Real Snipes in "New Jack City" vibes here, because as much as I truly + deeply + madly enjoyed "Dave The Diver" -- I absolutely cannot unequivocally recommend it. Steam forces you into a binary, and when I finish writing this if I am forced to select either a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down I will probably click the latter. We'll see.

I don't know man, this game rocks. It also kind of sucks. The art is good, the music is fun, the loop of diving for fish and serving those fish in a lite restaurant management and counter service sim is neat in every sense of the word. This is a well-engineered and unfailingly precise video game, a Swiss watch of interlocking parts in harmony. But, also like a watch, it has way too many damn moving parts.

Mechanic after mechanic, tutorial after tutorial, I was 40+ hours into the game and still getting explainer popups and endless reminders and entirely new concepts thrown. "Dave The Diver" firmly subscribes to "more is more" and features crafting, farming, gambling, racing, shooting, hunting, collecting, upgrading, and several other kitchen sinks shoehorned into an übergame that is not just "jack of all trades, master of none" but a frustrating, time wasting, shallow experience. If your idea of a successful video game playing experience is feeling like you got your money's worth in terms of content experienced and hours on the clock, you and I are very different people. You'll probably be into this game, honestly. I was not. Very much so, by the end.

... and it hurts me to feel this way, because it was honestly so much fun. I liked this game. I really did. I just was so tired of it by the end. No man survives on bread alone, and no one video game can be the only video game you ever want to play. "Dave the Diver" so clearly succeeds where it wants to, but it delves too greedily and too deep while it winks at the camera and tells you it knows *exactly* what it's doing. But self-awareness doesn't extend to immunity, and knowledge of your pit-and-pratfalls means you could (and should) have avoided them.

Honestly, it's what you would expect from a big-guns game development studio trying so desperately to look and feel "indie." A veneer of charm, love and respectability painted over an extremely hungry set of jaws.

i love this
bad reviews are from angry sea blue members
also it can get a bit repetitive at times, but i still love it

Easily the most enjoyable chill game I've ever played. Simply yet deep.

What began as an intriguing blend of gameplay elements quickly evolved into a tedious and overwhelming experience. Unfortunately, as the game progresses, it feels like the developers kept adding more and more systems and mechanics in an attempt to keep things fresh. The result is a bloated game that pulls you in too many directions without offering a true sense of progression or challenge. Ultimately, Dave the Diver presents a collection of fun ideas -each with potential and still somewhat fun to play- though none are fully explored to their greatest extent.

god tier

This game is awesome! Except it doesn't have mod support. Pls add mod support. Thank you.

Such an amazing game. Chill vibes and plenty of good hours to spend in this delightful piece.

I do however have two negative remarks:
- the game is very easy, and it literally holds your hand the whole way. A little annoying in the most part, but not a deal breaker
- the game is a mess: in the sense that it has so many different minigames and small sectios that are completely different form the rest of the game that it borders the weird.

All said, easy 9/10. An absolute gem on the Steam Deck

I've played tons of games over the years and this game sticks out amongst almost all of them! Beautiful story and game play for a casual game. Would recommend to everyone, very unique in many ways!

Awesome game. Once you start you cant stop.
My only complaint is lack of a map which shows areas you have discovered and ability to add waypoints so you can find where you want to go

Addictive. Fun and challenging at times. Interesting characters and story. Also I'm a sucker for pixelated games, so... what more could I say?