Yeah... I've tried a few times now and, while this isn't a bad game by any means, I'm just not really vibing with it at all. The base combat is kinda boring and simplistic, as the diversity and depth is supposed to come from the various skulls you can obtain, but I've only found a few really fun skulls and a bunch of boring ones. Items seem overcomplicated and and pretty boring too, and this is one of those slow dripfeed games where metaprogression takes an eternity because it's +4% this and +6% that. On top of all that, I'm not really feeling the aesthetics and find especially the environment graphics to be quite dull and uninspiring. I will now accept that this game is not for me even though some love it, stop trying to find enjoyment in it and uninstall it once and for all.

What happens when you already have a perfect game and then you decide to include the option to double jump? You get a masterpiece, that's what.

All the little secrets, interesting characters, funny dialogues, world-building, environmental puzzles (like, how am I going to reach that rooftop to give the people of this fucked toxic swamp a bit or art?), make for a very nice experience immersed in this chaotic yet beautiful world that looks so much like our own.

The characters poses and compositions look so thoghful that inspired me of drawing again. Couldnt stop taking pictures of the scenes I would bump into.

Thanks to the devs for this fun game with such a interesting use of humor to reflect our own misery/hope as society.

A wonderful little time that gives you a lot of bang for your buck, though not all of it is terribly exciting. It's undeniably fun to see new mechanics and permutations of old mechanics, as well as complete left-field segments being thrown at you at a fast pace, but this approach lets to some of those additions being bland or not reaching their full potential. I had a lot of fun exploring the ocean, preparing
ingredients for special guests or events, gathering upgrade materials...but I just know that if some of that were omitted the game would have been better.

I'm not saying 'make this just a fishing game or just a restaraunt sim', but looking back at my 20-something hours with Dave the Diver, I can't say my enjoynment was consistent. The first couple hours were a bit of a drag, then going ever-deeper and unlocking new tools and discovering new sides to this gameplay loop was fun as all hell! But then the Glacial Area was a bit of a let-down, and the Vents were just a medium-size lead up to the final, somewhat anti-climactic boss. And I just can't help but think that maybe you didn't need to do ONE shitty MGS segment, or ONE boat chase with a secondary character, or ONE round of a rythm game with the most embarassing of stereotypes. Maybe then the pacing could've been tighted up, the management aspect made more complicated than "just sell the priciest fish and you're golden"?

I'm not sure. This team clearly has a lot of talent, and one of the reasons I'd call time spent with this game well spent is that, while it's not super original, all the disparate parts of Dave the Diver are exceptionally well done and brimming with character, even if they don't always come together. The stylised pixel-art combines beautifully with the 3D environments and enemies, and while that style somewhat reminded me of Octopath and Katamari, neither ever got me into the fins of a hard-working, good-natured guy who just likes sushi and diving for the fish to make it, willing to battle giant monsters to do his job or to help a friend out. And though Katamari often deals with big stuff, the Prince was never asked to swim through the darkest depths of the sea to hunt for sharks quadruple his size. Honestly, Dave might be the saving grace of this whole game for me, as it never gets tiring to lead him on his journeys. I might've called the final boss anti-climactic, but the ending, with everyone living happily ever after and Dave, stretched out on his bed after a long day of fishing and killing a giant prehistoric shrimp, his gear drying on the balcony, after getting drunk with all his friends and co-workers, felt oddly fitting. This game might've been all wacky fish slaying, but it's also about a guy just doing his thing. And that's the kinda thing I can get behind.

P.S.
Shut the hell up about this not being indie, nobody said it is aside from the fucking Game Awards, and they gave mor speaking time to Actor McTexasman than their GOTY recepients. Who cares! Big companies putting more money into (relatively) smaller projects is exactly what the AAA space needs, and you assholes make it seem like Mintrocket is stealing Sabotage's thunder