Dave the Diver: In the Jungle is the latest DLC expansion for Dave the Diver, the sleeper hit restaurant management game. When I heard that it was getting a new DLC, I was pretty excited because, as a person who sank hours into playing it till completion, I couldn’t wait to see what Mintrocket was going to cook up next, and they for sure exceeded all my expectations for the DLC. After starting the DLC, I have played for 20+ hours to finish the game, and it’s amazing. This expansion doesn’t just add a few new missions; it packs a huge 10- to 15-hour story campaign that practically feels like an entire sequel instead of a DLC, without missing the base game’s charm.
The setup is basically your average Dave moment. Dr. Bacon drags our favorite pot-bellied diver and his team—Cobra and Bancho—to the remote inland island of Utara to investigate a bizarre phenomenon: a giant marine dinosaur carcass has washed up on the shores of a freshwater lake, and also the water has turned a sickly yellow, making the waters toxic; earthquakes are shaking the ground, thus making the local wildlife completely feral; and also the local cuisine was so terrible that it left Bancho absolutely in disgust. Naturally, Dave is tasked with solving the environmental crisis underwater, while Bancho sets up “Bancho Grill” to introduce to the locals the sublime art of proper cooking.
Freshwater Dives, Crocodiles and Hydrogen Sulphide
The core loop of diving by day and serving customers by night is still part of the main gameplay in the DLC, but it comes with a twist. Since you’re exploring a freshwater lake rather than the ocean, there is no sushi this time around, but instead we use fresh herbs and spices directly from the jungle and local fruit ingredients like lemongrass, calamansi, dragon fruit, coconut milk, and sambal to create mouthwatering Southeast and West Asian-inspired dishes.
The restaurant gameplay itself gets a massive upgrade. Bancho Grill ditches the traditional side-scroller view for a dynamic, isometric angle. You are now sprinting around like a classic Diner Dash game, managing seating, serving skewers, and keeping up with hungry crowds.
Meanwhile, your underwater excursions are much more dangerous. The freshwater lake is filled with poisonous hydrogen sulfide and also is teeming with aggressive piranhas and massive crocodiles. To help you survive, you get a jungle gun, a weapon that lets you switch between 4 options, namely a sniper, a shotgun, a net gun, and a rifle. It’s an absolute lifesaver that allows you to deal with such aggressive fishes, thus keeping underwater combat pretty fast and fluid.
Dave the Explorer
Once u step out of the water, In the Jungle transforms into a full-fledged RPG and social simulator. Dave is no longer confined to a simple boat; you can now explore Utara Village in a semi-open world format. You can chat with all the villagers, catch bugs, engage in beetle battles, gather crops and ores, and visit local blacksmiths and carpenters to upgrade your tools and for Bacho’s Grill. Time moves in real-time, forcing you to carefully plan your daily schedule before the sun sets.
The expansion also introduces a Stardew Valley-style friendship menu. To get the locals to actually patronize Bancho Grill, you have to complete side quests and give them gifts to raise their affinity hearts.
For RPG fans, the ultimate highlight is the hidden forest area, which gets unlocked later in the game. Here, the game introduces turn-based combat against aggressive forest beasts, dungeon-crawling puzzles inside an ancient temple, and finally, traditional rod and reel fishing. You can also explore the forest to obtain upgrade materials like ores, wood, and even herbs. It can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming trying to balance all of these tasks in a single day, but the sheer variety of activities is incredible.
A multiverse of Absurd Guest Stars
Dave the Diver has always surprised me with unexpected gaming crossovers, and In the Jungle takes this absurdity to delightful new heights. Early on, you’ll cross paths with Martin Tweed from Journey to the Savage Planet, who crash-lands his rocket on the island and helps you clear out the hydrogen sulfide pollution inside the lake. Later, you can even recruit Rover from Wuthering Waves to work the tables at Bancho Grill because he felt a resonance and doesn’t feel like he’s ready to return to Solaris-3 and many more unexpected guest entries.
The pop-culture love doesn’t stop there. The game is packed with nostalgic mini-games and references, including a bird-hunting activity that plays exactly like the old classic game Duck Hunt and also a village festival rhythm game.
The Beauty of the jungle
Visually, the shift from the deep sea to the lush, vibrant greens of the jungle is stunning. The pixel art beautifully captures towering trees, tropical flora, and unique, highly expressive character design for the villagers, complete with individual tattoos and distinct styles. The UI remains clean and the pixelated cutscenes for cooking and upgrading gear are wonderfully dramatic as ever.
The cozy atmosphere is perfectly wrapped in a laid-back, lo-fi soundtrack. However, the presentation does have a couple of minor hitches. The lush jungle environments look gorgeous, but gatherable resources like green herbs and antidote herbs blend a little too well into the green background, making them incredibly difficult to spot. Additionally, while the game features a fantastic, expansive music playlist on Dave’s in-game phone, you rarely get to hear these tracks during casual exploration unless you actively go to the menu to play them.
Real Talk
Dave the Diver: In the Jungle is an absolute blast of a DLC. I completely enjoyed every moment of it. Mintrocket has done an exceptional job with DLC such that they improved a lot on the things they weren’t able to do in the base game. By mixing the classic diving and restaurant management gameplay with RPG-based combat, NPC relationships, and semi-open-world exploration, it made the game much more enjoyable. If you loved the base game, then this amazing expansion is an absolute must-play.
FINAL SCORE: 95/100
