I've been looking at Dave the Diver for quite a while now. Ever since CohhCarnage played it on his stream when it released back in June of 2023. It had completely missed me that the game was now included in the Playstation Plus Game Catalogue. After the disappointment of Atlas Fallen: Reign of Sand I decided it was time for a game that has overwhelmingly positive reviews instead of a game with mid reviews.
What is Dave the Diver?
Dave the Diver is a casual management adventure game where you go diving for fish and materials in the day, and run a sushi restaurant at night. It masterfully mixes up different genres into a perfect amalgamation. The day cycle is almost like a roguelite exploration game where the sea changes it's layout and contents every day. At night you have to manage your restaurant by making the right choices and keeping your customers happy.
Dave the Diver was one of the best received games of 2023, and it's currently sitting at over 100,000 positive reviews on Steam. That's really saying something.
I'm hooked
Where Atlas Fallen: Reign of Sand failed to hook me, Dave the Diver has managed the opposite. I'm completely hooked to this game. When I sit down to play it the hours just fly by. There's something about the switch between soothing and cozy diving and stressfull management that the game constantly switches to and from. Cozy diving in the day and stressfull management at night.
There's a lot to digest with Dave the Diver. For every day that passes ingame the game throws a new challenge your way, either in the form of a new system or a new quest to complete. That can be stressful in some games but Dave the Diver has paced it perfectly, and in a way that you won't have to focus on each one constantly. Some will have you diving to a specific spot in the sea while some you can just focus on passively.
The comedic value of the game is also top notch. All of the characters are incredibly funny and play on a lot of stereotypes. You have Duff the weaponsmith who's this fat anime loving nerd who sits at his computer weebing all day. You also have a fish card collector who's basically wearing Ash Ketchums attire from Pokemon. They've got a lot of great nods like that.
I don't see Dave the Diver leaving my library of installed games before I've finished it. This is a game that keeps on giving and I want to consume it all.
All images in this post are screenshots taken by me.