I wish I didn’t have to review Dave the Diver because of how much I worry about letting too much of its best parts slip. It’s a fantastic title that’s worth “going in blind” simply because of how it continuously surprises players, including me. Its Switch port maintains its greatness, barring some slight visibility issues of the smaller fishies and the loading screens, so it’s hard for me to recommend the Switch version if you’re deciding on which platform to purchase Dave the Diver. However, one thing is certain: You should not miss out on Dave the Diver this holiday season. It’s a pearl in an ocean of other holiday AAA titles vying for your attention.
Dave the Diver is now available on the Nintendo Switch.
That’s it. Go play it. If you already own it, perhaps you should buy it again so you can play it whilst on the go. If you don’t yet own it, stop reading. The rest of this review is just fluff. Let this ~five sentence review give you the permission you need to pull the trigger on one of my most favorite games of 2023 and perhaps the 2020s thus far.
I kid about the rest of this review being fluff. You’ve probably heard a ton of babble about Dave the Diver since its original release on Windows and Mac in late June of this year. Our head honcho Nathan rated it a 10/10 in his review, praising its exploration, collection, sidequests, an RPG backbone, and a restaurant simulator as something to behold and beautifully balanced and connected. After spending the past few days with it on the Nintendo Switch, I wholeheartedly agree.
Dave the Diver is a damn good game. This review will avoid rehashing Nathan’s earlier PC review too much; I recommend you read it just in case. Either way, I’ll offer my perspective on Dave the Diver and answer the critical question of how it runs on the Nintendo Switch. Without further ado, let’s get to it.
I was very much surprised by Dave the Diver because of how frequently and how well it surprised me with evolving its gameplay loop. At first glance, I thought it was a fish catching simulator. Then it was a sushi restaurant management sim. Wait, it’s an RPG, too? It has a STORY? It sounds like a lot just as I type this out, but it excellently introduces minigames and gameplay elements to the player in a way that is not an overloading waterfall of button presses, arbitrary rules, and additional levers that add complexity and difficulty to an otherwise simple routine. I’m getting ahead of myself, though.
I first thought that Dave the Diver was a clone of multiple Kairosoft games. I won’t assume that you know what Kairosoft is or what they do, so here’s a primer: Kairosoft is a small Japanese dev studio that specialize in simulation games, most notably on Android, iOS, and on PC. I’ve played many of their games on my Android phones over the years. If you were to google their name and browse Reddit results, you’d probably find a great number of players who praise Kairosoft for its no-frills approach to sim gameplay, even with the $5-or-so pricetag on each game. Thanks to Kairosoft, I’ve been trained quite well in managing a sushi restaurant, being a game developer, running an airport, and exploring space. I’m a man of many talents, sayer of many things, drinker of lots of coffee, and expert of geese. Thanks, Kairosoft!
Dave the Diver does look similar to some of the Kairosoft games because of its pixelated nature, at least at first. Its management UI, character sprites, and seemingly simple controls are similar to that of a phone game, hence why I quickly thought of Kairosoft. However, Dave the Diver elevates itself through 2.5D graphics, variably illustrated sprites, and modern animated cutscenes. Despite looking like a simple 16bit title, it functions as a 32-bit title.
Dave the Diver’s management minigames also reminded me of Kairosoft’s sim games because of their casual nature. I mentioned earlier in this review that Dave the Diver is a diving simulator, sushi restaurant management sim, and more. It’s an amalgamation of multiple Kairosoft simulation minigames that blend incredibly well together thanks to its story and casual feel. The general loop starts you off with diving twice a day to hunt for fish and then ending your day in the sushi restaurant to serve tea, beer, and sushi to hungry patrons. The best part of all of this is that each of its “minigames” are fully fleshed out and gated by time limits and other levers that prevent the player from getting bored with each element. In fact, the minigames are presented in such a form that you’re always looking forward to the next step despite spending so little time on the present minigame.
