Dave the Diver is ranked in the 99th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
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Eurogamer
Top Critic
Aug 14, 2023
Wholesome, harmonious and completely unwilling to settle, this is one of the most generous games in years.
PC Gamer
Top Critic
Jul 12, 2023
Charming, deep, and constantly surprising, Dave the Diver is packed with activities and full of heart.
Game Rant
Top Critic
Jun 28, 2023
Every moment in Dave the Diver feels unique the first time through. The constant changing of side-missions, the cutscenes when upgrading weapons or fish dishes, and the eccentric cast of characters, all blend together so well into a game that, when viewed just from the surface, might seem shallow. But players willing to dive into the meat of the game will find even more enjoyment than they bargained for, especially with its official 1.0 release. It’s a single-player adventure with heart, good music (‘Hot Pepper Tuna’ will likely end up on a lot of people's personal playlists), and a cast of characters that feel right at home around The Blue Hole. Its eccentricities make it memorable, and Dave might be the kindest and most fun adventuring protagonist players encounter in the world of video games this year.
IGN
Top Critic
Jun 26, 2023
Dave The Diver is an aquatic adventure RPG that’s wholesome, wonderfully complex, and delightfully hard to put down.
Jul 5, 2023
A wonderfully strange and imaginative indie adventure that delights in terms of its visuals, storytelling, and enjoyably unpredictable gameplay.
Game Informer
Top Critic
Jul 12, 2023
You might question whether a sushi restaurant management sim crossed with underwater diving is your cup of tea, but that would be missing the point. Dave the Diver is a unique and memorable vacation away from expectations, and it’s the very fact that you don’t usually play games like this that makes it so satisfying.
Polygon
Top Critic
Jun 29, 2023
What makes Dave the Diver work so well is wanting to see what comes next. In another game that just tacked on mechanics and plot devices with no plan, it could feel like the padding around a threadbare premise. But Dave’s kitchen sink approach somehow feels like a perfectly logical, if absurd, escalation — like a Tim Robinson sketch in game form. It’s a teetering pile of mechanics and minigames that never gets around to collapsing because the balancing act is just too much fun.
Kotaku
Top Critic
Jul 19, 2023
Dave The Diver very much deserves the enormous success it’s received in its first month, selling over a million copies, and hopefully making developers Mintrocket enormously rich. They’ve created something really special, an RPG-meets-Diner Dash-meets gentle SCUBA sim, that manages to feel utterly crammed to the gills with things to do, yet joyfully relaxing to play.
Destructoid
Top Critic
Sep 26, 2023
In a world full of fear and uncertainty, Dave the Diver is here to offer a lighthearted story and engaging gameplay. It doesn’t try to follow trends or emulate big AAA titles. It doesn’t have an in-game shop to try to get you to spend more money. It’s simply a silly, fun game about a diver named Dave, and I can’t put it down.
Hobby Consolas
Top Critic
Oct 25, 2023
Dave the Diver is one of the best indie games of 2023, plain and simple. Not only is it tremendously fun and original, but it's also long, has a very careful audio-visual plot and they keep adding more content. And he exudes a sympathy that is difficult to see today.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Shacknews
Top Critic
Jul 14, 2023
Dave the Diver combines two excellent gameplay elements, but still feels like more than the sum of its parts. Deep sea diving and sushi restaurant management are equally enjoyable and complex, making for a supremely addicting gameplay loop. Not only is it the surprise hit of the summer, but it’s one we’ll be having a discussion about when it’s time to look back on 2023’s best games.
IGN Spain
Top Critic
Apr 16, 2024
Dave The Diver is a great adventure of underwater exploration, management and improvement that will make you smile at every new step you take in its proposal. RPG and roguelike elements come together to create something different, original and very fun that goes beyond, far beyond what its simple appearance seems to indicate.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
God is a Geek
Top Critic
Oct 25, 2023
Dave the Diver on Nintendo Switch is a game that thoroughly deserves your attention, even in an already packed year of classics.
God is a Geek
Top Critic
Jun 28, 2023
Whether you're diving into the depths or managing a sushi restaurant, Dave the Diver is full of ideas and engaging from start to finish.
Nintendo Life
Top Critic
Oct 27, 2023
In a year dominated by titanic, big-budget releases like Tears of the Kingdom and Mario Wonder, Dave the Diver steps up to the plate and knocks the ball clear of the park with a heaving swing. Its charming animations and writing supplement a mechanically dense experience that never stops dangling a new carrot to chase. It's one of the few games to come out this year that rivals Mario Wonder's all-out density and charm while doing something almost completely new. You owe it to yourself to pick up this outstandingly funny, enthralling, and weird gem.
GamingTrend
Top Critic
Aug 21, 2023
Dave the Diver is a whacky, 2D/3D game that mixes several genres to form a fun adventure with silly characters and never a shortage of things to do. Each trip into the mysterious Blue Hole is different, and you'll have plenty of quests and upgrades to work on. Spend your days diving, and your nights running a sushi bar. If you are looking for a great balance of not too hard, not too easy, Dave the Diver is it. While some of the missions can get kind of hairy, managing your resources is what it's all about. The story is fun, and I really enjoyed the MarinCa app that gives us facts about sea creatures we catch!
Guardian
Top Critic
Sep 2, 2023
]A sushi waiter is on a mission to bring exotic fish to the table in this stylish, satisfying game that delivers a vital message on sustainability
Push Square
Top Critic
Apr 16, 2024
Dave the Diver, like the sea, is far deeper than you think it is. It charms with its attractive visuals and addictive loop of diving for fish and running a restaurant, but it never rests on its laurels, always finding new ways to enhance the fun. There's never a dull moment, whether it's a whole new feature expanding the gameplay, an unexpected new story beat, or another hilarious cutscene to enjoy. It's this constant reinvention and surprise that makes the game so compelling, even through the occasional rougher moments. If you've yet to experience it for yourself, we'd highly encourage that you take the plunge.
GameMAG
Top Critic
Nov 26, 2023
Dave the Diver is an eventful experience where every new dive is an adventure of its own that always come hand in hand with an unexpected plot developments.
Review in Russian | Read full review
COGconnected
Top Critic
Oct 30, 2023
There is a little bit of everything for everyone in this innovative and entertaining game. It’s been acclaimed as one of the best games of the year, and it certainly lived up to my expectations.
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