Dave the Diver. Oh man, we’re back at it, because the new “In the Jungle” DLC is out and well…..we can’t start it until the story if fully finished in the core game.
So we’re finishing it off and wanted to re-create our old review we did at launch, when Dave the Diver originally came out.
So, here’s a new, official dyingartmedia.com review of the excellent Dave the Diver.
Dave the Diver
Let’s be honest: the name doesn’t exactly scream “groundbreaking narrative epic.”
It promises some casual underwater exploration, and on that front, it certainly delivers.
You step into the wetsuit of the titular Dave—a pleasantly rotund, veteran deep-sea diver coaxed out of retirement to help an old pal launch a sushi joint next to a mysterious oceanic anomaly known as “The Blue Hole.”
But there’s a catch. In Dave the Diver, you aren’t just sourcing the ingredients; you’re also working the front of house.
The core loop is brilliant in its simplicity: by day, you dive for fresh seafood; by night, you hustle to serve it to hungry patrons to fund the chef’s culinary ambitions.
On paper, a management-sim-meets-spearfishing game didn’t sound like our cup of tea at all. Yet, here we are, completely and utterly bewitched.
The loop
The daily grind in Dave the Diver follows a satisfying rhythm: dive in the morning, dive in the afternoon, and sling sushi in the evening.
The moment you submerge, you are greeted by a breathtaking, vibrantly pixelated marine ecosystem.
Because The Blue Hole is an ever-shifting phenomenon, no two dives are ever identical. It injects a clever roguelite flavor into the experience—different depths and times of day yield entirely unique species, alongside massive, aggressive apex predators that require quick reflexes and a steady aim to conquer.
You can night dive as well, and you have different species at different times of day. Plus there’s a story and other objective threads to follow, whilst running your business.
Dive
Underwater movement feels remarkably fluid and responsive, making the act of swimming an absolute joy.
Armed with a harpoon gun (and a growing arsenal of craftable weaponry), your goal is to harvest premium ingredients.
However, violence breeds waste; blasting a hostile fish might save your skin, but it damages the meat, forcing you to constantly weigh survival against profit margins.
Furthermore, oxygen dictates your lifespan.
Depletion: Swimming, harvesting, and taking damage all drain your air supply.
Overencumbrance: Carrying too much loot bogs you down, causing your tank to drain at an alarming rate.
The Penalty: If your oxygen hits zero, your dive abruptly ends, and you’re penalised by only being allowed to salvage a single item from your haul.
This creates a brilliant risk-reward dynamic. You are constantly tempted to push deeper for rarer treasures, all while watching your gauge tick down toward a frantic sprint for the surface.
The Upgrade Economy
The wealth you generate at the restaurant feeds directly back into Dave’s capabilities. You can invest cash into upgrading your diving suit, oxygen tanks, and cargo capacity to withstand the crushing pressure of the deep.
For your firepower, you’ll collaborate with a hilariously stereotypical, weapon-obsessed nerd who crafts advanced firearms—provided you can scavenge the raw materials from the ocean floor.
The restaurant itself demands similar investment. You can meticulously customise its aesthetic to attract high-paying clientele, or pour funds into upgrading your recipes.
Bancho, the fiercely stoic master chef, will elevate your dishes as you bring him exotic ingredients, triggering excellent, anime-inspired cutscenes that perfectly encapsulate his culinary enlightenment.
Dave the Diver knows how to deliver flair with animations at the right time. Weapon upgrades, food upgrades, you name it. The developer goes all-in and it’s just adds to the vibe of the game.
Front of House
When the sun sets, Dave the Diver morphs into a hectic restaurant management simulator. Dave may be a master of the deep, but this startup sushi house requires all hands on deck.
Your evenings are spent poured into front-of-house chaos: pouring green tea to precise levels, clearing tables, and sprinting across the floor to deliver Bancho’s masterpieces before customers lose their patience.
It is a stark, frantic contrast to the tranquil serenity of daytime diving, offering an injection of adrenaline without ever becoming genuinely stressful.
The game features an in-universe social media app called “Cooksta” (a brilliant parody of Instagram).
Keeping your menu varied and your service flawless earns you likes and tags, which directly correlates to an influx of elite influencers and VIP customers.
As the business booms, automation becomes a necessity. You’ll put out ads, interview eccentric applicants, and hire kitchen assistants and servers to optimise your workflow.
It is low-stress but remarkably deep, making you feel like a genuine hospitality mogul. The posts coming to Cooksta with photos and compliments of the food are great and really help you immerse into Dave the Diver.
A Masterclass in Charm
Dave the Diver is quite simply a gorgeous experience.
The vibrant colour palette, the expressive character animations, and the sheer variety of marine life give the game an immediate, undeniable charisma. When night-diving is unlocked, the atmosphere shifts beautifully as your head torch cuts through the pitch-black abyss.
This visual triumph is matched by a stellar soundtrack. Each biome and gameplay phase features its own distinct theme, perfectly setting the mood.
The game even allows you to select your favourite tracks on Dave’s in-game smartphone, letting you vibe out between shifts.
“Charming” is a word thrown around far too often in indie game critique, but there is simply no better descriptor for what the developers have achieved with Dave the Diver.
Overall
In a historic year defined by monoliths like Tears of the Kingdom, Baldur’s Gate 3, and Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, it is nothing short of miraculous that a game about a diving restaurateur commanded a spot in the Game of the Year conversations of 2023.
Dave the Diver completely transcends arbitrary labels like “indie” or “Triple-A”. It is, stripped of all pretension, just a masterfully crafted video game.
I never expected to completely lose my heart to a middle-aged, wetsuit-clad foodie, but here we are. An absolute triumph.
DAM That’s Excellent.
