Dave the Diver Heads Into the Jungle
Dave the Diver is getting a major style shake up with its upcoming In the Jungle DLC. If you enjoyed the original blend of deep sea diving and sushi shop management but drifted away after launch, this expansion might be the perfect reason to jump back in.
Instead of returning to the familiar Blue Hole, the new content sends Dave to a remote village tucked inside a lush jungle beside a freshwater lake. This change of scenery is more than just a new background. It completely changes what you catch, what you cook, and how you spend your in game days.
Since the lake is freshwater, you are no longer catching typical ocean fish for sushi. Instead you are running a brand new restaurant, Bancho Grill, tailored to the new environment and ingredients. Different fish, different recipes, and a different vibe give this DLC a fresh identity while still feeling like Dave the Diver at its core.
A New Way To Play: Real Time Village Life
The biggest shift in In the Jungle is how the world is structured. In the base game your routine was split into clear chunks of morning, afternoon, and night. In the DLC, the village and jungle play out in real time, which changes the pace of everything you do.
You can freely wander around the village instead of just hopping between menus or limited areas. The camera switches to an isometric view which gives the DLC a cozy life sim feel, almost like Dave has stumbled into Stardew Valley for a vacation.
As you explore and settle into the new area, you can:
- Walk around the village at your own pace instead of being locked into time slots
- Gather local resources like fruit and minerals to support your dives and restaurant
- Chat with villagers and take on quests to earn their trust
- Bring Dave’s friends, such as Cobra, along for the adventure as followers
The social aspect of the DLC ties directly into your restaurant. The more you help villagers and build relationships, the more they will visit Bancho Grill as customers. You are not only making friends, you are building a loyal crowd for your new business.
This free roaming structure gives you more control over how you spend each in game day. You can decide when to fish, when to cook, and when to hang out, instead of being forced into a strict schedule. It feels more like living in this jungle village rather than just passing through it between missions.
New Dives, New Dangers, and Bancho Grill
Dave is still very much a diver first, and the jungle lake is filled with new creatures that are both valuable and dangerous. Forget about the gentle starting areas from the base game. This lake is home to aggressive freshwater threats such as piranha, electric eels, and even crocodiles.
To deal with these new underwater enemies the DLC gives Dave a new tool, the Jungle Gun. It is a flexible weapon that can be used in multiple ways, including:
- Firing nets to capture fish and creatures more efficiently
- Acting like a shotgun for close range defense when things get hectic
- Serving as a sniper style weapon for picking off threats from a distance
This added flexibility helps keep the dives interesting as you adapt your approach to different enemies and situations. You are not just spearfishing the same way every time. You are constantly deciding how to use your gear to stay safe and gather the best ingredients.
Back on land, Bancho Grill changes how restaurant management works. In the original game you mostly moved sideways along the bar to serve customers. In the Jungle expands that into a more free movement system.
Inside the restaurant you can walk in all directions to bring meals and drinks to different tables, making it feel more like you are actually running a small eatery rather than just operating a serving rail. Combined with the new villagers you have been befriending, the restaurant feels like a local community hub instead of a generic service counter.
The DLC also adds light hearted new minigames to break up the routine. The trailer shows Dave knocking coconuts out of a tree with a stick, as well as a rhythm game that plays like a simplified Rock Band session where you take on a guitar performance. These little side activities fit nicely with the relaxed, village life tone of the jungle setting.
All of this content is designed to be a compact, focused experience rather than an endless grind. The developers Mintrocket say the whole DLC will take about ten hours to complete. That is long enough to feel substantial, but short enough that you can see everything without committing to a massive new campaign.
In the Jungle is not just more of the same. New environments, a real time village, a different restaurant style, and a fresh set of underwater threats make this DLC feel more like a mini sequel that experiments with the formula. If you liked Dave the Diver’s mix of chill management and underwater action but hoped for a slightly deeper social and exploration layer, this jungle trip might be exactly what you were waiting for.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/dave-the-divers-next-dlc-really-changes-things-up-you-can-freely-explore-the-new-village-in-real-time-complete-quests-to-win-over-locals-and-your-restaurant-doesnt-serve-sushi/
