#11 greatest video games like Dave the Diver – Destructoid

Dave the Diver is a gem. You’ve got calm, stress-free fishing that may sometimes get chaotic if giant, aggressive fish catch you. Through the evening, you expertise the thrill of managing a sushi restaurant throughout peak occasions. It’s lots, however that’s what makes it enjoyable.

Whereas it’s actually a singular recreation, it’s nonetheless potential to fill the void left after ending your Dave the Diver playthrough. Whether or not you just like the sushi restaurant points, deep ocean diving, or administration mechanics, we’ve developed a listing of the perfect video games like Dave the Diver that you could play proper now.

Moonlighter

One of many closest matches you’ll discover on this listing is Moonlighter, a recreation that has you dungeon-crawling at evening and promoting your wares in the course of the day. With an identical gameplay loop to Dave the Diver and a sequel deliberate for Summer time 2025, Moonlighter is one among your greatest bets if you’d like a mixture of shopkeeping and, on this case, dungeon diving, all whereas studying helpful classes about chasing your desires.

Luna’s Fishing Backyard

What in the event you’re solely fascinated by some fishing and cute pixelated graphics and don’t need the stress of Dave the Diver’s fight? Luna’s Fishing Backyard is a brief and candy fishing recreation the place your objective as the sport’s protagonist, Luna, is to wash up close by islands and ship fish to spirits that reside on them.

You gained’t discover any complicated gameplay mechanics or deep lore right here. You’re right here to fish, clear up some trash, and enhance your islands to rework them from empty lands to stunning, lush environments. If you need a brief recreation that you could end in a single evening after your Dave the Diver playthrough, Luna’s Fishing Backyard is likely to be simply what you’re in search of.

Dredge

On the opposite aspect of the fishing recreation spectrum is DREDGE, a single-player journey that focuses on intricate exploration and mechanics alongside a fascinatingly distinctive artwork type. Whereas it has a noticeably grittier vibe than Dave the Diver, it’s one other good alternative in the event you loved the sport’s fishing half however need one thing a bit totally different.

Chef RPG

Chef RPG has all of it. Whether or not you want Dave the Diver’s restaurant administration system, useful resource gathering, or its graphics, you’ll discover many of those points and extra on this title.

Going down in White Ash Harbor, your objective is to revive a neighborhood restaurant, Le Sequoia, throughout seasons whereas befriending the city’s locals and discovering lots of of cooking recipes. There’s friendship and romance alongside the best way, providing you with loads of aspect objectives to unlock as you focus in your major objective of restoring a rundown restaurant to its former glory. No matter which a part of Dave the Diver’s story and gameplay was your favourite, you’re more likely to discover loads of similarities between it and Chef RPG.

SteamWorld Dig

How do you are feeling a few recreation that has the identical feel-good power as Dave the Diver however with a totally totally different premise and gameplay loop? SteamWorld Dig is all about heading into some mines, amassing assets to promote, and uncovering secrets and techniques inside the world. There’s greater than meets the attention right here, very similar to in Dave the Diver’s universe.

Higher but, there are a number of of those video games, together with a SteamWorld Dig 2 sequel and SteamWorld Heist if you wish to change genres for a bit. If you need a mixture of useful resource gathering, questing, and fight that you could spend anyplace from a couple of to dozens of hours enjoying, that is actually a worthwhile pickup.

Recettear: An Merchandise Store’s Story

It’s time to leap into the oldest entry on this listing, Recettear: An Merchandise Store’s Story. At its core, your objective is to enterprise into dungeons, accumulate loot, and make a ton of cash by way of your merchandise store. Whereas it might appear simplistic at first, Recettear’s mechanics delve a bit deeper with options like haggling, various shopping for habits amongst clients, and merchandise upgrades to make dungeon diving simpler. All of the whereas, you’ve gotten a cute anime artwork type from the early 2000s, making a peaceable and acquainted vibe.

Between all that and an HD Version deliberate to launch someday in 2025, Recettear: An Merchandise Store’s Story is a good alternative if you wish to leap into the previous with a surprisingly complicated store administration recreation with dungeon-diving mechanics.

