For a good chunk of Dave the Diver’s playing time, it’s one of the absolute best games I’ve ever played. Yet it eventually gets crushed under the weight of the seemingly endless mini games and activities it offers alongside the main experience, and definitely starts to feel like a grinding chore by the end.

However, I’m getting ahead of myself there. Dave the Diver has proven to be quite the success, both critically and commercially, and though it can’t quite be described as an indie game success (it’s made by a small team within a much larger corporation), it certainly flies the flag for games that do things their own way.

The core of Dave the Diver sees the middle aged, overweight and somewhat relatable character diving for fish during the day, before serving the catch of the day at his mate’s sushi restaurant by night. The core gameplay loop of diving, gradually improving your equipment, being able to explore more and more, then managing the restaurant and serving customers, is incredibly compelling, and works brilliantly.

When the odd side activity comes up every day or two in in-game time, it’s initially refreshing. Mini games such as welding, or taking photos of certain types of fish, become fun, if brief, activities in their own right. Catching certain fish for special customers or events, or following clues to complete underwater missions always add an extra layer to the proceedings too.

There’s so much to busy yourself with, even with those basic elements; crafting, buying and upgrading weapons, collecting different fish types to fill Dave’s equivalent of a Pokédex (complete with a middle-aged parody of Pokémon’s Ash Ketchum), fighting mega bosses and levelling up the sushi bar are just a few of the things you’ll be doing.

By the time you unlock an Atlantis-style civilization underwater and get introduced to seahorse racing, or take part in an anime-obsessed character’s concert dance dream, the cracks really begin to show. When you’ve also got a fish farm and grow rice and vegetables in an actual farming area, it all starts to feel as if things have been thrown in willy nilly, regardless of how much they add to the experience.

It all gets, if not overwhelming, then certainly overloaded; it seems a bit churlish to complain about there being too much content, especially when it’s not all necessarily compulsory, but there are times when you’re forced to engage in activities that you’d really rather not, and it does take away from the best, most polished and deep element of the game: the diving.

I do respect developers Mintrocket for cramming so much content into Dave the Diver, and it’s got a genuinely endearing cast of oddball characters, as well as plenty of style and charm in its parodic, comedic cutscenes, along with its lovely aesthetic (the diving sequences are truly beautiful, though not always as peaceful as they may seem), but the overload of content does outstay its welcome at times, and even the main story begins to feel like a grind when you’re constantly told to come back a day later to complete missions for no good reason, other than to extend the game’s running time.

Don’t get me wrong; Dave the Diver is a unique experience with an awful lot to appreciate and enjoy, but the final stretch of the game is a bit of a slog, despite many elements being brilliantly implemented, thanks to just too much being added, with most of the extra elements struggling to justify their inclusion.

Dave the Diver is available on Switch, Steam and PlayStation consoles. I played it on Steam and the Steam Deck; the latter of which is the perfect way to experience it, in my opinion.