I bought this game expecting something similar in spirit to Stardew Valley. And for the first few hours I thought that it was all there is - you go diving during the day, you make money in the restaurant in the evenings, you buy better gear to dive deeper and longer and expand your restaurant to make money more efficiently. But then, this game started to surprise me.

I haven't played Stardew Valley for too long, because eventually I got bored with the repetitive gameplay loop - after seeing how seasons change and how it impacts the world it really ceased to interest me as I felt I've seen almost all this game has to offer and there was nothing to look forward to. But here is where Dave The Diver shines and why I invested many more hours into it and finished it having fun all the way. It constantly keeps introducing new things and new ideas that build on this core gameplay loop. Every major mission has its own twist. As a great, but spoilery example, let's consider 3 rooms that you need to clear to access the divine tree control room near the end of the game. Every room is different - first one you need to infiltrate alone, in the second one you ride a beluga whale and in the third one you switch characters to finally control them both at once, similarly to Brothers: a Tale of Two Sons. Everywhere they could, designers added some little twist or mini-game to keep things interesting and fresh. All the while preserving the casual tone, making it a great game to pickup for quick 15-20 minutes stress-free sessions.

I don't usually like casual games because I get bored with them pretty quickly. Dave The Diver is a real gem amongst this type of games and one I clearly recommend the most if you want something stress-free, but still interesting.

I bought this game expecting something similar in spirit to Stardew Valley. And for the first few hours I thought that it was all there is - you go diving during the day, you make money in the restaurant in the evenings, you buy better gear to dive deeper and longer and expand your restaurant to make money more efficiently. But then, this game started to surprise me. I haven't played Stardew Valley for too long, because eventually I got bored with the repetitive gameplay loop - after seeing how seasons change and how it impacts the world it really ceased to interest me as I felt I've seen almost all this game has to offer and there was nothing to look forward to. But here is where Dave The Diver shines and why I invested many more hours into it and finished it having fun all the way. It constantly keeps introducing new things and new ideas that build on this core gameplay loop. Every major mission has its own twist. As a great, but spoilery example, let's consider [spoiler] 3 rooms that you need to clear to access the divine tree control room near the end of the game. Every room is different - first one you need to infiltrate alone, in the second one you ride a beluga whale and in the third one you switch characters to finally control them both at once, similarly to Brothers: a Tale of Two Sons. [/spoiler] Everywhere they could, designers added some little twist or mini-game to keep things interesting and fresh. All the while preserving the casual tone, making it a great game to pickup for quick 15-20 minutes stress-free sessions. I don't usually like casual games because I get bored with them pretty quickly. Dave The Diver is a real gem amongst this type of games and one I clearly recommend the most if you want something stress-free, but still interesting.