A Game I Have Actually Finished 02/2026: Dave the Diver
What is this?
Have I finally seen ending credits of something again..?
I have!
It’s not yet finished, there’s still some open points to take care of, and a DLC with a whole new region, but the base game story is DONE!
Some story spoilers below.
The story is starting quite simple: you’re Dave, you’re a Diver, and you spend your days getting fish for the sushi restaurant your friends/business partners Bancho and Cobra opened.
Things then get complicated due to earth quakes, due to the power source of an ancient civilisation of sea people failing. And also due to pirates in the area, and an eco-protection/terrorist group running wild. And quite some more other minor things. As these things go.
Over the course of the game you upgrade your equipment to dive deeper and catch more and better fish, hire help for the restaurant, open a branch with its own stack of people, train your people to unlock new abilities, and improve the dishes you serve.
And there are SO MANY minigames. This game is a hundred minigames in a trench-coat, especially if you count the different quick-time-events different weapons trigger. It does a good job of not repeating them, so it doesn’t get boring, but on the other hand… every new thing you try you do once, and then never, or rarely, again. I’m unsure what exactly to think of this, but that’s what it is.
The fish you catch are tracked, as are many, many other progress metrics, making for a lot of things to max out for the so-inclined. And as long as the core loop doesn’t bore you, you can keep on playing basically until whenever.
I will try to fill my Pokedex Marinca-collection a bit more, and then I’ll go and see what the DLC brings.
Also, to mention it: I have tried this game before, a while ago, on the switch. And then I reached a point where the combination of “I am not good enough with the damn sticks”, “why are there suddenly sharks everywhere” and “I’ll take a break and then come back more rested” led to me bouncing off, ultimately.
Controls on the PC worked better for me, so, yea, finished game I guess.
It’s fun. It took me now 40-ish hours, and if you’re not put off by my description and/or the artstyle, it’s well worth the 20€ for the base game, and the 7€ for the Ichiban’s Holiday pack. On the DLC I will report when and if I see the end of it.