Dave the Diver has seen considerable success in early access, having received almost unanimously positive reviews and plenty of enthusiastic feedback from the wider gaming community. Despite only being in early access, the game feels remarkably complete already and could just about work as a full-length title if it were to be released as it is.
However, there are certain aspects of Dave the Diver that could be worked on or improved in some way before the game is released fully. Here's what Dave the Diver should change and improve on before its full release.
10 Expand On The Origins Of The Blue Hole
The Blue Hole is where much of the gameplay in Dave the Diver takes place. It's a mysterious body of water filled with all kinds of fish imaginable. However, the origins of the Blue Hole, as well as its narrative significance are, thus far, mostly unexplored.
Giving players the backstory and lore of the Blue Hole in its entirety would give an added depth to Dave the Diver, as well as giving players some sense of closure when finishing the game. Better yet, there are many potential narrative angles that the Blue Hole could be explored from.
9 Give Restaurant Minigame More Depth
While Dave the Diver is a diver by day (what a surprise), he runs local sushi joint Bancho Sushi by night. The minigame of running the sushi restaurant is lots of fun and provides a welcome change of pace from the diving and fishing players need to take care of during the day.
However, the restaurant minigame could benefit from being fleshed out some more. Giving players a greater variety of tasks to complete could help prevent it from getting too samey, which it might over a full campaign as things stand.
8 Narrative Exposition Could Be Spaced Out More
Dave the Diver has a fairly interesting, varied narrative. Plenty happens on just about every in-game day. While this keeps things feeling dynamic and exciting, it's frankly a little overwhelming at times, especially with the number of quests the player needs to take on at once.
Spacing out the narrative to give it some breathing room and make some days quieter than others could give the game a more natural flow and help it feel less intense overall. This would be a welcome change compared to having a storyline that's absolutely crammed with action.
7 Addition Of Difficulty Levels
Something that reviewers and gamers alike have noted about Dave the Diver is how fun and engaging the gameplay is. While this is definitely true, adding difficulty levels to the game could make it appeal to an even wider audience, as well as giving it greater replay value.
Even having a normal and hard mode would allow gamers to challenge themselves. Players could take on hard mode for a challenge, or those who have already completed the game could try to replay it on hard mode and see how well they do.
6 Release On Additional Platforms
At the time of writing, Dave the Diver is only available on Microsoft Windows. Releasing the game for console, as well as Mac, will allow the game to reach a considerably wider audience than it can right now.
It seems like an inevitability that the game will be released on other platforms when it leaves early access, but this isn't a given. Still, it would translate well to being played with different kinds of controllers as well as mouse and keyboard. It seems like it's only a matter of time before Dave the Diver sees a console release.
5 Multiplayer Mode
Another feature that could give Dave the Diver a lot more depth, as well as an added layer of enjoyment, is including Multiplayer Mode in its full release. While the Bancho Sushi minigame might feel awkward if played cooperatively, diving the Blue Hole either as a tag team or even part of a larger party could definitely be a lot of fun.
The mechanics of the diving segments of Dave the Diver wouldn't even need to be changed massively for the game to work well in multiplayer. It feels like a natural addition to make.
4 Flesh Characters Out More
While relatively minor, one of the few criticisms that Dave the Diver has received from critics is that the game's NPCs feel a little hollow and one-dimensional. While charming and entertaining, most of the title's NPCs seem to have something fairly stereotypical about them.
This does serve to break players' immersion in the story, especially as Dave himself is a fairly unique, unusual protagonist in many ways. So, fleshing out the NPCs in Dave the Diver could be a natural way to give the game far more depth and make it feel more memorable.
3 Pace Introduction Of New Game Mechanics
When players first start Dave the Diver, new mechanics are rapidly introduced right from the jump. This frankly feels a little overwhelming, and introduces a sort of artificial learning curve that could largely be avoided by simply spacing out when and how these new mechanics are first introduced.
Doing sp would also help the game feel fresher and more dynamic over the course of its campaign. If almost all the game's mechanics are introduced at the beginning of the title, it may feel fairly stale and played out by its end.
2 More Kinds Of Fish
The bulk of Dave the Diver revolves around the diving portion of the game, where Dave dives and hunts for common and rarer fish and sea creatures in the Blue Hole. While the title already features a decent array of fish, expanding even further on this would add some considerable replay value to the game, as well as greater depth.
Not only that, but having a wider variety of fish in the game would also give the Bancho Sushi minigame some more substance. It could also allow players to develop a more complex menu for customers.
1 More Kinds Of Weapons
Weapons are a massive part of what makes Dave the Diver feel so fun and fresh. Using guns to take down sharks and other sea creatures feels incredibly indulgent, but it's also great fun.
Having said that, the game could definitely benefit from introducing a wider variety of weapons into Dave's arsenal. Not only would this help the gameplay feel more varied, but it would also allow players to develop their own unique play style and approach to taking down and hunting different sea creatures. This would make a big difference to the game's replay value, too.
Dave the Diver is out now on PC via Steam Early Access.