The Blue Hole Beckons
People’s feelings on the ocean are often split, with some captivated by the mysteries beneath the surface, while others are terrified of what lies in the unexplored depths. I would tend to classify myself as more of the former. Exploring and discovering the unknown is tantalizing, and so many games focus on exploration and building massive worlds specifically to cater to this desire.
In DAVE THE DIVER, you play as Dave, the diver. As would be expected in a game titled as such. Dave is a simple fellow who enjoys diving and has a love for sushi, and he’s been offered a job diving, by his friend Cobra. Cobra has uncovered a unique location called the Blue Hole which has a dynamic and changing landscape, as well as a bounty of fish to catch. Cobra has also had the foresight to hire an accomplished, yet sometimes stubborn, chef named Bancho who has a deep love and respect for sushi.
This eclectic group has come together to use the Blue Hole to start up the best sushi restaurant around, and Dave serves as the linchpin. His job is to dive and collect all the fish to be served in the restaurant, as well as assist with running food and pushing dishes during the meal service.
Harpoons, Upgrades, and Hostile Fish
Diving is done during the day, with Dave able to dive twice in a day to collect the fish for the dinner service. Near the surface the fish are small and docile, and will quickly scurry away when approached by Dave. However, his handy harpoon gun makes quick work of these small fish. But as Dave goes deeper, into winding tunnels and the trenches of the Blue Hole, the fish become larger and bolder. Soon a single shot with the harpoon isn’t enough to capture the fish, and others will fight back, only caught after a brief quick time challenge.
Some of these fish are also hostile to Dave’s presence and will actively pursue and attack him as he intrudes upon their territory. Each time Dave is hit, his oxygen meter depletes rapidly and should that hit zero, the dive ends. Thankfully Cobra is on standby to rescue Dave should his oxygen deplete, but almost everything that was caught during the dive will be lost.
The Art of the Catch
As punishing as this sounds though, DAVE THE DIVER is still a fairly relaxed game. Deep diving can feel tense but there’s always the next time. And it’s always possible to collect enough fish in a single dive session to have enough food to serve during dinner.
It also doesn’t take long to save up and start upgrading Dave’s diving equipment so he can dive deeper, have greater stores of oxygen, and carry even more fish. There are also upgrades to the harpoon and, should the harpoon fail Dave, there are weapons scattered around the Blue Hole to pick up and use against the really vicious fish. Collecting these weapons and returning to the boat with them allows Dave to delve into a bit of research, eventually unlocking them for full use. There are also upgraded harpoon heads in underwater caches that can give the harpoon status effects, vastly improving its damage done.
Of course, using these weapons on larger, more hostile fish is a great way to collect large amounts of food quickly. But pelting fish with guns underwater doesn’t do much for their quality, so using the harpoon is the preferred method. Even better is when tranquillisers can be utilised; the fish retrieved while still alive. As the game progresses, a few more options for capturing fish do become available but it never deviates too far from the initial basics that are introduced at the start of the game.
Bancho’s Bar
As mentioned, fishing isn’t Dave’s only responsibility. During the night the sushi bar is open and here Dave must set the menu, then serve food, pour tea and beer, and make sure fresh wasabi is always ground. Fun fact, this is a realistic aspect to serving a dish with authentic wasabi as it loses its heat rapidly once grated, and most “wasabi” on the market is actually just coloured horseradish.
Dave is also responsible for managing the menu. Every fish caught can be served up as a delicious sushi dish. Certain dishes will command premium prices, and by maximising the amount of those served, the better the day’s earnings will be. All dishes can be upgraded though, by sacrificing a few of the ingredients so Bancho can hone his craft. This makes even the plentiful and lower cost fish worth collecting. And as the game progresses, specialty dishes are unlocked that rack in tons of cash.
Of course, it’s important to only serve enough food to get through the dinner service. Bancho has no qualms about throwing away leftovers, as he refuses to compromise on flavour. This means whatever fish are allocated to the menu are tossed at the end of the dinner service. Meaning high value fish can quickly be lost if too much is served at once.
The Sea People and Tedious Boss Fights
These restaurant management sections are high paced and fun, and while they start out at a break neck pace, once Dave starts hiring staff it makes getting through the services much easier. They are fairly short lived though and while they are the primary way to make money, later in the game dives can take several dozen minutes to complete; it may be an hour between services.
Beyond the diving and dinner services, there is also a full story to play out with Dave researching a mysterious race of sea people that reside in the Blue Hole. This is lumped into the diving sections, which take up the majority of the gameplay sections. There are story sections, unique missions, and even boss fights that will need to be done to progress.
The story itself is fun and I won’t go into spoilers here, but the boss fights are one of the weakest aspects of DAVE THE DIVER. The combat isn’t necessarily bad, but most encounters are more tedious than anything. Some boss fights are fairly slow and require repetitive actions to do damage to the enemy. The theatrics of the fights are fun, but the actual gameplay mechanics are lackluster.
A Great Experience, Despite Overambition
And beyond that there are some additional minigames and sequences that feel fairly weak, like a rhythm action minigame that is intentionally silly but also kind of pointless to include. Most of these mechanics can be ignored after introduced, so they don’t do any real harm, but the boss fights are fairly important to engage with both for the story and to engage with special in-game events.
But compared to the entire experience, these are minor gripes. The beautiful graphics, chill soundtrack, and enjoyable gameplay loop more than make up for any criticisms I could throw at DAVE THE DIVER. This is a great experience for anyone looking for something new and I wholeheartedly recommend it.
Important Links
The Blue Hole Goes Green – DAVE THE DIVER IS NOW ON XBOX! – https://www.thexboxhub.com/the-blue-hole-goes-green-dave-the-diver-is-now-on-xbox/
Buy DAVE THE DIVER on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/dave-the-diver/9PC1ZMD65L0T/0010