If you’re down for the “one more day/turn” type of game like Stardew Valley, Ooblets, or even Civilization, Dave the Diver takes the cake and asks for a second portion in a to-go box. Those wanting a min-max experience will find much enjoyment in planning out menus, enhancing dishes to reap the highest amount of profits, and managing inventory to ensure that each day is more profitable than the last. I lost several hours just this weekend because of how quickly I was able to “go through the motions” of each phase, every time reminding me of things to accomplish in the future while tackling minor daily jobs as I went to-and-from the Blue Hole and Bancho Sushi.
Despite all of my describing of my min-maxing nonsense and the multitude of minigames, Dave the Diver is a solid “cozy game.” Some Dave the Diver players may disagree. However, it’s important to recognize that cozy games can also include those that are as cozy as the player makes them. In other words, if a min-maxing seeking player wanting to accomplish ALL OF THE THINGS in short order and attempt to speedrun a title plays this game, it…won’t be cozy. Dave the Diver doesn’t force players into restricted and stressful play patterns, often utilizing main and side quests that lack a deadline altogether. Sure, some quests may have a time limit on them, but those quests are optional and are in no way required to advance the story.
This is all to say that Dave the Diver is a cozy game for cozy player. If you’re like me and want the high-stress, organized, and specialized pattern of simulation, Dave the Diver will give you that kind of experience, too.
You’ve probably noticed that I’ve avoided detailing the intricacies of Dave the Diver’s minigames and overall story. This is intentional. If you legitimately want more details, you can turn to the litany of other reviews out there published before today to get a feel for what to expect. However, Dave the Diver is best experienced blindly because of how frequently it will surprise you with its depth and quantity of things to do. On top of that, it’s incredibly silly.
All right, now to the new stuff: How well does Dave the Diver run on the Nintendo Switch? The short answer is that it runs okay. It’s not the best Switch port, but in no way is it the worst. There are two reasons for this.
First, Dave the Diver has ridiculously long loading screens. Think Breath of the Wild length loading screens in between levels. There were several instances where I thought that my game had froze because the game was taking so long to load, occasionally lacking a spinning circle that would otherwise signify the game being functional but loading. In a simpler game like Dave the Diver, I didn’t expect 20s-60s loading screens in-between transitions; I expect that level of loading screens for heavier titles like Breath of the Wild or Ooblets, both of which are 3D and more graphically intensive. Hopefully, MINTROCKET continues to optimize the game for the Switch just so folks can spend less time in loading screens.
Second, Dave the Diver has some minor visibility issues, especially when smaller fish are involved. If you’re playing the Switch in handheld mode, some fish are incredibly hard to discern because of their size. Sure, the fish are all vibrantly colored and can easily be seen against the typical blue backdrop of the Blue Hole, but some additional outlines/resizing should be implemented for the Switch. This becomes additionally apparent when attempting to aim with the Switch’s Joy-Cons at the smaller fish and missing because the fish’s shapes were hard to distinguish, and the joysticks were less precise compared to a mouse.
Despite the imprecision of the Switch’s Joy-Cons, the smaller fish being harder to catch, and the ridiculously long loading screens, Dave the Diver plays quite well on the Switch. Taking Dave the Diver on the go is fantastic because of how well it presents its bite-sized minigames for short-term play and long-term investment. Your experience may differ depending on the age of your Switch console and the controller you use. I know that some folks use a Switch Pro Controller or something else altogether because they’re more precise than the Joy-Cons. Regardless, you’ll get a great experience from Dave the Diver, just slightly subpar on the Nintendo Switch.
I wish I didn’t have to review Dave the Diver because of how much I worry about letting too much of its best parts slip. It’s a fantastic title that’s worth “going in blind” simply because of how it continuously surprises players, including me. Its Switch port maintains its greatness, barring some slight visibility issues of the smaller fishies and the loading screens, so it’s hard for me to recommend the Switch version if you’re deciding on which platform to purchase Dave the Diver. However, one thing is certain: You should not miss out on Dave the Diver this holiday season. It’s a pearl in an ocean of other holiday AAA titles vying for your attention.
A copy of Dave the Diver was provided by the publisher for the sole purpose of this review.
