DAVE THE DIVER - In the Jungle Content Pack Review

When Dave the Diver came out in 2023, it stood out because it was never happy with being just one kind of game. What began as an underwater adventure quickly turned into a mix of fishing, running a restaurant, exploring, sharing stories, farming, crafting, and a steady stream of strange mini-games that were surprisingly fun.

The game added a new feature that fit perfectly with the experience every time it seemed like it had shown all of its tricks. Dave the Diver became one of the most memorable indie hits of the last few years by always surprising players. As you might expect, there were high hopes for its biggest growth.

Instead of going back to waters that they've already been in, In the Jungle takes Dave and his team out of the Blue Hole and into a whole new area full of new mysteries, characters, and enough content to make many full-priced games seem small. What could have been a simple add-on ends up feeling more like a full-on journey.

The most important thing is that it keeps everything great about the first game while adding new features.

Things happen in the main game before the story begins. Dave, Bancho, Cobra and Dr. Bacon head to the small town of Utara because they heard that the environment around a nearby freshwater lake is changing in strange ways. The locals have been dealing with strange earthquakes, animals that are getting more dangerous, and pollution that has spread to the whole area.

The setup instantly brings to mind the mystery of the Blue Hole from the original game, but the expansion quickly becomes its own thing. The story focuses on Utara village, and new characters are introduced who seem more like they are a part of it than just quest givers. Everyone has their problems, habits and stories. So it is fun to check out other things than the main goal.

One of the best things about the story is how well it fits village life into the scheme for progressing. Building connections isn't just extra stuff you can do if you want to. As you help locals, do what they ask, and earn their trust, new chances start to appear in the village and restaurant.

The writing stays charming the whole time. There has always been a good mix between comedy and sincerity in Dave the Diver, and that continues here. There are a lot of jokes, references and silly situations, but underneath all the humor is a story of community and healing. Because of this, the story stays cheerful without being too simple.

One thing that will surprise you most about In the Jungle is how much there is to do.

Diving is still a big part of the trip, but not the only thing that people do. With the growth, the world is much bigger, making it more fun to explore both above and below the water. People spend their days going on fishing trips, collecting resources, helping locals, collecting bugs, harvesting crops, making tools, and exploring new areas in the jungle.

The freshwater lake is like the Blue Hole in the expansion, it creates a whole new environment with species that have never been seen before. Finding and getting new animals is still as fun as it was before, especially since the animals look like they were carefully planned and not just thrown in.

Adding the Jungle Gun is one of the best ideas.

Dave doesn’t have to use just one type of gun, he can swap between a rifle, shotgun, sniper rifle, and net launcher in seconds. It sounds like a minor change, but it makes discovery a lot easier. When fighting different creatures, you need to use different strategies. Being able to react without having to keep switching out gear keeps the pace fast and fun.

The growth also means a bigger focus on daily planning. As tasks are completed, time moves on, making it difficult to keep the right balance between exploring, resource gathering, socializing and prepping for the restaurant. While there’s always more to do, the game never feels rushed. Instead, it makes you feel good about every day because you know it counts.

What stands out most is how different it is. When you start to get used to doing something, something new comes up. There’s beetle fighting, bug collecting, crafting systems, village events, exploration quests and a whole bunch of random mini games to keep things interesting.

The jungle setting includes more classic adventure-game elements than the first game. When you explore, you'll often find temples, secret paths, and things in the environment that you need to get past by solving easy puzzles.

Luckily, the tasks are just the right level of hard.

They're interesting enough to take a break from exploring, but not so boring that they get in the way. The easy pace of In the Jungle is helped by the fact that most of the tasks are based on observation and experimentation rather than hard logic.

This time, fighting plays a much bigger part. While underground fights are still the same, many parts of the jungle add turn-based RPG-style battles against dangerous animals. It sounds like an odd thing to add to a game that already has a lot of features, but it works surprisingly well.

Combat is very simple and easy to get the hang of, and it’s all about tactics, not complexity. It’s nice to meet new people quickly instead of swimming and gathering resources. Boss fights are especially memorable for their excitement without being too difficult.

All of the elements fit well with progression. Catch fish for food for the restaurant. Running the restaurant provides supplies and upgrades. Meeting people opens up new possibilities. Exploring the jungle gives you materials to build and improve your gear. It’s easy to lose hours at a time without even realizing it, because everything you do moves you forward.

The only real problem is that there is so much work to do.

Completionists may sometimes feel like there are too many tasks, requests, collectibles, and side activities to do. Focusing on one goal can be hard because there are always other things that want your attention.

In the Jungle is without a doubt one of the most beautiful pieces of pixel art to come out in recent years.

The Blue Hole was already beautiful, but the jungle adds an entirely new level of beauty. So many things in the world that make you want to learn more: thick forests, high trees, waterfalls, secret temples, colorful towns. Every new area feels like it was made with love, with small touches that make you want to explore more.

The art direction for the expansion deserves a round of applause for giving the environment a great deal of personality. The jungle feels alive. Birds fly through the trees, bugs flit through the plants and convincing villagers live their lives in the town. The character drawings are also very well-done. The residents of Utara have unique looks that add a sense of real community to the town, as opposed to a bunch of generic NPCs.

The game’s expressive animations and detailed pixel art cutscenes remain to be one of its strongest features. Sometimes, a lot of plants can make it harder to find some resources. This is especially true for smaller collectibles that fit in with their surroundings. That being said, this is a pretty small problem with an otherwise great show.

The music goes really well with the mood of the expansion.

Mellow music plays in the background while you explore, giving you the same cozy feeling that helped make the original game famous. The music naturally changes from calm village themes to lively restaurant songs to strange temple scenes to more intense battles.

The sound effects stay clear and enjoyable the whole time. Strong audio feedback makes every catch, upgrade, contact, and good service at the restaurant feel good.

The music works especially well because it fits in so well with In the Jungle's constant changes in tone. You can be quietly walking along a lakeside path one minute and running around Bancho Grill during a busy dinner rush the next. The music changes, but it never sounds out of place.

Dave the Diver's best quality has always been his ability to make people feel both calm and excited at the same time through his audio and video presentations.

In the Jungle is successful because it doesn't just give you more of the same. It adds to almost every part of Dave the Diver while keeping the fun and attitude that made the first game so memorable.

The new setting feels fresh, the town is full of interesting people, and the new game modes give the expansion its own personality. There is always something interesting going on thanks to the redesigned restaurant management, more exploration, turn-based fighting, relationship mechanics, and huge number of side activities.

The fact that all of these systems work so well together may be the most amazing thing about it. On paper, the extension sounds like it has too many ideas. In fact, it seems to fit together very well. The game is always adding new things to do without forgetting what made the first experience fun.

Some players might find it too much to handle, especially if they're trying to finish all the quests and activities. But the fact that there is so much is also one of the best things about the DLC. There aren't many expansions that offer this much useful information at such a low cost.

If you liked the base game, In the Jungle is exactly what a great add-on should be. There's more action, more shocks, and more systems to learn. The world is also worth getting lost in for dozens of hours.Final Words