Dave the Diver: In the Jungle review

Need to Know

What is it? DLC for Dave the Diver where you open a new restaurant.
Expect to pay: $10/£8.49
Developer: Mintrocket
Publisher: Mintrocket
Reviewed on: Intel i7 9700K, RTX 4070 Ti, 16GB RAM
Multiplayer: No
Steam Deck: Verified
VR: No

Oh, there’s some new DLC for Dave the Diver where you do more spearfishing and restaurant management, but this time it takes place in a little village where you can do quests and win favor with the locals like it’s Stardew Valley? And it only costs $10? Sounds like a cute little distraction, perfect for the weekend.

Except the weekend is long gone and I’m still playing. I’ve sunk more than 25 hours into the new “content pack” for Dave The Diver, called In The Jungle, and I’m happy to say I’m not finished yet. In addition to Dave’s usual scuba diving and bartending, I’ve battled a half-dozen new bosses, hunted birds with a rifle, become an expert beetle manager, been in a car chase, and watched my friend get swallowed and regurgitated by an enormous frog. Heck, I’ve even gone fishing the old-fashioned way: with a rod and a reel. Imagine that! Finally, fishing comes to Dave the Diver.

Just like the base game, In The Jungle is packed to the gills with activities and swimming with quirky characters—and it’s big enough it almost feels like it could be a standalone game.

Deep dive

(Image credit: Mintrocket)

In the DLC, Dave has been asked by his pal Dr. Bacon to investigate a remote village where a dead dinosaur has washed up next to a lake, and Dave, as he always does, agrees to help out. Bancho the legendary sushi chef comes along and sets up shop in the little village, where the locals are a bit wary of the newcomers. Soon, Dave is making routine dives to spearhunt and Bancho is cooking up his catches. There’s no sushi this time (you can’t serve freshwater fish raw), but that doesn’t stop Bancho from dramatically researching and grilling dozens of new recipes.

The daily dives for dinner work like they do in the base game, though Dave has some new upgradable gear to play with like his “Jungle Gun” which can quickly switch between a sniper rifle, shotgun, net gun, and assault rifle. I know that sounds extreme for catching fish, but this lake is a dangerous place, filled with ravenous piranha and enormous crocodiles. The lake is just the beginning, as the deeper Dave dives, the more dangerous and bizarre the sea life gets.

(Image credit: Mintrocket)

What’s more exciting this time around is the surface world, where the side-scrolling of the dives is swapped for a Stardew Valley-like perspective. You can explore the village and visit the homes of the more than 30 new characters stuffed into this DLC, running around in all directions instead of just back and forth. This perspective extends to Bancho’s outdoor restaurant, meaning you have to navigate around tables and chairs while serving meals, grilling appetizers, and mixing drinks for your evening visitors.

In the Jungle makes it feel more like Dave is really living in the world than the original game ever did

This perspective shift adds a lot: the base game was segmented into the different gameplay sections, but here it all flows together. Walk from Dave’s customizable cabin in the morning right out into the village, gather some resources like plants and herbs, chop down a tree and chip out some ore to make a bit of new furniture for the restaurant, stop and chat with a few locals, then stroll down to the lake, pop on your scuba gear, and dive right in. In the Jungle makes it feel more like Dave is really living in the world than the original game ever did.

Jungle gym

(Image credit: Mintrocket)

Then there’s the jungle itself. You’ll grab your trigger-happy pal Cobra and your new gadget-making friend Muna and carefully explore the branching paths of the jungle, which is filled with dangerous creatures like giant spiders, venomous frogs, vicious baboons, and massive snakes.

That’s where another new system appears: turn-based combat. You control Dave and his friends as they battle, using their offensive and defensive skills against the threats, leveling up after wins to unlock even more abilities. There’s a timing element to much of it, too, so tapping a button at the right time can mean doing more damage or blocking your enemy’s attacks. It’s a refreshing addition to the mix, especially Cobra’s abilities, which involve flinging sticks of dynamite or using his incendiary sniper rifle on the monsters. Cobra is anything but subtle.

(Image credit: Mintrocket)

Why explore a jungle when you’re supposed to be looking for lake monsters and running a restaurant? Well, there’s an ancient temple hidden in there somewhere, and, yes, it’s got even more new challenges like a series of ever-more intricate block-pushing puzzles. If Link ever quits the Zelda series, I’m starting to think Dave could fill in nicely.

What else? Well, you can manage a collection of horned beetles, battling them against each other in a rock-paper-scissors combat system. You can go bird hunting, which works just like the old Duck Hunting game for the NES. Fancy a bit of Rock Band? There’s a minigame with the local musician. There’s a block-stacking activity, lots of fishing to do in jungle ponds, and a mobile app that lets you use the distance you’ve walked and swam to level up a virtual flower…

I guess I should stop being surprised at just how many different activities Mintrocket packs into Dave the Diver, but I can’t. Every morning you wake up in the DLC, you really have no idea where the day will take you and what new game or system it’ll place in your path.

New in town

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A busy outdoor restaurant — The restaurant will keep you busy in the evenings.(Image credit: Mintrocket)

Motivating me beyond all the minigames is Dave’s evolving relationship with the villagers. While they live in the jungle in modest huts far removed from modern society, they’re anything but primitive. They read manga. They use mobile phones. One villager gave me his CD player because he streams all his music these days. Each has a disposition meter and the more you gently interact with them, the more you’ll learn about their likes and dislikes and find ways to win them over.

What really makes it all work is that Dave is just such a lovable character. He’s constantly risking his neck for others to take on fearsome sea creatures and horrifying jungle monsters, yet he’s completely bashful when anyone tries to thank him, always deflecting the praise to give someone else the credit. Just like in the base game, Dave once again won me over with his humble charm, and that made it completely believable that he was capable of winning over the villagers by being so kind and selfless. It was pretty heartwarming when the prickliest of all the villagers eventually approached me with a small gift near the end of the game. And Dave, of course, was completely bashful in accepting it.

What else is there to say? In the Jungle is great, it’s inexpensive, and just as filled to the brim with charm and activities as the base game. I was expecting this DLC to be a tasty snack, but turns out it’s a big ol’ meal.