Dave the Diver was the surprise of the year for us. We remember seeing the early videos and screenshots and thinking it looked a bit generic. We were completely wrong, and we couldn’t be happier about it. The game turned out to be a perfectly tuned, relaxing loop where we happily spent our days catching fish and our nights pouring green tea. Mintrocket did a fantastic job creating an experience that is purely addictive.
Try as we might, we simply couldn’t put it down. For months, it was our gaming comfort food—and we weren’t alone. Mintrocket clearly caught lightning in a bottle. Understandably, they want to build on that momentum, but they aren’t doing it from the comfort of the ocean.
Leaving the lovable Blue Hole behind, the adventure moves to a freshwater lake and the village of Utara in the DAVE THE DIVER – In the Jungle Content Pack. Join us as we dive into the new DLC to see what makes it work. But first…
What is Dave the Diver?
Tired of punishing souls-likes? Looking for something vibrant with a bit of a chill factor? Dave the Diver hit big because it nailed a specific rhythm. At its heart, it’s an RPG management sim. You spend your days exploring the shifting depths of the Blue Hole, harpooning fish and scrounging for resources. The terrain changes, keeping you on your toes. You upgrade gear, craft weapons, and manage your oxygen. It sounds simple because it is. You play at your own pace. If you want a casual, exploratory experience, you’ve got it. If you want to push deeper and tackle over 200 species, you’ve got that too.
When the sun sets, the game flips. You run a sushi restaurant. It’s a perfect shift that keeps things from getting stale, letting you turn your catch into delicacies to impress guests. It’s got heart, a great soundtrack, and a slick 2D/3D art blend. It set a high bar, which makes the jump to the jungle such a fascinating experiment.
Spearing Caimans
The gameplay mechanics are still easy to recognize in the DLC. It’s not like the core loop has changed completely, but there is enough new content to keep things fresh. This time, instead of swimming through a clear ocean, you explore the different depth zones of Utara Lake. The water here feels heavy, and every unique location gave us a nervous thrill. It’s a beautiful place to dive, but it’s filled with danger. The upper layer is home to aggressive Red-Bellied Piranhas and massive Black Caimans. These predators act more like mini-bosses than standard wildlife. To help you survive the shallows, the game gives you a new tool: the Jungle Gun. You will need it, because what waits below is even tougher and ten times more exciting.
The Joy of the Unknown
Diving deeper revealed an ancient underwater civilization. That first dive made us feel incredibly small, like a fly on a cathedral window. We were in awe. Exploration here is genuinely tense, and catching unfamiliar species like Discus and Archerfish brings back the exact same rewarding feeling we loved in the first game. The DLC successfully uses the base game as a foundation to perfect the untimed diving experience. You are free to prioritize your own goals without a clock breathing down your neck.
Serving Up!
When you are happy with your catch, you end the day at the brand-new Bancho Grill. You can’t serve freshwater fish raw, so the sushi is gone. Bancho Grill, as the name suggests, is strictly about grilling. By requiring bold jungle ingredients, the game forces you to rethink your menu strategy. This is one of the most refreshing changes, as it makes you approach your business in a totally different way. But what is a business without customers? Especially when those customers are wary of outsiders.
Beetles, Birds, and Bloat
The villagers are a tough crowd. Expecting them to walk into the restaurant and buy expensive river fish right away is like expecting rain in the desert. To win them over, you have to raise your reputation tier. This meant we occasionally had to pause fishing to forage, mine, and hand-deliver thoughtful gifts around the village. We understand that some players might not like this break in the familiar routine. For us, though, it was nice to step away from our zen spear-fishing state to run errands on land. It gave the game more depth.
The developers didn’t stop there. To our surprise, they added an impressive number of new minigames. We had a hard time picking a favorite between the rock-paper-scissors beetle combat, hunting birds with a rifle, the coconut minigame, and decorating Dave’s house. Eventually, the charm of these games wears off, but they provide much-needed variety for a few hours. You might worry that all these extra activities would get annoying and distract from the core experience. Luckily, that wasn’t our experience at all. We didn’t mind taking a break from fishing and cooking. On the contrary, we welcomed it!
Check, Please!
DAVE THE DIVER – In the Jungle feels like a full-blown sequel masquerading as DLC. When you consider the sheer volume of content and the time it takes to do everything, it is hard to view this as just an add-on. It is a lot more than that. The pixel art remains gorgeous, the new environments took our breath away, and we loved the challenge of preparing a flawless grilled dish. We loved the base game, but we adore what the developers gave us here. Now, if you’ll excuse us, that fish isn’t going to catch itself, and those villagers won’t woo themselves.
We give this DLC 9/10!
| The review key was kindly granted by the wonderful Renaissance PR. Thank you! |
- Developer: MINTROCKET
- Publisher: MINTROCKET
- Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2
- Release Date: June 18, 2026
- Genre: Adventure / RPG / Management Simulation
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