| Dave the Diver | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Mintrocket |
| Publisher(s) | Mintrocket Arc System Works (Anniversary Edition) |
| Engine | Unity[1] |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | macOS,Windows June 28, 2023 Nintendo Switch October 26, 2023 PlayStation 4,PlayStation 5 April 16, 2024 |
| Genre(s) | Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Dave the Diver is a 2023 video game developed and published byMintrocket. The game combines bothaction-adventure andmanagement gameplay styles as players explore deep sea environments to gather ingredients for asushi restaurant. It was released formacOS andWindows in June 2023 following anearly access release in October 2022.[2] ANintendo Switch version was released in October 2023.[3][4] A version forPlayStation 4 andPlayStation 5 was released in April 2024.[5]
Dave the Diver was acclaimed by critics for its gameplay loop.
Dave the Diver, in which players control the eponymous Dave, is a game with apixel art aesthetic[6] that is divided into two main gameplay styles; diving into the sea during the day and running a sushi restaurant in the evening. Twice per in-game day, with the option to dive again during the evening unlocked later on in the game,[7] players dive into the Blue Hole in search of fish, sealife and various other materials.[6]
Dave is equipped with aharpoon gun for attacking and reeling in fish, and can use various guns, melee weapons, harpoon attachments anditems that can be found during each diving session.[8] Dave has a limited supply of oxygen which further decreases if he is attacked by aggressive sealife and other obstacles.[9] If he runs out of oxygen before he can return to the surface, the diving session will end prematurely and only one resource that was found can be taken back.[8] Players can use gold earned throughout the game to improve Dave's equipment in various ways, such as increasing his weight and oxygen capacity or allowing him to dive deeper.[9] Players can also unlock additional means for catching sealife as the game progresses, such as fishing nets and drones.[7][8]
At the end of each in-game day, Dave helps sushi chef Bancho run the restaurant, using fish gathered from diving sessions to craft sushi and other menu items. Players must then serve these dishes to customers while serving drinks, cleaning tables and topping upwasabi.[10][11] Performing well will earn players gold and increase the restaurant's representation, unlocking new recipes, upgrades and cosmetics.[8] Occasionally, special customers and VIP guests will appear, requiring the player to gather specific ingredients to create their desired dish.[7]
Clearing these requests unlocks additional features, such as staff to assist in the restaurant and a farm to grow rice and vegetables.[9][6] The game features multiple side characters who offer side-quests and upgrades, events that appear during the in-game calendar, and various unlockable minigames.[7][8] To advance further, players will face multiple bosses, each with special powers, weaknesses, and ingredient drops.[12][unreliable source?] Players will need to solve puzzles to unlock new areas that contain different fish, which are valued at a higher price.
The game follows Dave, a diver who is approached by his friend Cobra into starting up a sushi restaurant venture with the skilled chef Bancho. Setting up location at theBlue Hole, a spot said to contain fish from all over the world, Dave is tasked with fishing for ingredients during the day, and helping Bancho with the restaurant at night. During his escapades, Dave comes across a race of sea people which leads him to the mystery behind the random earthquakes that have been occurring.[9]
Dave the Diver was initially announced as a mobile game in 2018 byNexon Mobile subsidiaries NeoPle and Studio 42 in collaboration withNational Geographic to "bring awareness to all the beauty the ocean has and how it's slowly fading away,"[13][unreliable source?] before being reannounced in May 2022 as the first game by Nexon subsidiary Mintrocket.[14] The game's director Jaeho Hwang based the initial concept on a real-life restaurant onJeju Island, whose owner dives for ingredients during the day and serves them during the evening. The development team's own diving experiences served as inspiration, along with games such asTorneko's Great Adventure,Abzu andMetal Gear Solid.[15]
Mintrocket found it challenging to balance the game's various mechanics so no particular gameplay element becomes repetitive, which they resolved through trial and error duringearly access.[16] The game entered early access in October 2022 was officially released formacOS andWindows on June 28, 2023.[17] An update in August improved accessibility support, allowing people to bypassquick-time events, among other quality-of-life improvements.[18] A port forNintendo Switch was released on October 26, 2023[19] and ports forPlayStation 4 andPlayStation 5 were released on April 16, 2024.[5]
