
There has been a lot of talk lately about Dave the Diver, mainly due to the conversation about its validity in winning an Indie of the Year award. It seems increasingly clear that the mainstream sees indie as an aesthetic now, rather than basing it on the size of the development team. Seems like SEGA had a point when they moved away from pixel art out of the fear that Sonic Superstars would have been seen as a ‘lesser’ game.
It’s a conversation that has made me review my own stance on what is considered an indie, and has even resulted in an overhaul of the GOTY Awards format for this year (coming very soon, by the way!).
With a title challenging the fundamentals of the indie gaming scene, how could I not check the game out to see what the fuss is all about?
Many thanks to the publisher for the review code.
MY NAME IS RODNEY!
Despite being a portly lad, our hero Dave has quite an active life. After accepting an invitation from his friend Cobra to help him set up a new sushi restaurant, he takes on the task of both acquiring fish for the chef and waiting tables at night. If that wasn’t enough, as the days pass so will his duties: restaurant management, underwater photography, and aquatic archeology are only some of the many tasks he will take on at the request of the game’s many colourful NPCs. Dave is a man who just can say no.
The fundamental gameplay loop of Dave the Diver is as follows: in the morning and afternoon, Dave will head off into the Blue Hole searching for various ingredients. The main source of which will be the fish, all of which are based on real life species and are typically caught using his handy harpoon gun. Smaller fish are easier catches and require little effort, but anything slightly stronger will try to fight back and force you to pull off a little minigame of sorts in order to acquire it. This minigame differs depending on the type of harpoon you have, and many variations can be acquired via underwater chests. Once you’re done for the day, either due to running low on oxygen or storage space, you can head back to your boat.
Once the night draws in you can head over to the restaurant in order to start your waiting duties. Bancho, the chef, will prepare meals based on the menu you have selected (which you’ll likely alter depending on the fish you’ve caught) and those need to be served out to the customers. At the end of the night, you’ll earn a chunk of change that you can use to decorate the restaurant, buy upgrades for Dave’s diving gear, or one of the million other things the game will introduce over the course of the game.
Over the course of the 30ish hour story, almost every day sees something new get added to the formula. There are trading cards for you to acquire based on caught fish, craftable weaponry to help take care of some of the bigger threats, seahorse racing, fish farm management, hiring and training employees at the restaurant, and so much more. Admittedly each addition tends to be a rather miniscule thing to deal with and doesn’t really alter that core gameplay loop, but it gives you something else to deal with to help stave off boredom.
Whether or not these additions will work will really depend on your tolerance for repetition. New mechanics are so minor that you’ll really need to be up for swimming around capturing fish and going back and forth between customers day after day. Personally, I was worn down within the 10 hour mark and I was barely a third of the way through the game. Your mileage of course may vary, but if you’re not overly confident on the loop then there’s always a demo to check out before you buy.
Aside from these gameplay additions, there are also occasional events that will happen that need to be prepared for. These may include themed parties that have you serving a particular type of fish, or a particular guest / VIP that wants to be served some exotic dish. Again, these don’t really change the way you play but help give you some extra incentive to move forward outside of the base story.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention that the game actually does have a storyline of sorts. In addition to helping out at the restaurant, you’ll also be carrying out various tasks relating to the discovery of an underwater civilization. It’s broken up into chapters where you’ll make minor progression towards your connection with the sea people, but it works well enough – even though you’ll probably need to do a bunch of grinding for materials and money in order to get to the next section.
What really sells the story and the overall premise though is the presentation alone. Regardless of the gameplay, which will no doubt be mixed for many people, the art style and sound design is absolutely top notch and shows off the talent behind the development team.
VERDICT
I cannot deny that Dave the Diver is a well made game. With its beautiful presentation and its desire to constantly add in new mechanics to keep things feeling fresh, they’ve done an excellent job at making the most out of a simple concept. With that being said though, the central diving mechanics really do make up the vast majority of the experience and if you’re not completely into wandering around the ocean harpooning various types of fish then you’re probably going to tire of the formula long before the end.
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