I may have been late to playing the core game, but I’m ahead of the tide with the upcoming DLC In the Jungle. Dave the Diver launched in 2023 and got a lot of love from the gaming community, and was one of the biggest hits. Fast forward to 2026 when this numpty only just managed to go for a swim in the Blue Hole and realised what he was missing out on.
For those not in the know, Dave the Diver cleverly blends underwater exploration, restaurant management, RPG progression, and quirky storytelling to create an experience that was nearly impossible to put down. Over the years since its release, MintRocket has supported the game with various crossover DLC content featuring the likes of Dredge and the big guy himself, Godzilla.
Those expansions largely acted as entertaining side stories built around the familiar Blue Hole that we have come to call home, but Dave the Diver In the Jungle is something altogether different and takes us to a whole new ecosystem. Rather than simply adding another collection of missions or guest characters, this premium expansion takes Dave away from the familiar waters of the Blue Hole and drops us into, you guessed it, the jungle.
Complete with a freshwater lake, an explorable jungle, a new village, fresh progression systems, and another restaurant to manage, this DLC pack doesn’t just feel like additional bonus content but more like the first chapter of a sequel.
Leaving the Blue Hole Behind
A new home awaits, within the first opening hours, we are graced with a new dive location. Dave and his friends travel to the remote village of Utara after reports of a mysterious phenomenon happening deep within the jungle. We trade coral reefs and saltwater predators for an entirely new freshwater biome.
It was something I could have seen MintRocket doing if they made Dave the Diver 2, but to take such a bold decision to do it in a DLC pack was something I wasn’t expecting, but one that immediately pays off. The underwater environments feel genuinely different.
Visibility changes depending on the location, the wildlife behaves differently, and the overall atmosphere carries a stronger sense of mystery than the relatively familiar Blue Hole ever managed after dozens of hours. It captures the excitement of starting Dave the Diver for the very first time all over again.
A New Ecosystem Full of Discovery
Freshwater diving changes more than just the scenery and fish we are used to seeing in the base game. It doesn’t just feel like a reskin of the fish or just swapping sharks for different predators, it introduces an entirely new ecosystem filled with unique species, new dangerous predators, rare ingredients, and hidden ruins.
There are ancient temples and forgotten structures that you can explore beneath the lake, which encourages you to search every corner of the map rather than just rushing objectives. Like in the base game, every dive feeds directly into the management side of the experience.
You’ll need to go and get new ingredients to unlock more dishes for Bancho, and every new dish needs new creatures to provide ingredients for the recipes. Each successful expedition I did gave Bancho more opportunities to experiment and expand on his culinary brilliance. Again, this addictive gameplay loop remains just as satisfying as ever.
Bancho Grill Brings a New Twist
The best addition for me is the Bancho Grill, rather than simply just having use reopening the sushi restaurant in the new location, you’ll get to adapt his cooking to suit the jungle’s unique ingredients. These come in the form of Grilled skewers, new drinks, and regional recipes that replace the seafood-heavy focus but still maintain the frantic pacing we got in the core game, which I loved.
Don’t worry, running the restaurant still feels familiar, it just shakes it up a bit enough to avoid becoming a total replica of the Sushi restaurant at the Blue Hole. You’ll still get to recruit staff, manage what goes on the menu, and experiment with ingredients that provide another satisfying layer of progression in this expansion. If Bancho Sushi was one of the features you adored in Dave the Diver, like it was for me, then you will love losing countless more hours perfecting Bancho Grill.
Utara Village Adds Welcome Depth
When you think that Dave the Diver couldn’t add any more to the game, it goes and introduces Utara Village, which is a huge improvement from the boat, sushi restaurant and farms from the base game. It isn’t just a quest hub, the village is full of things to do and introduces the relationship-building mechanics that are heavily inspired by life simulation games.
I know, right, another mechanic inbound. Each Villager has their own personality, daily routines, and requests for Dave. By completing quests, offering gifts, and building friendships with the village, you will unlock additional story scenes, rewards, and opportunities throughout the campaign, which is brilliant. This addition makes you slow down a bit and take time to explore and get to know the people of Utara village.
This helps break up the day cycle, instead of just going for a dive every single day, you get to spend time exploring the village, talking to locals, gathering and mining resources, and simply enjoying the atmosphere. It was a welcoming change of pace that made the expansion feel like more than just another diving adventure.
More Than Just Diving
Dave the Diver has always excelled and gone over my expectations, and with the entirely new gameplay systems Dave the Diver In the Jungle continues that tradition. I don’t want to spoil every surprise, but you can expect environmental puzzles, jungle exploration, new combat mechanics, additional crafting opportunities, foraging, housing customisation, and numerous side activities that constantly break up the core gameplay.
