How July’s best game was the hit that no one was expecting

2023 HAS been an amazing year for games already, from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, to Resident Evil 4.

There has been something for everyone this year, and gamers have been spoiled with so many amazing big-budget titles.

July was a quieter month, but there were still major releases like The Expanse and Pikmin 4 to keep us all occupied.

Yet, it was an unexpected game that stole players’ hearts, despite having little to no marketing around it.

Dave the Diver quickly sprang to the top of Steam last month, becoming the most-played game on Steam Deck in July.

It beat out mainstays like Elden Ring, Stardew Valley, and Grand Theft Auto 5 as the platform’s most played game.

Dave even made it into the top ten best-sellers of the month, beating out ever-popular games like CS:GO.

But what is Dave the Diver? And how did he plunge himself into such success?

On the face of it Dave the Diver is as unassuming as the name makes him seem.

But don’t let the pixel art graphics confuse you, it goes much deeper than it seems on the surface.

Dave’s an overweight diver who likes to plunder the ocean floor by day, and serve his hard-earned gains to the customers of a sushi restaurant by night.

The game throws every genre into its mix but at its core it’s a management sim and RPG that captured fans by delivering something different.

There’s a few things that likely led to Dave’s success where so many other indie games would have vanished into obscurity.

It’s a beefy game, how long to beat says the main story is 22 hours, and this is a site which is biased to underestimating the time.

Put the game’s length against its tiny £17 ($20) price point, and it’s easy to see why people would be willing to give it a try.

Then there is the time in which it was released. 

It’s after the big hitters of late spring like Diablo 4, and Street Fighter 6, but before other games like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Starfield start consuming everyone’s lives.

This release sweet spot combined with the give it a go price tag meant that people did pick it up.

Dave the Diver spread by word of mouth, but that word of mouth wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t very good.

While there are plenty of very good games that don’t get their time to shine, Dave could thanks to the stars aligning just at the right time.

There’s still some time before Starfield, so pick it up, and enjoy.

Written by Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.