There’s nothing like exploring the ocean with complete safety. DAVE THE DIVER delivers a relaxing look at exploration.
Diving is not a skill that many possess. Even fewer people wish to go through the required training. Luckily, DAVE THE DIVER is a seasoned professional. Exploring the depths of the ocean should come to him with much ease. Because diving is something he loves, plenty of people feel he’d be an asset to their endeavors. Will his skills be up to the task? And will he be able to satisfy every possible client or customer?
From the minds of MINTROCKET comes a colorful diving adventure simulation game. Set in a seemingly tropical location, DAVE THE DIVER is tasked with exploring the Blue Hole near Bancho’s Sushi. Bancho needs some help putting together his menu and gathering the necessary supplies. It sounds like a worthwhile endeavor, but it won’t be the only opportunity with lucrative benefits. Many more adventures await the seasoned professional.
The title starts relatively simple when it comes to controls. Left analog controls all up, down, left, and right movements. It is nice to have a tutorial that does not stop the gameplay completely to explain simple button configuration.
As soon as DAVE THE DIVER makes his way into the ocean, the title goes on to explain further button configuration. Possessing both a harpoon and, later on, a firearm, these things are cycled by pressing the R bumper. To use the harpoon, you simply have to hold the A button, aim with the left analog stick, and hit the right Z button to deploy.
Harpoons are an interesting method for fishing. The basic harpoon is pretty lackluster, and there really isn’t much to it. It does, however, get the job done when it comes to collecting the smaller aquatic life for Sushi. Things get interesting when one gains access to enhanced versions of the items.
Sharks are an absolute pain to encounter when one is not properly outfitted for the encounter. Using an item like a high-powered sniper rifle, though, will shorten the battle by a significant margin. Once that is done, the creature can be harvested and sent to Bancho’s Sushi.
Out of the different versions that exist for the harpoon item, the Shock Harpoon and Lightning Harpoon are best against a wider variety of creatures. Some fish will struggle against a traditional line, forcing one to participate in a tug-of-war mini-game. It’s such a pain and so very disappointing when a tiny little fish wins.
Sometimes, this struggle can be circumvented when you simply shock the animal to oblivion. Shock Harpoons are also a fantastic way to take on the smaller sharks, allowing for a couple of melee strikes before they regain consciousness.
Only after pressing the R to cycle items can your firearm be used. Firing off the weapons is done in the same way that one uses the harpoon. A fantastic variety of weapons is available at the very beginning, despite how useless they seem against larger creatures.
Such items like the Basic Underwater Rifle and Sniper Rifle are the best against creatures that are very dangerous up close. As useful as the firearms can be, they have a very limited ammo capacity to start with. Great care must be taken so that each shot counts. I’m sure DAVE THE DIVER doesn’t like the idea of facing a Reef Shark with no ammo in his firearm.
Melee weapons are a thing, of course. In DAVE THE DIVER, like the other items, they come in various forms. Yellow cargo boxes are littered through the Blue Hole but have no indication as to what they each contain. Some boxes will contain things like a “Cheap Japanese Sword” or a “Sleepy Toy Hammer.” When an item has a name with something like the word “sleepy” this tends to signify what effect it may have on a target.
The ‘Shock Baton’ does the same thing as the ‘Shock Harpoon’ but requires one to be uncomfortably close to a creature. This doesn’t work well if the aquatic creature is extremely aggressive. Being taken out by a lionfish before I can catch it in the face is a little disappointing.
Additionally, one can find weapon boxes throughout the Blue Hole as well. Some of these boxes contain ‘enhanced’ versions of things, like the harpoon. The ‘second stage’ of the harpoon is littered with barbs, which allows some tougher fish to be taken without any fuss whatsoever. Weapon boxes also contain simple enhancements. These particular items can be applied to what DAVE THE DIVER is already carrying, sometimes delivering the extra oomph that the underwater weapon needs.
It is important to note that DAVE THE DIVER possesses a minimum level of air supply. This can be improved as the game progresses, but keeping an eye on this is extremely important. At the beginning, the supply is limited to about 85 units. This can be improved, but once it reaches zero, that’s the end for the underwater professional. After the game over-screen is presented, one can choose a single item from the multiple things collected to revive their character. All other items are gone afterward.
Being bogged down with too many things occurs often. And because people like me don’t want to go back and forth, getting to above capacity and returning to the boat occasionally is a great help. This helps to avoid losing an absolute treasure trove of exotic fish.