Rolling Hills: Make Sushi, Make Buddies

Most of those entries to this point have targeted on Dave the Diver’s deep-sea diving and store (effectively, restaurant) administration methods with out taking a look at one among its most essential elements: sushi. In case your favourite a part of the playthrough was proudly owning a sushi restaurant and studying extra about totally different fish, Rolling Hills: Make Sushi, Make Buddies is a good subsequent alternative.

Rolling Hills has you enjoying as an cute robotic who, you guessed it, runs a sushi restaurant. Over time, you’ll unlock new recipes, buy gadgets to improve your dishes, and purchase furnishings to enhance your restaurant’s atmosphere for patrons. These options and Dave the Diver’s sushi restaurant share a number of parallels, with sufficient variations to differentiate the 2 of their respective genres.

Doloc City

A more moderen entry on this listing is Doloc City, a post-apocalyptic farming simulator recreation with cooking, fishing, construction constructing, and extra. For a world following apocalyptic occasions, it’s surprisingly cozy and peaceable past the ruins you discover all through your playthrough. Whether or not you like extra trendy takes on Dave the Diver’s gameplay loops, wish to attempt one thing inside its style however want a bit change, or similar to pixelated graphics, Doloc City is a stable alternative, particularly in the event you additionally take pleasure in video games like Terraria, Stardew Valley, and even Minecraft.

On the time of writing, Doloc City is at the moment in Early Entry, giving much more alternatives for its story to develop and develop over time. Nonetheless, that additionally means it’s topic to alter, which might affect its spot on this listing. We’ll proceed to replace this data over time as extra particulars grow to be out there.

Travellers Relaxation

What’s extra satisfying than operating a tavern constructed by yourself exhausting work and dedication and watching your patrons calm down for the evening? Very similar to Dave the Diver, Travellers Relaxation has a useful resource gathering and store administration gameplay loop, together with your major goal to make the perfect tavern round.

All through your playthrough, you’ll create workshop constructions, collect supplies, and enhance your store to make your clients comfortable, all whereas discovering new recipes to raised your institution. Travellers Relaxation is one other nice possibility in the event you loved each Dave the Diver’s world exploration and restaurant administration mechanics alongside its satisfying artwork type.

Whereas the Iron’s Sizzling

We’ve talked lots about meals on this listing, however what about proudly owning your individual blacksmith’s workshop? Whereas the Iron’s Sizzling has you enjoying as a younger smithing professional who’s objective is to journey round Ellian, a land recognized for gathering and creating legendary artisans, to gather assets and hone his smithing expertise. Alongside the best way, you’ll rebuild an deserted village by way of your blacksmithing expertise whereas discovering varied secrets and techniques scattered all through the world.

In the event you take pleasure in seeing your actions straight affect the world round you, Whereas the Iron’s Sizzling is a good choose.

Cult of the Lamb

Am I evaluating Dave the Diver to a recreation about making a cult? You wager I’m, even when it’s not for that specific motive. Cult of the Lamb is all about operating round and defeating heretics in hopes of recruiting varied animals to your cult. Wanting previous the noticeable variations in artwork type and vibe, the gameplay loop between it and Dave the Diver is shockingly comparable.

Outdoors of discovering new followers in your cult, you and your members may even accumulate assets and construct a base of operations in the course of the day, whereas nighttime is if you enterprise out into the woods to slay monsters, accumulate gold, and recruit new cult members. There’s much more to this story than it initially presents to you, and it’s actually value selecting up after concluding your Dave the Diver playthrough.

Honorable Point out – Subnautica

We will’t have a listing of video games involving deep-sea exploration with out mentioning Subnautica. As one of the crucial well-known and in-depth aquatic exploration video games on the market, you’re in for a deal with with this one.

Nonetheless, evaluating this to Dave the Diver is a little bit of a stretch, particularly because it’s geared extra towards open-world survival and occasional horror components than restaurant administration and stress-free ocean exploration. Nonetheless, in case your favourite a part of Dave the Diver was exploring deep sea depths and also you need extra of a problem, Subnautica is right here to get your coronary heart racing.

What’s your favourite recreation that creates a singular expertise by combining a number of genres? Tell us within the feedback beneath!