4/5 ★ – IrishFrenchman's review of Dave the Diver.

[Steam Deck] [33 Hours] This may well be the most game I have ever played. I had low expectations for Dave the Diver - I'd seen the trailers and thought "that's nice, but not for me." The first few hours were moderately fun but I was worried I was starting to lose interest. But then the game just kept........growing! Dave the Diver looks like an ocean exploration/restaurant management sim, but it's really the world's first ocean-exploration-restaurant-management-shark-fighting-fishing-farming-Tamagotchi-Pokémon-rougelite-bullet-hell-stealth-narrative-adventure-Tycoon-shooter-visual-novel-action-adventure-casual game with RPG elements......and probably a bunch of other stuff I forgot or didn't even discover yet by the time I finished the main story after about 30 hours..... There is SO MUCH content here. If you love games with lots to do, this is the game for you. In fact, there may be too much content here. I did often find myself feeling overwhelmed with the sheer amount of stuff to do in this game. Luckily, the game also skews casual (without being too easy) so you won't necessarily be punished for not engaging with gameplay types you don't enjoy as much as others. Presentation is top-notch with an excellent soundtrack, clever and humorous writing, very memorable characters, impeccable art direction and beautiful pixel art over 3D geometry, and very polished gameplay. The story is mostly just serviceable enough that it kept me wanting to continue, though I never felt like it was fully gripping me. And, if I'm honest, I think the game overstays its welcome a bit by the end and the last chapter or two tended to drag a bit for me. Combat is mostly mediocre, but the game is generous with restarts and lack of excessive penalties. Overall, though, this is an easy recommend. A perfect game for the Steam Deck to sit back and relax. The action isn't so much that it will stress you out, and the majority of the game is quite cozy and chilled out. See you at the sushi bar! (Oh yeah, I forgot trading card game and rhythm game. It's both of those too.)