Didn't think much of it, despite having won GOTY last year and all the hype around it.

Finally bought it, and the past 70 hours have gone by like nothing!

I've enjoyed every single sit down to this game, even if the whole time I'm getting owned by sharks and just not on my A game, I still want to return the next night to kick some bass again. I've made some major headway in that amount of time, and currently only have 12 achievements left until I complete it. The pacing is spot on, and aside from the VIP events that pop up (and you still usually get a few days to prepare) there isn't a sense of rush or drowning in the side quests, and they are all easily enough completed, but give you just enough challenge to make it worth your time. Most small events or quests tend to lead into larger ones, or come in handy at some point down the line, so none of the tasks you complete feel totally pointless or mindless. Yes, there are a metric f*ck tonne of 'fetch quest' and 'collect x of' type missions, but again, it's all leading to something else, or something bigger.

All that said, I really think that the devs for Dave the Diver hit the nail on the head with that the balance aspect. I feel as though they really understand the balance between making a task tough enough to feel fulfilling, but not punishing enough to be discouraging, and when you have ample amounts of those ingredients spread evenly and continuously throughout the game, it really feels comfortable, while still making your palms sweat.

Quite literally the only gripe I have, is that how one progresses certain tasks can be unclear at times, and if you don't read the dialogue for certain ones, you may feel like you're missing something, until you make that call you were supposed to, or go and talk to that sea person you should have, etc. But at the end of the day, you can easily enough google and figure out where you went astray, because the community behind this game is absolutely charming and lovely to deal with! <3

Really looking forward to what comes from my Blue Hole tomorrow night! And I think you should go and dip your own toes into your own big Blue Hole ASAP!