. Although there have been a number of updates, so at least the team seem to be addressing these issues. The other problem I have is dying, I hate dying, especially later in the game. You lose a lot of progress when it feels like the environment just doesn’t want to provide you with an Escape Pod or fresh supply of Oxygen. It also comes down to player error, simply getting too greedy for one trip. But why would I ever take responsibility for my own failures?
The sheer amount that has been crammed into this game is impressive. I found the experience quaint to begin with, but by the closing chapters when you took stock of everything at your disposal. This game is a shining unification between the Business and Life simulation genres. I haven’t detailed everything that unlocks as you play. Some of the features caught me by surprise, which I wouldn’t wish to take away from anyone who is yet to play. I am also taking pains in avoiding story beats and certain gameplay revelations. Needless to say I was fully invested by the time credits rolled around. It’s also one of those games that thanks YOU for playing. A small touch, but I always like when they include it in credits. You’re welcome, DAVE THE DIVER, it was an absolute pleasure.
DAVE THE DIVER begins off pleasantly and lays out new mechanics at a steady pace. The joy never dwindles and it’s a pleasure to play through. Whether you’ve settled in for a long or short session of play, you will get a sense of achievement thanks to the structure of the day and night cycles. I played this primarily on Steam Deck and it feels right at home there. An incredibly endearing adventure and one of the easiest game recommendations of the year.
-DeadbeatpunK