Dive by day, serve sushi by night... seems simple enough, right?

And it really is. But surprisingly, it's all the little fluff and fillers that give this game it's true substance. That and the genuinely unique story, vibrant characters and cut scenes that have me smirking.

Usually I hate fluff and filler but this game does it right. It actually adds something to the game, instead of just being there for show. Same with the characters. They each have their own story and add to the gameplay in some way. You have silly little apps on your phone that you manage, and they all have different features and tasks. You work through the chapters and quests, advancing the story and building your reputation while earning money on the sushi market. You can customize your menu, staff, restaurant and can learn new recipes along the way. You can similarly customize your kit when you are diving during the day. The daytime runs almost feel a bit rogue like, collecting and upgrading gear actively on the expedition. You run out of oxygen, you lose everything.

The addition of the phone and the apps offers so much utility and variety. I am never bored by the loophole. Everyday is a bit different. I like how the story just flows naturally with everything, very smooth progression system. The fluff and filler (side quests, the phone apps) don't feel burdensome. You complete a lot of them as you progress through the story, hand in hand.

Way to keep it engaging every step of the way *thumbs up*

(and you get to save cute little dolphins from pirates...bonus points, YAY!!)

5 hours of gameplay, almost non-stop…
I sat down, blinked once, and suddenly, the sun had set, my pets had evolved into a higher species, and my responsibilities had packed their bags and left.

If you have free time, I highly recommend this game.
If you work or study, well… let’s just say your boss or teacher might start wondering if you’ve been abducted. Play at your own risk.

There's an admirable directness in how Dave the Diver is built (both the game and the character, but I'm talking about the former). Two sessions of diving to catch fish, explore, gather items, and wrestle sharks, then a little break to play restaurant manager, and repeat. That's your primary gameplay loop, and it makes it surprisingly hard to break out sometimes because the alternating activities feed into each other so smoothly. Every time you finish your daily fishing, you finish out that night slinging sushi, and every time you start a new day you have your previous night's profits ready to be spent on whatever your heart desires. The developers then festooned this strong core with enjoyable music, high-quality and lovingly animated pixel art, and a surprisingly long queue of new mechanics introduced at a reasonable pace, all of which quite elegantly hand you off from one task to the next while keeping your activities varied. I'm always slow to commit to new games, but Dave the Diver clicked over from "a game I want to try" to "what I'm primarily playing" after just a couple in-game days.