What kind of game IS this exactly?

[LazyTomato]

Evil Factory has been one of my favorite mobile games ever since its release back in 2017 (even after its delisting I've still got it installed on my phone), and finding out this was apparently from the same director, down to having a Cobra cameo, instantly peaked my interest.

...I'm curious though, because the trailer is kind of all over the place and so are the community tags. What IS this game about, precisely?
I'm seeing underwater exploration parts that SEEM like a sorta deep-sea-metroidvania-type experience ala Shinsekai, but there's "roguelite" tags on the page, but there's also the whole sushi shop management thing, there's farming, there's a bunch of other unrelated minigames, and I'm just kind of confused.

So what IS the actual main gameplay loop here? I'm interested, but I'm not quite sure what I'm looking at exactly.

[Escapist]

Alternating between diving to spear fish/collect stuff and serving tables in a sushi bar.

[WeastBay]

it's a "one more run" type of game

[Connatic]

Originally posted by Escapist:

Alternating between diving to spear fish/collect stuff and serving tables in a sushi bar.

Would you say it's more "gamey" than Dredge? Like is there some underwater combat? Can you die/game over?

[djheat]

There are aggressive fish under water, and you can die from drowning or getting eaten (your oxygen meter is your lifebar), when it happens you either get bailed back to the boat with one item from your run or get the option to restart if it's like a quest segment or something. I don't think there's a full on game over state where you fail and have to start over or load an old save

[Connatic]

Originally posted by djheat:

There are aggressive fish under water, and you can die from drowning or getting eaten (your oxygen meter is your lifebar), when it happens you either get bailed back to the boat with one item from your run or get the option to restart if it's like a quest segment or something. I don't think there's a full on game over state where you fail and have to start over or load an old save

I guess a "failure state" would have been more appropriate.

[LazyTomato]

Originally posted by djheat:

There are aggressive fish under water, and you can die from drowning or getting eaten (your oxygen meter is your lifebar), when it happens you either get bailed back to the boat with one item from your run or get the option to restart if it's like a quest segment or something. I don't think there's a full on game over state where you fail and have to start over or load an old save

Oh so it's more of a roguelike-iike-type thing where you go through randomized water sections to fish and gather resources for the sushi bar as you advance the plot?
I'm guessing the bosses and "quest segments" you mention get introduced along the story as "fixed" events then?

[djheat]

Originally posted by LazyTomato:

Originally posted by djheat:

There are aggressive fish under water, and you can die from drowning or getting eaten (your oxygen meter is your lifebar), when it happens you either get bailed back to the boat with one item from your run or get the option to restart if it's like a quest segment or something. I don't think there's a full on game over state where you fail and have to start over or load an old save

Oh so it's more of a roguelike-iike-type thing where you go through randomized water sections to fish and gather resources for the sushi bar as you advance the plot?
I'm guessing the bosses and "quest segments" you mention get introduced along the story as "fixed" events then?

Yeah, that's like exactly how the game works

[LazyTomato]

Originally posted by djheat:

Yeah, that's like exactly how the game works

Sick, might be picking it up eventually then. Sounds pretty cool.

[PunisheR]

a very buggy one

[HeOfManyGames]

I know answer has been selected, but I'll just add one thing.

You do also get choice/freedom of what to focus on most (to a point)

For my first dozen or so hours pre 1.0 release, I didn't do any 'main plot missions' at all; just focused on maxing out and customising my sushi place, training up staff , mastering the mechanics etc. Also didnt go into much depth with the fishing, just got what I needed for dinner service and GTFO'd

If you prefer one element more than others, you can leave behind your less preferred parts at least until they bar progression in another area.

For what its worth, I recommend the game also.

[Wallcow]

I am here to say that Evil Factory Demo was added to Dave the Diver as minigame.

[Doniazade]

It is many many minigames wrapped around a core of very long diving sessions interspersed with two minute sushi segments. There are QTEs and some of them are unfair. The game is relatively easy but intensely frustrating sometimes.

[Darzai]

It is a minigame bonanza. I was surprised that some described this game as cozy. You literally get bombarded with new mechanics every 10 seconds when you start. It is way too disruptive to be cozy. Or maybe the word cozy changed its meaning or something. To me it feels like a mobile game because of the relentless amount of minigames.

It is ok though and I like the pixel art style. I can see how ppl really like it for the atmosphere it creates.

[Devilish Dave]

It is literally a platformer with several mini-games.