ARC Raiders
ARC Raiders
Game
Game2026
DIVE or DIE - Children of Rain
Developer Drop Rate Studio
Every descent is a deadly gamble. DIVE or DIE in the cursed abyss, face Eldritch horrors to uncover the mystery of the black rain. Scavenge and upgrade, recruit and sacrifice. Save your camp... The Flood is coming. From the Steam store page
321 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy) · newest Nov 5, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
94
LovedLoved
269 positive · 18 negative
95% range 90–96%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 269 | 18 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 15 | 0 | 18 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Overwhelmingly Positive
658 of 692 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
93% recommend · 249 yes, 19 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 268 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (1,331 of 1,455 positive).
Players widely compare the game to Dave the Diver, Darkest Dungeon, and Dredge, calling it a blend of those titles. [1][2][3] Many praise the atmosphere, art, and Lovecraftian horror, but some find the time limit and difficulty frustrating. [4][5][6] A few reviewers criticize the game for lacking depth, poor balance, and repetitive content. [7][8]
Liked
Representative posts
- [7]
If I understand the game's credits correctly, Dive or Die was made by a skeleton crew of just 3 core people. Which helps explain why Dive or Die is just the skeleton of a good game. It has a reasonably enjoyable start, but is unfortunately seriously lacking in depth and polish, which includes some deep design flaws that can't be fixed in updates. In short, there's not nearly enough stuff to support themes like …
- [1]
I'm fairly certain this game is the result of Dave the Diver, Dredge, and Darkest Dungeon having an unholy threesome. It's also a certified Steam Deck banger.
- [4]
Edit: there is an option in the menu that disables the timer, which I hadn't noticed before making this review. There is also a strategy to slow it down that I mention below. ------ I really want to like this game more but I feel torn on it. Exploration is interesting, progression is meaningful, and moment to moment gameplay is engaging. However, you only have 30-40 in-game days to complete the game, each dive …
- [5]
Dive or Die is a very good rogue-like horror game. It very successfully blends survival, exploration and resource management mechanics with a lovecraftian doomsday clock theme that keeps you pushing forward. There is not much narration in this game but what is there is very memorable. The art style, the lightning, the sound design, the soundtrack(!), the whole atmosphere of Dive or Die is perfect. Story The world is …
- [2]
What if Dave the Diver and Dredge had a baby, and the baby was terrifying? Extremely good. Art, music, voice acting, absolutely crush
Summarised from 34 of the 303 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 12, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
DIVE or DIE - Children of Rain sits at 94% positive across 287 opinionated reactions from 3 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Reactions
60 of 321 · most liked firstAlright, i have played only a little and can say it right away - game is very similar to Don't Starve in a sense that you will absolutely do million mistakes during first run. There are limited amount of days (40 on easy difficulty), so if your diver dies - you lose 1 day and already get behind schedule. So far i seen only one way to increase count - to sacrifice some food and treasures in altar, after 4 days of sacrifices reward is +1 day to timer. Now, this game is not giving you an easy…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wanted to like this game I really did. For the artwork and narrative alone I'd say it's worth it at this price point. But as a game, it's just not fun. I decided to buy the main game to support the developers, but I sort of regret the purchase itself. I wish I could give this a mixed rating because I did have fun going into it for the first time, but at this point I'm just playing through to get my "value" out of it. Now obviously no one is begging me to continue playing... and honestly once…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If I understand the game's credits correctly, Dive or Die was made by a skeleton crew of just 3 core people. Which helps explain why Dive or Die is just the skeleton of a good game. It has a reasonably enjoyable start, but is unfortunately seriously lacking in depth and polish, which includes some deep design flaws that can't be fixed in updates. In short, there's not nearly enough stuff to support themes like exploration or survival; overall game balance is poor; and the story is barebones.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm fairly certain this game is the result of Dave the Diver, Dredge, and Darkest Dungeon having an unholy threesome. It's also a certified Steam Deck banger.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I read a review saying "It's boring diving from the same spot over and over." So that's just a false review, that guy didn't get very far if he kept diving from the same spot each time. You find multiple dive spots, plus with materials you end up building a whispering teleporter which also teleports you to different deeper places. Guy couldn't get past the first biome called "The Shallows" xd It's been fun sacrificing my survivors to the rain god though.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →10/10 It's like playing Dave the Diver with all the stupid sushi shop stuff taken out and replaced with cosmic horror!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What if Dave the Diver and Dredge had a baby, and the baby was terrifying? Extremely good. Art, music, voice acting, absolutely crush
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The beginning really captures you, the ambience, the environment, the enemies are all very interesting. But unfortunately the game doesn't scale well. There's a handful of events that get repeated, the rain nutrition and morale are all trivialized quickly, and the enemies are just reskins of earlier enemies. There are so many upgrades and items you can create but there's no point. I used a single diver for 75% of the game who one shot every enemy and moved faster than every threat. She had more…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Dave the Diver meets Darkest Dungeon with a Dredge-esque Lovecraftian twist. Genuinely could not put it down, and didn't want it to end. Rewrites the book on 'just one more run'. Easily my GOTY for 2026 so far.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Edit: there is an option in the menu that disables the timer, which I hadn't noticed before making this review. There is also a strategy to slow it down that I mention below. ------ I really want to like this game more but I feel torn on it. Exploration is interesting, progression is meaningful, and moment to moment gameplay is engaging. However, you only have 30-40 in-game days to complete the game, each dive taking one day, and you can also lose your best character in the blink of an eye.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you like Dave the Diver but wish it was also more like Darkest Dungeon, you really need to give Dive or Die: Children of Rain a shot. store.steampowered.com/app/3590290/...
