Dave the Diver continues to delight its players, this time with its extravagant cutscenes. It's already proven a winner with its combination of underwater exploration RPG and sushi restaurant management sim, and is climbing even further up the Steam top sellers chart.
Another part of the game that players are still gushing about is its cutscenes. Looking at the Steam reviews rated as most helpful, lots of players praise the cutscenes for being stylish and hilarious. Take a gander through Twitter and you'll see some examples.
The cutscenes will pop up whenever you make a new or upgraded meal or craft new weapons, but the mix of over-the-top narrative and smooth animation is what has players in stitches. This clip from streamer Billy1Kirby is a particular highlight.
There are so many absolutely phenomenal cutscenes in Dave the Diver, HOW CAN THEY BE SOO GOOD!? pic.twitter.com/bNZgc9rJLiJune 29, 2023
All he's doing is enhancing the restaurant's striped catfish sushi dish, but the cutscene transitions from the chef sharpening his knife to then slicing a single petal as it falls through the air. The camera follows the petal for a couple of seconds, before lingering on the fish tank behind the chef as a catfish emerges, shaking in fear at what it's just witnessed - and the fate it'll end up with too.
There was no need for developer Mintrocket to go this hard with its cutscenes, but it did and we love them for it. Other fan-favourites include this magical girl transformation inspired scene, and the beautiful teamwork between man and machine to make a rifle.
If none of this has convinced you to try out Dave the Diver, here's our preview of the game in early access, where we were extremely impressed.
If you want to know what other indie games to look out for this year, we've got an upcoming indie games guide to help you keep track.
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I'm a freelance writer and started my career in summer 2022. After studying Physics and Music at university and a short stint in software development, I made the jump to games journalism on Eurogamer's work experience programme. Since then, I've also written for Rock Paper Shotgun and Esports Illustrated. I'll give any game a go so long as it's not online, and you'll find me playing a range of things, from Elden Ring to Butterfly Soup. I have a soft spot for indies aiming to diversify representation in the industry.