Freedownloadable content based on Black Salt Games'Dredge video game was released on December 15, 2023. The DLC adds a fog weather event in which the player can dredge for valuable items and catch unique types of fish.[20] A second batch of free, limited-time DLC featuring crossover content from theGodzilla franchise was released on May 23, 2024. The DLC adds missions that, when completed, can unlock new recipes and decorations. The DLC was delisted on November 23.[21] A free update featuring collaboration content with theBalatro andPotion Craft video games and singer-songwriterMxmtoon was released on October 24, 2024.[22][23] A batch of paid, limited-time DLC featuring crossover content from theLike a Dragon franchise is set to release on April 10, 2025.[24] Further content updates are planned to be released in the future,[25] including a story DLC calledDave the Diver: In the Jungle, set to release in late 2025.[26]
A physical "Anniversary Edition" featuring crossover content fromGuilty Gear Strive was published byArc System Works for Nintendo Switch on June 28, 2024.[27][28]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | PC: 90/100[29] NS: 88/100[30] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Destructoid | 9/10[31] |
| Eurogamer |  [32] |
| Game Informer | 8.75/10[33] |
| IGN | 9/10[8] |
| PC Gamer (US) | 91/100[34] |
| Shacknews | 9/10[35] |
Dave the Diver received "universal acclaim" based on 44 critic reviews according toreview aggregatorMetacritic.[29]
Praising the game's complexity, yet calling it "utterly relaxing",PC Gamer's reviewer said it already made his shortlist for game of the year as of June 2023.[7]Destructoid called the gameplay "engaging", and said the story was "silly, yet endearing".[31]IGN labeled it as an editors' choice and said it is "wholesome, wonderfully complex, and delightfully hard to put down".[8]Eurogamer said it was "wholesome, harmonious, and completely unwilling to settle", calling it one of the most generous games in years.[32]
Game Informer praised it for being able to handle being both an exploration experience andmanagement sim and said it was a "unique and memorable vacation away from expectations".[33]Polygon said its myriadminigames comes together unexpectedly well, anchored by well-madecutscenes.[36] Cutscenes were further praised by players for their style and humour.[37]VideoGamer.com said "there's always something to do" without it ever seeming like busy work, which they called "refreshingly different" from thegames as a service model.[38]GamesRadar+ called it "a smash-hit success story".[39] Several major publications included it on their 'best games of 2023' rundowns, includingReadWrite,Game Rant,The Guardian andThe Verge.[40]
Two days after its release,Dave the Diver was the fifth best-selling product onSteam. It had sold over one million copies within ten days of release,[41] and three million copies by January 2024.[42] As a result of the title's success, Nexon made Mintrocket a wholly owned subsidiary in September 2024 to continue developing innovative games.[43] In November 2024, Mintrocket announced thatDave the Diver has surpassed 5 million copies sold across all platforms.[44]
AlthoughDave the Diver's developer Mintrocket is wholly owned byNexon, several commentators and publications have referred to the game as an "indie game",[45] and the game was nominated for the "Best Independent Game" categories atThe Game Awards 2023[46] andGolden Joystick Awards 2023.[47] There is no true definition for what the standard for an indie game is.[48] Although it did not win either award, the game's nominations in these categories raised criticism over how its inclusion potentially prevented other indie games from being nominated, sparking a debate on how indie games should be defined.[49][50]
Responding to the game's nomination,Geoff Keighley, organizer of The Game Awards, stated "independent can mean different things to different people and it's sort of a broad term, right?"[51] Mintrocket have stated that they are not an independent studio, with Taehwan Kim, Vice President of Nexon's New Development Headquarters which oversees the Mintrocket brand,[52] stating thatDave the Diver "may look like an indie, but that is not necessarily the case".[citation needed]
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Golden Joystick Awards | Best Indie Game | Nominated | [47] |
| PC Game of the Year | Nominated | |||
| Best Game Trailer(Accolades Trailer) | Nominated | |||
| The Game Awards 2023 | Best Independent Game | Nominated | [53] | |
| The Steam Awards | Sit Back and Relax | Won | [54] | |
| 2024 | 27th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards | Adventure Game of the Year | Nominated | [55][56] |
| Outstanding Achievement in Game Design | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Achievement in Story | Nominated | |||
| 24th Game Developers Choice Awards | Game of the Year | Nominated | [57][58] | |
| Best Debut | Nominated | |||
| Best Design | Honorable mention | |||
| Innovation Award | Honorable mention | |||
| Audience Award | Nominated | |||
| 20th British Academy Games Awards | Best Game | Nominated | [59][60] | |
| Debut Game | Nominated | |||
| Family | Nominated | |||
| Game Design | Won | |||
| New Intellectual Property | Nominated | |||
| Narrative | Longlisted | [61] |
Amanga adaptation illustrated by Shinnosuke Tsuchida began serialization in the September 2023 issue ofShogakukan'schildren's manga magazineMonthly CoroCoro Comic on August 12, 2023.[62]
Dave the Diver has been making waves since its full release on Steam last month, and the indie game has sold over 1m copies in its first 10 days.