Review: Dave the Diver – In the Jungle (Nintendo Switch 2)

If you’ve been living under a rock (or perhaps below the sea), you may have missed Dave the Diver when it was released in 2023. If that’s the case, you can always check out my Dave the Diver review. I highly recommend this interesting indie outing, which blends management and action-adventure elements with a quirky story to provide something unique and memorable. And, whether you missed it or not, now’s the perfect time to dive back in with the release of the game’s first paid DLC.

Dave the Diver – In the Jungle is a substantial addition to the base game. So much so that it could almost have been a sequel. It’s not as long as the main quest, but this DLC provides hours of content in the form of a new story, new location, and new activities.

The content pack takes place – as the name suggests – in the jungle. The first thing to note is that you don’t need to have completed the original adventure to embark on this DLC. I love this option, as the original game is quite long and there’s no need to hold players back from new content. While it makes slightly more sense from a story perspective to play the jungle section second (there are a few references to the previous narrative thrown in), you won’t be too lost. I still recommend starting the main quest just to get a feel for the main characters and gameplay loop before you head off into the dense jungle. 

You control the titular Dave, who finds himself – along with his friends Cobra and Bancho – venturing into the jungle to investigate a mysterious lake. The basic formula remains intact; your adventure is divided into calendar days, allowing you to swim by day and cook by night. 

In this DLC pack, though, things open up even further. Between dives and cooking sessions, you find yourself with enough time to explore the village. There are many characters to interact with here, each with their own tale to tell. This presents you with multiple side quests, adding to the longevity of this adventure. As Dave learns more about each person, his relationship with them improves. He can give gifts to boost relationships, all while enjoying quirky subplots. Examples include strange creatures stealing fruit at night, a man with a slight gambling addiction, a stranded CEO, a lost musician, and a girl who loves lizards. 

Things extend even more when the explorable area eventually expands beyond the village. This adds an RPG element as Dave encounters all kinds of jungle beasts, taking them on in turn-based battles. This is the type of neat edition that helps the DLC feel bigger than just a simple add on. It’s well designed and adds to the fun without distracting too much from Dave’s core elements of diving and cooking. For example, Dave can use animal meat taken from battles to add to the nightly menu. How convenient!

The day/night gameplay loop creates bite-sized activities to undertake, allowing you to dip in and out as you please. Alternatively, there’s a strong “just one more” feeling as you play. I found myself saying out loud, “I’ll just play until Dave goes to bed”, only for something exciting to happen right before bedtime that I wanted to see play out the next morning. In short, there’s some clever writing that keeps things moving briskly enough to be interesting while allowing you the freedom to explore between story beats.

Graphically, things look lovely. Dave is a retro-inspired outing, using pixelated characters among colorful backdrops to create a neat mix of old and new. The cutscenes take this concept even further, providing well-animated sequences that look terrific. They’re also quite amusing. In fact, there’s plenty of humor sprinkled throughout Dave’s world. There’s also heart. It’s heartwarming watching everyone come together to become friends as the story proceeds. I grew to love this cast of characters, some for the second time, during my adventure with them in the jungle.

Overall, Dave the Diver – In the Jungle is a terrific addition to the base game. It’s small enough to be considered an add-on rather than a sequel, but substantial enough to justify the cost. Now that we’ve added RPG elements to the mix, I wonder if the team is testing the waters for Dave’s next full adventure?