Dave.EXE

Comedy horror with a devoted following

Dave.EXE casts players as a sentient microwave-person raiding vending machines across broken timelines while a cast of chasing monsters, sent by the game's cartoonishly evil antagonist, tries to catch them. It's the latest release from a developer whose earlier games have built a loyal fanbase, and that history colors much of the pool's response. One reviewer wrote simply, "as a long time fan of dave's its nice seeing this game get finished." Another, more detailed reviewer situated the game's tone precisely: "Like most of Dave's games, this game is very comedic with its funny writing. The character customization, quests, and random events contribute heavily to the game's replayability. The game already has a vast amount of content despite being in early access." A third reviewer compared it to a genre landmark: "If you like to play asymmetrical horror games and are looking for a more casual survivor-like experience, look no further than Dave.EXE. Near infinite replayability, tons of enemies, maps, cosmetics, and items to try. Each round feels unique."

A game that explains almost nothing

The pool's single most consistent and detailed complaint concerns onboarding. One thorough reviewer, who'd followed the game since its Early Access announcement, described the problem precisely: "the biggest problem... is the lack of a proper tutorial. Yes, there's a short tutorial level that explains the core mechanics, but once you complete it, you're immediately thrown into an open hub with little to no idea of what to do next... What are OWO Charms? Where do I start my first run? What does this NPC do? How do I earn these currencies?" That reviewer specifically flagged how essential information is buried: "I didn't even know I had a flashlight until I briefly checked the library. That's something that should definitely be covered in the tutorial." A separate reviewer described the same friction from the other direction, needing to learn what killed them after every death: "Having no tips for the enemy that just killed you, and requiring you to go all the way back into the hub world, around a building and to a bookshelf to shift past 50 pages of a book and figure out which enemy killed you... some enemy portraits half obscure the enemy, meaning you might not even be able to tell WHO killed you."

Severe load times compound the friction

Beyond onboarding, reviewers repeatedly and independently flagged load times as a serious technical problem. One wrote, "The load times are BAD. Spending 20s-60s on every single loading screen is incredibly frustrating, especially given the number of them. If you're performing a challenge, you'll have to reload the same map and enemy for another half a minute before you can try again. Additionally, there's a loading screen when you SWITCH HUB WORLDS." That same reviewer connected the load times directly to the game's random-event system: "The outcome of random events varies heavily. I don't mind modifiers so long as there aren't any that are specifically way worse to deal with than others, but some are completely free while others make the experience far worse. I'd restart if I got a bad modifier, but that would require another loading screen."

A difficulty spike new players feel immediately

Several reviewers, even ones who ultimately recommended the game, described the early experience as unfairly punishing. One wrote plainly, "I'd love to like this game but it's simply very unfair to a beginner player... it was almost impossible for me to get even a single Vending Machine done. The city map is especially stupid, you spawn and the robot girl automatically sees you. A lot of maps have long corridors where if a fast enemy sees you, you're just dead." Another reviewer, more experienced with the developer's earlier work, noted the difficulty jump directly: "unlike some of Dave's older games... this is a surprisingly difficult game... it takes awhile to learn each of their distinct movement patterns, other abilities, or how they function overall. The only ways to really learn and get used to the AI are either play a lot with them with a bit of trial and error or read up on them in the library." A third reviewer described the base movement speed itself as a core frustration: "some of these enemy are really fast and it's not very fun to go against with a terrible base movement speed, which not only does it make the game feels sluggish, it's also doesn't feel very good to play with."

Progression that can feel directionless

Beyond the immediate mechanical friction, one detailed reviewer raised a longer-term concern about motivation: "I don't feel I'm unlocking a monster entry after encountering them. I don't feel like I'm making progress after restoring a timeline either. I simply return to the hub to buy a charm or a cosmetic and then repeat the process. There isn't even a progress bar or any indicator showing how much of the game I've completed. Without some form of long-term progression or milestones to work toward, it's difficult to stay motivated beyond simply doing runs for the sake of it."

Verdict

Dave.EXE arrives in Early Access with the comedic writing, mechanical depth, and sheer volume of content that its developer's fans clearly expected, and reviewers who push past its early hours consistently find real replayability in its chase encounters and monster variety. But its near-total absence of in-game guidance, severe load times, and an early difficulty spike that punishes new players before they've learned anything are real, frequently repeated complaints across the review pool, not isolated gripes. Genre fans with patience for a game that expects them to read a library rather than follow a tutorial will likely find plenty to love; newcomers should go in aware that the first few hours are the roughest part of the experience.