im dead serious this is an actual contender for game of the year. the loop is simple, during the day you catch fish and send them back to your restaurant where you prepare sushi and serve customers during the night. the entire cast are goofy and entertaining, the ambient music is super relaxing (though it did grow old for me very quickly), and there is a surprising amount of enemy and area variety throughout the game. i couldnt tell you how many times i reached a point where i thought the game was going to end soon, only to be met with another, huge area for me to explore and get lost in.

some minor issues i have are that the plot is quite weak, but i wasn't expecting much of a story from a fishing game anyways, and the charming characters more than make up for the mediocre story. in addition, though the game is quite short with little replay value, not every game has to have 300 hours of content with 10 different endings. being a pleasant and memorable experience is just fine.

if you enjoyed stardew valley, dave the diver is a must play. though not as replayable as the former, this is 100% worth your time, and im definitely looking forward to any potential new content or updates the devs might release for the game.