DAVE THE DIVER Review | TheXboxHub

The Blue Gap Beckons

Individuals’s emotions on the ocean are sometimes break up, with some captivated by the mysteries beneath the floor, whereas others are scared of what lies within the unexplored depths. I might are likely to classify myself as extra of the previous. Exploring and discovering the unknown is tantalizing, and so many video games deal with exploration and constructing huge worlds particularly to cater to this need.

In DAVE THE DIVER, you play as Dave, the diver. As could be anticipated in a sport titled as such. Dave is a straightforward fellow who enjoys diving and has a love for sushi, and he’s been provided a job diving, by his buddy Cobra. Cobra has uncovered a singular location known as the Blue Gap which has a dynamic and altering panorama, in addition to a bounty of fish to catch. Cobra has additionally had the foresight to rent an achieved, but typically cussed, chef named Bancho who has a deep love and respect for sushi.

This eclectic group has come collectively to make use of the Blue Gap to begin up the perfect sushi restaurant round, and Dave serves because the linchpin. His job is to dive and accumulate all of the fish to be served within the restaurant, in addition to help with working meals and pushing dishes throughout the meal service.

Do you have to dive with Dave?

Harpoons, Upgrades, and Hostile Fish

Diving is finished throughout the day, with Dave capable of dive twice in a day to gather the fish for the dinner service. Close to the floor the fish are small and docile, and can shortly scurry away when approached by Dave. Nonetheless, his helpful harpoon gun makes fast work of those small fish. However as Dave goes deeper, into winding tunnels and the trenches of the Blue Gap, the fish grow to be bigger and bolder. Quickly a single shot with the harpoon isn’t sufficient to seize the fish, and others will battle again, solely caught after a quick fast time problem.

A few of these fish are additionally hostile to Dave’s presence and can actively pursue and assault him as he intrudes upon their territory. Every time Dave is hit, his oxygen meter depletes quickly and will that hit zero, the dive ends. Fortunately Cobra is on standby to rescue Dave ought to his oxygen deplete, however nearly the whole lot that was caught throughout the dive shall be misplaced.

The Artwork of the Catch

As punishing as this sounds although, DAVE THE DIVER continues to be a reasonably relaxed sport. Deep diving can really feel tense however there’s at all times the subsequent time. And it’s at all times attainable to gather sufficient fish in a single dive session to have sufficient meals to serve throughout dinner.

It additionally doesn’t take lengthy to avoid wasting up and begin upgrading Dave’s diving gear so he can dive deeper, have larger shops of oxygen, and carry much more fish. There are additionally upgrades to the harpoon and, ought to the harpoon fail Dave, there are weapons scattered across the Blue Gap to choose up and use in opposition to the actually vicious fish. Amassing these weapons and returning to the boat with them permits Dave to delve right into a little bit of analysis, finally unlocking them for full use. There are additionally upgraded harpoon heads in underwater caches that can provide the harpoon standing results, vastly enhancing its harm carried out.

After all, utilizing these weapons on bigger, extra hostile fish is an effective way to gather massive quantities of meals shortly. However pelting fish with weapons underwater doesn’t do a lot for his or her high quality, so utilizing the harpoon is the popular methodology. Even higher is when tranquillisers may be utilised; the fish retrieved whereas nonetheless alive. As the sport progresses, a couple of extra choices for capturing fish do grow to be obtainable however it by no means deviates too removed from the preliminary fundamentals which can be launched at first of the sport.

Bancho’s Bar

As talked about, fishing isn’t Dave’s solely accountability. Through the night time the sushi bar is open and right here Dave should set the menu, then serve meals, pour tea and beer, and ensure recent wasabi is at all times floor. Enjoyable truth, this can be a reasonable side to serving a dish with genuine wasabi because it loses its warmth quickly as soon as grated, and most “wasabi” in the marketplace is definitely simply colored horseradish.

Dave can also be chargeable for managing the menu. Each fish caught may be served up as a scrumptious sushi dish. Sure dishes will command premium costs, and by maximising the quantity of these served, the higher the day’s earnings shall be. All dishes may be upgraded although, by sacrificing a couple of of the elements so Bancho can hone his craft. This makes even the plentiful and decrease price fish price accumulating. And because the sport progresses, specialty dishes are unlocked that rack in tons of money.

After all, it’s vital to solely serve sufficient meals to get via the dinner service. Bancho has no qualms about throwing away leftovers, as he refuses to compromise on flavour. This implies no matter fish are allotted to the menu are tossed on the finish of the dinner service. That means excessive worth fish can shortly be misplaced if an excessive amount of is served directly.

The Sea Individuals and Tedious Boss Fights

These restaurant administration sections are excessive paced and enjoyable, and whereas they begin out at a break neck tempo, as soon as Dave begins hiring workers it makes getting via the providers a lot simpler. They’re pretty quick lived although and whereas they’re the first approach to earn cash, later within the sport dives can take a number of dozen minutes to finish; it could be an hour between providers.

Past the diving and dinner providers, there’s additionally a full story to play out with Dave researching a mysterious race of sea those who reside within the Blue Gap. That is lumped into the diving sections, which take up nearly all of the gameplay sections. There are story sections, distinctive missions, and even boss fights that may have to be carried out to progress.

The story itself is enjoyable and I received’t go into spoilers right here, however the boss fights are one of many weakest points of DAVE THE DIVER. The fight isn’t essentially unhealthy, however most encounters are extra tedious than something. Some boss fights are pretty sluggish and require repetitive actions to do harm to the enemy. The theatrics of the fights are enjoyable, however the precise gameplay mechanics are lackluster.

DAVE THE DIVER review 3 — Prepared for some underwater boss fights?

A Nice Expertise, Regardless of Overambition

And past that there are some further minigames and sequences that really feel pretty weak, like a rhythm motion minigame that’s deliberately foolish but additionally form of pointless to incorporate. Most of those mechanics may be ignored after launched, in order that they don’t do any actual hurt, however the boss fights are pretty vital to interact with each for the story and to interact with particular in-game occasions.

However in comparison with your entire expertise, these are minor gripes. The attractive graphics, chill soundtrack, and pleasing gameplay loop greater than make up for any criticisms I may throw at DAVE THE DIVER. This can be a nice expertise for anybody in search of one thing new and I wholeheartedly suggest it.