Dave the Diver isn’t a new game, as such. Mintrocket’s deep-sea RPG has been floating around since 2023. Since its release, it’s surfaced again and again on fresh platforms, with new DLC and free content updates, so when it washed up on my desk recently, offering cute pixel graphics, balmy tropical locations and an engaging playing experience, what else could I do but dive right in?
What is Dave the Diver?
Dave the Diver, as the name suggests, follows the adventures of Dave, who we meet chilling on a beach, enjoying a vacation and some time on dry land. Dave is tempted off his lounger, however, by his old friend, retired special forces agent and 2026-Josh Homme lookalike, Cobra.
What does Cobra offer to get our portly protagonist out of paradise and back to work? Sushi – what else? The chance to combine Dave’s profession (diving) with his passion (dinner) proves to be irresistible, and he immediately hops into a seaplane, alighting at the accurately named Giant Blue Hole, a strange body of water that seems to have, well, appeared out of nowhere. So far, so strange.
Of course, there’s a catch… Dave, being the diver (you see where this is going), is going to have to swim for his supper.
Enter the Giant Blue Hole…
Dave is the name and diving is the game, so before he’s had as much as a sniff of wasabi, Dave hops right in. A short prologue serves to orient Dave (and you) to the controls, main weapons, and how to initiate a dive. You spear a small catch, and back on the boat you are rewarded with a bit more context.
The Great Blue Hole, warns Cobra, is a strange place. Beneath the waves, things… change. Each dive brings ever-changing terrain and new fish to catch. Species from all over the world appear in this strange Blue Hole. Weird this may be, but Cobra knows a business opportunity when he sees it. Cobra’s plan seems to be mainly sitting in the boat while Dave dives to supply fish to a sushi restaurant run by another friend, “unmatched in the world” sushi chef, Bancho.
Bancho Sushi
Bancho is a tortured genius. His fishy philosophy takes sushi to a spiritual level, and he promises the most mind-blowing raw fish experiences available to man. Not for him mere tuna rolls, he explains.
The ever-changing catch the Giant Blue Hole offers gives him scope to bring his unusual cooking (and slightly prickly manner) to the people. Only the best will do – and your tiny training catch is NOT IT. Bancho works with only the best. Back to the Blue Hole you go…
Dive, Dave, Dive
From here, your days take on a pattern. Once each morning and each afternoon, you can make a dive, catching the fish for the restaurant. Cobra drives the boat, and runs a small supply shop where you can buy nets, bombs and other such completely normal fishing equipment. He makes the occasional fat joke and will drop bits of backstory if he’s feeling gossipy.
Once under the waves, your oxygen tank determines the length of the dive, shown as a countdown on screen. If your O2 depletes entirely, Cobra will pull you out (and be a bit sarcastic about it, frankly) – but you will have to leave your catch behind, bar one item. More oxygen can be found during the dive, extending the length of your run.
In the shallows, where you begin, many of the fish are small, pretty and harmless. Perfect targets. Armed with a Survival Knife and a Harpoon, Dave’s job is to spear or stab his way through the sea life in order to provide the sushi bar with enough ingredients to feed himself, Cobra, and the clientele of the bar that night.
Tiny fish are fast and hard to spear; bigger fish will put up more of a fight. Some fish are even dangerous; jellies will sting you, lionfish will bite you, and (at first at least) stay well away from the sharks. You can use a speed boost to get away, but it will use up your oxygen REAL quickly. Dive too deep, and your oxygen will run down, sending you fleeing for the surface or a nearby escape pod.
You can also gather various bits of flotsam and jetsam as you explore. Chests offer a variety of quirky alternatives to the basic knife, plus oxygen supplies and other boons. Crockpots contain ingredients such as soy sauce or spices, and the sandy shelves and surfaces offer seaweed for harvesting, driftwood and shells, which can be sold to Cobra.
After your morning dive, you can hop in again, but things will be different this time. While the main elements of the Blue Hole stay more or less the same, the terrain and potential catch change each time, so don’t bank on things being where you left them; catch ‘em while you can.
