Dave the Diver Review (Jarik Spiegel)
The trailers do a good job of explaining what the core gameplay loop will be. Dive into the ocean collecting fish, turn that fish into sushi to use at the restaurant where customers pay you money, turn the money into upgrades, go back to diving with better gear, rinse and repeat.
What may not come across quite as strongly is how well paced and soothing everything is. Diving around for fish does have moments of punctuated panic where you're trying to expertly dodge sharks, or land shots with your harpoon gun to reel in that particularly agile fish you've been hunting; but the vast majority of the time is simply exploring the ever-changing cove and gently floating alongside the local marine life.
The jumps between the panic and the breezy bits is really well done. The restaurant management makes for a nice change of pace between your dives and the additional layers that come later (I'll refrain from mentioning the other things you'll visit/ manage later in the game) mean that even after 16 hours; I was still finding new directions that the game would go in.
There's not a lot more to say than that. The animations are delightful, the characters and the dialogue is funny, and the gameplay hits the note between panic and relaxation really well. I'd heartily recommend Dave the Diver and I'm looking forward to where else this game goes once it's out of early access.