I've been almost addicted to Dave the Diver lately. I loved it when writing my last post and I love it even more now. When I mentioned in my last post that Dave the Diver is the game that keeps on giving I didn't even know half of it. A few more hours into the game and I can officially say that the statement is true and then some.
From diver to farmer
In the last few hours since my last post I've unlocked so much new stuff in Dave the Diver. The game is doing a fantastic job of constantly throwing new things your way, but at a pace that is not overwhelming. I feel like they've sort of baked it all into your exploration of the game so that it seem slike you're randomly stumbling over something new when in reality it's somewhat scripted.
I am no longer just a Dave the diver and restaurant manager. I am now Dave the diver, restaurant manager, fish farmer, rice farmer, emissary to the Sea People and professional sea horse racer. Normally I would find unlocking so many new systems to be tedious but in Dave the Diver it's done cleverly. Most are background systems that you interact with every now and then but that greatly help you speed up your progress.
A welcome surprise
This game has just been such a big surprise to me. When going into it I thought it would just be a well made diving game with decent exploration and some fun restaurant management. Instead it's a very detailed and humorous game that tells a funny store and keep you occupied with fun and engaging gameplay. You can really tell that this game was made with love. More games need to be like this.
I've played for around 10 hours now and the main story is supposed to last for roughly 25 hours. If you spend your time doing some optional content as well most people spent roughly 35 hours with the game. That's a very decent length to me. I've come to treasure games of this size more than the gargantuan 80+ hours games. I'd rather play 30 hours of a well made and detailed game over an 80 hour lifeless slog.
Dave the Diver pushed all the right buttons for me.
All images in this post are screenshots taken by me.