Games like DAVE THE DIVER

The Squirrel's verdictBoth loop day-structured gathering (fishing/farming) into character relationships and a management layer, with mining standing in for diving. Stardew skips the day/night job-switch and cutscene interruptions Dave the Diver piles on, instead giving one continuous farm you shape at your own pace, with co-op for shared runs.

Not for you if you want Dave the Diver's restaurant-service pressure and story-driven pacing rather than an open-ended farm you structure yourself.

The Squirrel's verdictShelldiver is a single-session incremental built around collecting sea resources, selling them, and spending on an upgrade tree that never soft-resets. Reviewers consistently note that progress feels smooth and meaningful from start to finish. Median playtime is 4.7 hours — enough to reach full completion in one sitting.

Not for you if you want a restaurant management layer, story cutscenes, or a game designed to last many dozens of hours.

The Squirrel's verdictEach day in Kingdom Two Crowns ends with an enemy wave that tears down what you built, and the next day begins rebuilding. That defense-and-expansion rhythm replaces Dave's dive-and-restaurant split entirely, with no story, no minigames, and no cutscenes — just resource timing and base placement, with co-op support. Median playtime is 34.4 hours.

Not for you if you want narrative, varied environments, or control over building placement, since spots are pre-defined and the loop repeats island to island.

The Squirrel's verdictThe Last Caretaker gives you a ship you captain across open water, setting your own pace between scavenging platforms, crafting, and exploration. There is no restaurant shift, no daily job-switch pressure, and no structured story beats driving you forward — just an open-ended survival sandbox with around 20–30 hours of content and a median playtime of 61.2 hours.

Not for you if you want a restaurant management loop, structured story pacing, or co-op — this is single-player and open-ended.

The Squirrel's verdictOutpath centers on gathering resources to unlock buildings and new islands, with a smooth progression loop reviewers compare to Forager. There is no day/night split, no customers to serve, and no combat — just resource gathering and building at a relaxed pace across roughly 19.9 median hours. One developer made it.

Not for you if you want combat, restaurant-service chaos, or co-op, since Outpath has none of those.

The Squirrel's verdictScale the Depths is a stripped-down incremental: catch fish, sell them, upgrade gear, move to the next area. Each new area resets local currency and core gear, which reviewers flag as either a satisfying restart or a repetitive grind. No restaurant, no story, no cutscenes. Median playtime is 9 hours across three to four areas.

Not for you if you valued Dave's restaurant sim and story beats, dislike gear resets between areas, or want more than a few hours of content.

The Squirrel's verdictBoth center on catching and cataloging fish that feed a separate economic loop, with light absurdist humor throughout. Dave the Diver keeps you diving and cooking in real time; Black Hole Fishing swaps that for idle/prestige mechanics, breeding fish cards and waiting on mass accumulation. Fits players who want fish-collecting without the restaurant-shift pressure.

Not for you if you want active real-time gameplay rather than idle prestige loops with reported late-game tedium and repeated resets.

The Squirrel's verdictBoth send you out to gather resources from the environment and bring them back to feed a growing settlement. Stranded Sails swaps diving and restaurant service for island exploration, farming, and crafting for a shipwrecked crew, with slower movement and an energy meter governing how much you can do per day. Median playtime is 16.4 hours.

Not for you if you want fast movement and dense content rather than an energy system that reviews describe as slow and repetitive.