Aquatic RPG Dave The Diver comes out of early access today

Dave The Diver has launched in full today, leaving its early access shell behind. The game is a real platter of genres, mixing flavours of RPG, management sim, visual novel and more to create a unique kind of experience that made a real splash while it was in early access. Dave's quite popular tenure in early access had three chapters to its name, but the full release takes that number up to seven alongside new weapons, areas, and features for the deep-sea-explorathon. Take a look at the new release trailer below.

Dave The Diver (the game) follows the slightly down on his luck Dave The Diver (the person) as he opens up a sushi restaurant with his friends. Squeezing back into the flippers, our Dave spends every day descending into the Blue Hole - a magical and endless dent in the ocean - to hunt for supplies before bringing them back to the surface to sell.

That loop sort of feeds itself: your dives fuel the restaurant and your sushi profits can then be spent on upgrades for weapons and oxygen supplies, letting you dive even deeper next time. Aquatic runs initially pit you against small sea critters, but as you go deeper, you’ll eventually swim into giant squids, hidden merfolk, ancient ruins, and oh so many sharks. Overground management elements don’t take a back seat either, as they run just as deep as the dives. Nighttime restaurant shifts have you hiring and training employees, cooking, and sweatily rushing to serve customers. All of which gives you the entrepreneurial dopamine rush of watching money go up, up, up.

The other thing I enjoy about Dave The Diver is the variety on show. Mini-games might just outnumber the fish here, with rhythm games, seahorse racing, endless runners, and much more waiting to distract you. Plus, the cutscenes that I’ve seen are just incredibly stylish.

Sin Vega tried out Dave The Diver during its early access stint where she said the game had “sincerity and general goodwill… that pulls it all away from anywhere mean-spirited or taxing.”

You can hook Dave The Diver for £17/€20/$20 on Steam, although it’s currently enjoying a 10% discount over the next week.