positive · AI labelView post →I played the demo and loved it, bought the game and still liking it. It resembles Dave the Diver a bit, but with a progression similar to darkest dungeon. It's also quite unforgiving like DD. There's a lot of random events, stats, and so on that can happen which makes it very roguelike. The atmosphere and art is also very nice, relaxing, gloomy and somewhat melancholic. During the dive though it gets rather scary. If you meet some new threat and not sure if you should fight or flee, good…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →First of all: this game's amazing. The lore and atmosphere is awesome and masterfully done. You don't go on a quest to defeat a powerful being but rather collect items to worship it and hope it spares your life. Love that. The game's similarity to Darkest Dungeon and Dave the Diver is visible, but when it's done as well as it is here, the similar mechanics don't overshadow the originality of the game, but rather make it feel better. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. Overall the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TL;DR: The game is poorly balanced, while the narrator and art generate a lovecraftian atmosphere, the game rewards agressive gameplay more similar to a hack and slash. The good The diving feels smooth The design is nice (the village personally feels very close to darkest dungeon's hamlet) The voice acting is on point No gamebreaking bugs on release is remarkable The bad (mostly balance issues) From the very beginning the game tells you there is a set amount of time to finish the game (and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →VERY GOOD GAME. There are a lot of games to play and not enough time. This is good enough that it pushed a few other games back in line.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →So its a cool little game but the further i got into it the more disappointed I became. Especially towards the end. Given the art is very Darkest dungeon and the game claiming difficulty when you start I was hoping for some actual challenge where realistically the hardest part of the game is the first 5-10 days on managing resources and it quickly disappears once you build the fishing hut. I think the difficulty of this game is meant to come from player greed. If you play it slow and farm up…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I had a lot of fun playing through DIVE or DIE as it combines many elements that I like: Mechanically it feels a little like Dave the Diver but with a significantly larger focus on exploration, in-game knowledge checks along with some time and resource management. Combine that with a Lovecraftian coat of paint and an oppressive atmosphere similar to the Darkest Dungeon and you got yourself a quite addictive underwater horror experience. As mentioned above game features time management (40 days…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Having completed the game on Normal difficulty, (With all 8 idols. My lowest day count for the Flood being 16 days.) The first thing I want to say is that this game is easy. The second thing I want to say is that if you played Darkest Dungeon, this game is extremely easy. It's not half as difficult as people are making it sound. People who are having trouble are probably rushing through it, not letting their characters survive long enough. Some seem to be obsessed with days; they feel…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played the demo and bought the game when it came out and i recently started playing it. And I have to say that I am very happy with the result of the game they added lots of stuff changed some stuff etc. I recommend this game with my full heart love the progress it made!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Lovecraft + Darkest Dungeon + Dave the Diver = P E R F E C T I O N Great Storyline and Game Mechanics
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Imagine if Dave the Diver had a child with the Hellion from Darkest Dungeon and decided to raise their child in Innsmouth and you've got this game. Great game so far <3
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Dive or Die is a very good rogue-like horror game. It very successfully blends survival, exploration and resource management mechanics with a lovecraftian doomsday clock theme that keeps you pushing forward. There is not much narration in this game but what is there is very memorable. The art style, the lightning, the sound design, the soundtrack(!), the whole atmosphere of Dive or Die is perfect. Story The world is going to end. Black rain has been falling for months and years on end, and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →BEST DARKEST DUNGEON + DAVE THE DIVER LIKE. NEED DLC ASAP OH RAIN MAKER, PLEASE GRANT US OUR WANTING
