2023-07-21 17:00:09
The objective of the game: dive deeper and deeper to find increasingly rare fish. MINTROCKET – STEAM
At first glance, Dave the Diver will not win the prize for the work of ecological awareness. The video game, released at the end of June on the computer, allows you to embody Dave, a diver invited to explore the “blue hole”, a vast marine trench located in an imaginary region. His mission: to catch fish there and unravel the secrets and mysterious history of the local seabed. A few hours later, at the controls of Dave, we will have murdered hundreds of fish, destroyed corals and local flora, but also shot sharks with grenade launchers and trapped sea monsters who did not ask for anything with remote-controlled mines.
Read also: From “SimCity” to “Terra Nil”, video games question our relationship to ecology
If we evacuate this dimension, which the game vaguely tries to justify by explaining that its characters engage in small-scale reasoned fishing (with, of course, a grenade launcher), we find ourselves faced with one of the surprise successes of the year, carried as often by the many influencers who promoted it at the time of its release. Developed by Mintrocket, new studio and owned by South Korean band Nexon, Dave the Diver has already sold a million copies and accumulates rave reviews from the press.
During the day, Dave must dive into the “blue hole” to discover its species, catch fish with his harpoon and recover materials scattered in the ocean. In the evening, he brings the product of his catch to his friend Bancho, who runs a sushi restaurant in the region and helps him with the night service: bringing plates or tea to customers, preparing wasabi, cleaning the counter, etc. With the cashier of the restaurant, he can buy upgrades for his diving suit or his weapons, recruit waiters… Nothing revolutionary so far, but the rhythm of the game works perfectly.
The sushi restaurant quickly became a popular local attraction. MINTROCKET – STEAM
Impeccable rhythm
Where other studios might have settled for a fairly standard restaurant and fishing management title, Mintrocket managed to infuse Dave the Diver a multitude of often absurd ideas. Very quickly, we find ourselves betting on seahorse races in a sunken casino, facing poachers to save a dolphin, trying our hand at a musical game or even facing a gigantic white shark on behalf of an old lady wishing to avenge her late husband, among other unexpected situations.
The immense strength of Dave the Diver comes from its perfectly calculated progression. Every time you think you’ve found a comfortable routine, a new mechanism arises to grasp. This is how we will soon be offered to grow vegetables or hunt seahorses and sea urchins. The moray eels, hidden in the rocks, attack us during the day without us being able to do anything regarding it? We can dive at night, when they finally take their heads out of their habitat.
The player might drown in front of so many mechanics, but Dave the Diver manages to strike the right balance. Above all, these are often a way to automate the most daunting tasks, such as customer service, the search for certain ingredients or the arrival of fish. Thus, the introduction of an aquarium, in which fish discovered at different depths can be reproduced, ensures a constant return of meat from already known fish, to better let the player tackle new regions, species or threats. Note in passing that the difficulty is never frustrating, only certain “bosses” offering more challenges.
In October 2022, in a first review of the game then available in working version, the specialized site Destructoid asserted that “Only a disaster might derail this project”. Judging by the game available today, the ride was smooth. It remains to be seen how it will evolve: if the current content can be occupied for a good thirty hours, it is not excluded that it will be further enriched following its release, which has moreover strongly suggested the studio.
The opinion of Pixels in brief
We liked:
perfect progression; an absurd universe; an addictive “loop” of gameplay.
We didn’t like:
Klaus the great white shark; sometimes you have to stop playing to sleep, eat or work.
It’s more for you if…
you prefer the seabed on a screen rather than in real life; you hate complicated fishing games (here, we don’t bother much with bait and subtleties).
It’s not for you if…
you don’t have a computer; you don’t have a Nintendo Switch either (a version is in development).
Pixels note:
19 bars out of 20.
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