Let’s just say there is never a dull moment with Dave the Diver In the Jungle, and it is up there as one of the best DLC additions in any video game that I have played. I feel there is greater flexibility during combat, as it allows you to switch firing modes on the fly, which is a huge win. It feels like MintRocket wants to make Dave the Diver a game that has a bit of everything, and I’m here for that as long as it fits naturally into Dave’s world.
The Humour Remains Intact
For fans of the Humour that was so funny in the core game, Dave the Diver In the Jungle keeps that charm and adds more memorable moments to Dave the Diver. Dave is still the lovable, slightly overwhelmed man who somehow finds himself responsible for solving increasingly bizarre problems. Bancho remains wonderfully obsessive about cooking, and I just love him as a character.
Cobra continues to be equal parts helpful and suspicious as ever, and the writing balances genuine warmth with wonderfully absurd comedy that I love from this game and ensures the expansion never becomes overly serious despite its more mysterious premise this time around. If you are a lover of the base game’s humour like me, then you will feel right at home In the Jungle.
A Visual Feast
Visually, Dave the Diver In the Jungle continues the stunning pixel art style that is loved by fans of the game. The Blue Hole was already one of the most beautiful pixel-art environments in recent years, and the jungle manages to stand alongside it as a wonder to explore. With dense vegetation, colourful wildlife, atmospheric lighting, and beautifully animated creatures, it gives this DLC its own identity rather than a copy-and-paste job.
The village feels alive and is packed with expressive NPC animations and charming environmental details that make you want to explore, and like the base game, the performance on PlayStation 5 remains excellent throughout.
Not Everything Lands Perfectly
One thing you will notice with In the Jungle is that you are going into a completely fresh start. All the upgrades, weapons, and systems from the base game are effectively reset as Dave adapts to his new surroundings. Personally, I liked this decision as it creates a new sense of progression for the DLC. It can briefly feel like you have gone backwards as you lose that hard-earned grind you did in the base game.
Also, because the DLC introduces so many new mechanics, certain sections can occasionally feel overstuffed, but I didn’t mind too much as I liked the new additions. Between village relationships, exploration, restaurant management, crafting, combat upgrades, and side activities, there are moments where the game risks pulling players in too many directions at once, however, it does tally up in the end and becomes easily manageable.
These issues never overshadow the experience, but they stop the expansion from reaching absolute perfection.
Incredible Value
Considering the asking price and the sheer amount of content In the Jungle is a fantastic buy. The campaign offers roughly ten hours of new story content, with significantly more available for completionists who wish to maximise village relationships, collect every creature, complete side quests, and fully upgrade Bancho Grill.
I just covered the DLC pack for Jurassic World Evolution 3, and when games nowadays have micro-transactions galore, finding the ones to invest your money into is difficult, but like the JWE3 DLC pack, Dave the Diver In the Jungle is a must. Very little of the content feels like filler, and nearly every mechanic expands on something that I already loved from the main game.
Final Verdict
Dave the Diver In the Jungle pushes the bar higher by moving Dave into a completely new ecosystem, introducing fresh progression systems, expanding restaurant management, and adding a surprisingly engaging village life simulator. MintRocket has done just that and has created an expansion that feels closer to a sequel than a traditional DLC.
If anything, In the Jungle shows other companies just how much love should go into DLC content. Some might feel like the new mechanics aren’t for them and that the increased complexity occasionally affects pacing, but I like the sheer creativity on display that makes these shortcomings easy to forgive.
In the Jungle recaptures that core games love, and seeing as I have just come off the back of completing the core game straight into the DLC, I would say that this feeling of genuine discovery is one that is welcomed after many hours exploring the Blue Hole. At first, it was hard stepping away from the Blue Hole and into an unfamiliar world packed with new creatures, mysteries, and characters, but I was able to fall in love all over again with Dave the Diver.
If you’ve completed the base game and have been searching for another excuse to dive back into Dave’s wonderfully eccentric universe, Dave the Diver In the Jungle is a must and one that you don’t want to miss out on. It doesn’t just expand one of the best indie games of recent years—it proves there’s still plenty of life left in Dave’s underwater adventures.
Dave the Diver In the Jungle Trailer
This review was based off a PS5 playthrough.
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The game was provided to us for the express purpose of reviewing.
Review Summary
What is Dave the Diver: In the Jungle?
Dave the Diver: In the Jungle is a major expansion that takes Dave away from the Blue Hole and introduces a new jungle ecosystem, village, progression systems and restaurant.
What does In the Jungle add?
The expansion adds freshwater diving, new creatures, ruins, jungle exploration, Utara Village, relationship mechanics, Bancho Grill, crafting, combat upgrades, housing customisation and side activities.
Is Dave the Diver: In the Jungle worth playing?
Yes. With around ten hours of new story content and considerably more for completionists, the expansion offers substantial content and feels closer to a sequel than traditional DLC.
What score does Dave the Diver: In the Jungle get?
Dave the Diver: In the Jungle receives 9/10.
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