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →- Dave the Diver in a lovecraftian post-apo universe - Catchy roguelite gameplay loop with steady progression - Darkest Dungeon-style hub management - Abyssal exploration - Cosmic horror Prepare to DIVE.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Superb game, scratches the diving sim itch well and has a wonderfully fleshed out world to explore. If you're a Dave the Diver and Darkest Dungeon fan, this game is for you.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am LOVING this! I downloaded the demo after watching Splattercat play this, and I bought the game after playing the demo for a while. It's a bit janky, but it has a lot of heart. Clearly inspired by Darkest Dungeon, Dredge, and other popular lovecraftian indie games, and probably Dave the Diver, though I haven't played that one myself. The diving expeditions are short and intense, and the underwater map is very well crafted. The game makes clever use of metroidvania-style mechanics, and does…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pros and cons are down below (spoiler free), if you want, you can check out a video, but beware, there are spoilers there: https://youtu.be/W5abBYR6mQ4 Pros: 1. The lovecraftian vibes of dread! Let's just say that if you liked something like Dredge for its Lovecraftian creatures and overall feeling of hopelessness, then this one is SO FOR YOU. The story is very well told, the vibes are nailed, and the art style enriches the experience. Overall, it's a very well-done game in terms of immersion,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I had my reservations buying this game but im so glad I did. The artstyle is gorgeous and going through the zones genuinly creeped me out. The game does not punish cautiousness, it actively rewards it. The resource management is very well done, collect items, dive deeper, get better gear, get better items, upgrade your village, upgrade your survivors, you know the drill, eventually your village will become semi self sustainable. There are several unkillable enemies and the first time…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Amazing art style and simple gameplay. You are forced to explore an underwater world which is not meant for you. It's hostile and just knowing that can put you on edge, especially when you hear noises long before you see what is making them. I really appreciate what they were trying to do with this one and I think they nailed it!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fantastic game. Spider lady made me piss my pants Would recommend
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →#NowPlaying: If you enjoyed playing Dave the Diver but wish that it were more bleak and Lovecraftian like Dredge, then Dive or Die: Children of Rain is for YOU! (And ME!) #GameSky #DiveOrDie
positive · AI labelView post →Dave the Diver meets Darkwood meets Darkest Dungeon. A real mix of the 3 games listed, and I find it to be quite enjoyable. Satisfying movement/water traversal from Dave, Atmosphere and horror from Darkwood, and management from Darkest Dungeon all culminate in a difficult but fun experience for those willing.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great atmosphere and rewarding exploration. Feels like a mixture of Darkest Dungeon and Barotrauma.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game, just one critique, my friend likes to alt f4 when his divers die to save them and get a retry; patch this to punish him please
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've just finished an Ending 3 run on Hard difficulty. I really enjoyed my time with this game, looking forward to giving it a try on the Rain difficulty. Quite challenging initially, great art style and sound design. The game feels like a mix of Barotrauma and Darkest Dungeon. Definitely worth a try!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Super fun game! Lovecraft meets metroidvania. Darkest dungeon with scuba gear. Base building and worker placement for an elder god. Very suspenseful with the dives to ever greater depths, the risk reward tension of pressing on or turning back is great. I find myself holding my breath at times in new areas and have to remember to breathe. Haven't beaten it yet but making steady progress. Highly suspect my first attempt is going to fail but already looking forward to my next new start with what…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I think this game is a gem. It's spooky, but not too scary and It's difficult, but it never feels impossible. Fun gameplay balanced out by punishing settlement management, all with an impending timer to keep things tense and each dive important. I think roguelike folks will get a kick out of some of these mechanics, but ultimately progression in this game scales with your own knowledge. Embrace the rain! Dive or Die!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have a love-hate relationship with survival games about collecting resources, but I am a sucker for Subnautica, enjoy Sunless Sea and have a respect for Darkest Dungeon. So when I played the demo for this game, I got intrigued. The thing that got me initally checking the demo was the "flash game" feel and look. I find the artstyle to be a little bit immature-ish, but endearing in some things like diving costumes and creatures. The gameplay loop is simple: you dive, explore, get resources,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I dont care what anybody says. I will always pick the random level 1 with Iron Lungs over the level 10 faithful diver 10 / 10 game !