Hunting fish for Sushi is all well and good. But, honestly, helping Bancho run his sushi bar was far more difficult than hunting down the fish he wanted. Thanks to Cobra, DAVE THE DIVER is obligated to help at Bancho’s Sushi for some reason. It’s not a bad gig, as it still makes him money and allows him to continue doing the diving he loves so much.
Hilariously enough, there is a character that appears as a washed-up pocket monster trainer. It looks as if he’s had a pretty stressful life, being a trainer and all. He’s still looking to collect something, though. Being so adamant about collecting, he personally asks DAVE THE DIVER to catalog all the fish and aquatic wildlife he may encounter during his excursions to the Blue Hole.
Bancho’s Sushi is when things truly get interesting. After gathering the required supplies, one is required to put together a menu for the beachside eatery. It’s important to fill out the menu, lest the guests be presented with a blank list of things to order. At the bottom of the sushi bar screen is a specialized menu, which allows one to fill the bar’s menu, decorate the place, research new ingredients, and hire possible additional staff.
Before hiring additional staff, I can’t stress enough the importance of leaving the menu a little light. Placing too many items on the menu with just DAVE THE DIVER serving only spells disaster. Customers become upset and impatient and might leave before the professional diving guy can serve them their specific order.
This is made doubly difficult by people who order Green Tea from the menu. The tea must be poured very slowly using the right analog stick. Pour it too fast, and the quality will suffer. Pulling down very slightly on the right analog stick is the only way to ensure the tea is served correctly.
Things become so much easier after hiring a few extra hands, though. Those hands, though, all come with respective stats that signify which location within the restaurant where they might work best. These stats are Cooking, Serving, Procurement, and Appeal.
It quickly becomes apparent that those with the highest Cooking rating are best in the kitchen area—Serving and Appeal work best when an employee serves the dishes in Bancho’s Sushi. Procure allows an employee to source ingredients in order to put together more complicated dishes.
Once things are squared away with Bancho’s Sushi, addressing the eatery’s social media presence is important. Disappointed customers will absolutely tear DAVE THE DIVER and his associates to shreds, especially if they expect quality items when they order. Using the cellphone by pressing the + button, one can access the Cooksta app, a social media app created explicitly within the game’s world to inform others about popular places to eat.
Out of all the apps that exist within the game’s universe, the iDiver is probably the best. In addition to feeling like a shopping spree, it’s useful for upgrading DAVE THE DIVER’s suit. Buying a new suit will allow the character to venture deeper into the water. More oxygen will, of course, allow for a lengthier expedition into the depths.
Visually speaking, DAVE THE DIVER comes in pixelated side-scroller format. Considering the pixel art style, there is a surprising amount of attention to detail when it comes to character and weapon design.
The weapons have their own personal aesthetic, making it easy to determine visually what each one is. Characters themselves are designed to appear surprisingly unique. DAVE THE DIVER, Bancho, Cobra, and other main characters have a specific look about them. Even the people that can be hired express an individuality seldom seen in the visuals of most pixel art titles.
The cellphone is a great addition to DAVE THE DIVER gameplay. After pressing the + button, one can call other characters in this menu. Additionally, you can access apps such as Cooksta, Ecowatcher, iDiver, and a gallery for snapping shots of any interesting underwater creatures or discoveries.
The audio for DAVE THE DIVER is interesting. Even though the harpoon and projectile weapons make noise, the characters themselves make odd noises accompanied by dialogue boxes. While some may not like that music can be heard and characters cannot, the cast not having voices adds to the title’s charm.
Music in the title can go from relaxing to intense and heart-pounding. The intense music does help to make doing things like fighting a shark or poachers a little more fun. That being said, one shouldn’t be surprised if some oddly familiar pirate music greets them in a later section of the game.
DAVE THE DIVER is a fun dive into a mysterious ocean locale. The game really comes to life on the Nintendo Switch. While some might wish there was just a bit more, it has more than enough content to keep a person busy for a good long while. You can get completely lost simply exploring the ocean without doing any hunting, provided supplies for Bancho’s Sushi are stocked up.
If you’re looking to keep yourself busy or want a relaxing ocean exploration title, DAVE THE DIVER is right up your alley. There’s enough content to keep a person busy for an entire afternoon. And with multiple chapters, there are a number of things for a player to discover. Just make sure to charge that Nintendo Switch so it doesn’t die during a particularly fun story arc. With the sheer amount of content, it definitely feels like it’s worth the price.