Not just a Diver: Dave of All Trades
Once you’ve finished your daily dives, you head back to Bancho Sushi for some well-earned dinner. But your day doesn’t stop there! Once you’ve caught the fish, Bancho will prepare them to his finest and most dramatic capabilities, and you, Dave the Diver, become Dave the Waiter, serving drinks and Bancho’s crazy creations to the tourists who flock to the Blue Hole and Bancho Sushi, eager to try the strange dishes this odd little place has to offer. Do a good job, make loads of money, and you can do up the bar and upgrade your equipment. Let your customers down, and they will leave you a horrible rating on social media.
As a gameplay experience, it has a pleasing routine. As the game progresses, you can upgrade the sushi bar, hire staff, expand the menu, and grow your portfolio to include a small farm and a second branch. As Bancho Sushi becomes more popular, both in person and on social media, you will meet a cast of weird and wonderful clientele and complete specific missions, create new menus, collect all the fish in an app on your in-game phone for rewards, and search for rare species.
Dave Does It All
Dave as a character is sweet, if a total people-pleaser, diving for lost shipments, family heirlooms, strange ingredients and a myriad of MacGuffins at the whims of his newfound circle of friends. Dave the Diver becomes Dave the Farmer, Dave the Treasure Hunter, Dave the Delivery Man, Dave the Diplomat… is there no end to his talents? As you upgrade Dave’s kit, you can make deeper dives, explore new areas, and expand the world of the Giant Blue Hole.
It’s a fun game – not too dramatic, not too stressful, but VERY engaging. Every character is quirky, weird but ultimately likeable, encompassing prodigal sons, K-Pop stars, fish fanatics, and a race of mysterious Sea People… but I will let you have the joy of discovering their bossy princess and her problems yourself. Nothing in the Blue Hole is boring, to say the least.
It’s paced really well – the pattern of the game (two dives, back to the sushi bar) remains, but across the chapters the story leaps along, punctuating the peaceful diving/farming/restaurant experience with thrilling boss fights, terrifying monsters and satisfying fetch quests.
I was impressed with the attention to detail, too. The pixel art is excellent; from in-game play to the many quirky animations, it looks fantastic. There is a wide range of music to unlock and play. Many of the fish are based on real species, even some of the weirder ones. Each new area you unlock is different – there are puzzles to solve, mini-games to play, new physics to navigate, and the side quests are plentiful and varied. Not once was I bored (and that’s saying something).
Dave the Diver: DLC
There are two free DLC packs that intersperse within the main game. In the first, you encounter Godzilla (literally anything is possible in the Giant Blue Hole) and in the second, fans of Dredge can enjoy catching and serving aberrant fish in the restaurant (and a few familiar faces drop in to say “hello”). There’s also a lot of homage to other popular games – and even Balatro’s Jimbo makes an appearance (he really does get everywhere).
Dave’s phone includes a series of apps (spot the Pokemon tribute here) and some cute mini games that add a different flavour of gameplay. You can spend a lot of time in this game and get something new from each session – gently tend and fertilise your farm, or take on various giant angry fish and amphibians armed with a tennis racket, a bendy sword, or a live snake. It’s varied, fun, and very tongue-in-cheek. I really enjoyed it at my big age, and I think my 12-year-old kid would too.
Once you’ve finished the main quest, a third DLC, Ichiban’s Holiday (yes, THAT Ichiban), is also available, but get in quick because this content pack is only available until Dec 31st, 2026.
One final note on the DLC: the free Godzilla content and the paid-for Like a Dragon DLC won’t be available on mobile platforms due to licensing issues.
Dave the Diver: In the Jungle
On completion, you can carry on with Cobra on a new adventure in the jungle. This DLC is HUGE, featuring so much new content it almost felt like a sequel rather than a DLC. This is already a long read, so you can read more about that as soon as it’s ready via this link to my In the Jungle review.
Dive in if you dare…
In short, Dave the Diver is a great game. Mintrocket has done a great job on the world-building, created engaging, likeable characters with fun lore, and made a game that seems simple on the surface but is incredibly difficult to put down once you dive in. Well worth a dip!
Dave the Diver is out now on PC (Mac, Win), PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox Series, and Android and iOS as of September 17.
