Coug Gaming: Diving back into Dave the Diver

Explore the Deep Sea by day, serve sushi by night.

These are the dual gameplay styles of Dave the Diver, a 2023 game developed and published by Mintrocket, that combines deep-sea exploration while managing a stylish sushi restaurant. Dave the diver has secured a 10/10 star rating on online game marketplace Steam since its release, likely for its blending of a vibrant narrative and engaging mechanics wrapped in some charming pixel art. Whereas some games might limit themselves to a single genre, Dave the Diver can’t help but thrive where it contrasts.

Playing as the character Dave, team up with old friend Cobra and new friend Bancho to open a sushi restaurant. Hunt for your ingredients by day, serve what you catch to hungry customers that night. Every day just off the coast of your restaurant, the Blue Hole, an expansive underwater ecosystem will change every day to give you new challenges and discoveries each time. Hunt for fish, find treasure, and defend yourself from what lurks below. Plan your restaurant’s menu using the fish you’ve caught, serve as many customers as you can, and use the profits to upgrade your gear and unlock special recipes.

But diving into the deep blue isn’t just about hunting, collecting, and indexing what’s down there. The artists of Dave the Diver spared no expense in their attempts to capture both the beautiful serenity of ocean life and the cozy warmth of your crowded restaurant in their pixelated graphics. When you dive in, you’ll discover a huge and wonderful world hidden beneath the surface of the sea, a coral landscape where even the smallest fish and plants have detailed designs that allow them to blend into the overall vibrancy of this sunny section beneath the waves. As you dive further below it may get darker, but beauty remains even in the gloom. The deepest darkest sections of this ever-changing lagoon are still lit by glowing flora and fauna that flit about the screen like glowing stars in the night sky. For each and every biome found in Dave the Diver, it is immediately obvious that great care was taken by the designers to craft a virtual ocean landscape showcasing the things they love most about our own ocean, and the sheer amount of life and color that fills it.

And these developers do love the ocean—amidst this action/adventure narrative are topics of ocean conservation. You may appreciate the beauty of the coral reef, but as a diver, Dave has an obligation to protect that beauty from pollution, poachers, and invasive species. Complete missions to save dolphins from shady poachers, clean up invasive species for ocean biologists, and encourage your restaurant patrons to help clean trash off of beaches.

Beyond its dual game styles and stunning art style, Dave the Diver also offers an expansive storyline with characters of all types flocking to your restaurant for good food and conversation. Speak with regular customers, eccentric coworkers, celebrity guests, oddity collectors, and ocean scientists all drawn in by the unique food served exclusively by your kitchen. Dave the Diver offers an engaging plot even outside of the ocean, and with the many updates and DLCs (downloadable content) that have come since, the game truly never runs out of new material for its players to discover.

This game was recommended to me by a family member who had seen trailers for it at Seattle video game convention PAX West. They ended up being so interested that they bought it for themselves, played some of it, and recommended it to me when I asked how their trip was a few weeks later. And they were right to do so! Dave the Diver took two genres I already knew and loved, restaurant simulator and exploration adventure, and created a hybrid game that beyond being a masterful mix, is simply a great game with layered mechanics and power scaling that moves with the player. I always find myself coming back to it when I need a relaxing game that still gives me plenty to do.

This isn’t a game that demands speed or mastery above all else. Instead, it invites you to settle into the rhythm of the ocean, enjoy the mix of spearfishing and sushi service, and to appreciate the beauty in the ocean’s depth and a well-cooked meal. If you’re brave enough to take the plunge, Dave the Diver is available on macOS and Windows, Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, and PlayStation for $19.99.