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Given yesterdays release in relation to my current playtime, i'd say im certified to give it a take. I've already expected it to be solid from the demo alone, but i genuinely didnt expect to funnel this many hours in it's different modes as quickly as i did. Dive, upgrade your equipment, explore new areas with increasingly terrifying creatures, covering all shapes of terror while you're justy trying to keep your camp above water, literally. All the while ths is accompanied by Jack, the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played a couple of runs of the demo some weeks ago and loved it. Now that the game is fully out, I've got nearly 10 hours of gameplay already and I'm loving every moment of it. I heavily recommend this for anyone who enjoys lovecraftian worldbuilding, scuba diving, roguelike survival and city management elements in games. Solid 9/10, I will play many more hours.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After seeing some videos on this from Splattercat and Gohjoe I played the demo and loved it! Kept checking back every week or two for updates. So excited to hop back in! Demo progress carrying forward is also a very nice touch!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's the most wonderful time of the year! #SteamNextFest Today, we'll be checking out: DIVE or DIE - Children of Rain Don't Lose Aggro The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker 2 WILD Tactics ZERO PARADES - For Dead Spies 🔗 in bio ⟢ #vsky #vtuber #envtuber #live ⟣
neutral · AI labelView post →The deeper you go, the better the loot. That instinct has driven human progress for thousands of years. It's also gotten a lot of us killed.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Creepy and addictive diving game. Loved it, highly recomend!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I finished the demo and immediately bought the full game. It's really good fun if you, like me, have enjoyed both the colony management of Darkest Dungeon and the diving portions of Dave the Diver. I'd say it's more forgiving that Darkest and much more challenging than Dave - the sweet spot, in my opinion. Will de Renzy-Martin as Jack was very fun!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this game. Brought me back to a couple flash games I played and Darkest Dungeon. Managing a town of survivors and resources with events is always fun, and the underwater gameplay was exciting, rewarding, and unsettling! I only played on normal, so I honestly didn't encounter too much of the true difficulty that I know is there if I run it back. Art is nice; really helps create the world. Story is cryptic, Eldritch horror stuff; leaves you guessing at a couple…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This has got to be the most stress filled 14 hours of my life, and I loved every second of it. Unraveling the story of everything was so much fun, that i didnt realize that 14 hours had passed. So much praise to the Devs, for such great gameplay. But for me the best thing about this game was the story, so interesting and thought provoking but also so uncomfortable and vast. Thank you all for your hard work putting this together. PS. The rain serpent's song is going to be stuck in my head for…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Lovecraftian Mythos games are always a plus with me, even when those games have issues. With that being said, I am not seeing issues like some of the other Lovecraftian games suffer from. Beautiful graphics nice setting, the pacing does change in mid game, but I am not bored and am having a blast. i could see why some people may not like this game, but a 2D diving game with heavy Lovecraftian themes, I'm all in!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fantastic game. 10/10 would greed one extra piece of scrap and drown within inches of the surface again.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Awesome ambiance and almost a masterpiece of game design. Everything works, everything is learned through trial and error, progression is satisfying and rewarding. You start by being terrified of everything then you become experienced, you actually are rewarded for getting better, planning better, knowing the map better and generally learning how things work. The first time you encounter a new creature it feels like an unsurmountable threat, the 5th time, you know how to survive it, The 20th…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." -H.P. Lovecraft Love the theme, disappointed with the execution. The gameplay loop was interesting early, but I was expecting more variance between runs in a game that preaches "failure and death are part of the experience." The Metroid-esque map is just too static to hold up to prolonged play or even a second playthrough. Loot locations are semi-random, but once you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Porgy's gameplay loop with Barotrauma's diving mechanics, and Darkest Dungeon's hamlet. It's a good'un
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i don't review often, but this game has earned its spot. its not very often i find rouge-likes to be continually engaging even after the first play through, this game has me HOOKED. i cant wait for people to find this gem
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is good. Doing a blind playthrough and it feels challenging but fair - kind of like Darkest Dungeon in terms of lethality but you only have to manage one person at a time, and the yokels you keep around as insurance can also work around town.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Into the Eldritch Abyss: 'Dive or Die: Children of Rain' Locks In July Release Date techmash.co.uk/2026/06/02/i... @techmashcouk #IndieGames #HorrorGaming #Roguelite #DiveOrDie #DearVillagers
neutral · AI labelView post →Midsummer Night's Scream: A @horrorgameawards Showcase will feature a WORLD PREMIERE trailer for DIVE OR DIE: CHILDREN OF RAIN from DROP RATE STUDIO and @dearvillagers.com Make sure to tune in on Monday 1st June at 7PM BST. 🎮 100+ GAMES 🌍 50+ WORLD PREMIERE TRAILERS 🎬 TWO HOURS OF UPCOMING HORRORS
neutral · AI labelView post →Harvest of Terror: A Horror Game Awards Halloween Showcase 2026. In the comments of the video user @killterm wrote a helpful list of the game titles with timestamps, mentioning whether they are **World Premiere** trailers. All in all there are 55 world premiere trailers shown in the showcase. ::: spoiler @killterm's comment for reference (click on this line to expand) 5:58 Echograph 6:56 Gun Knife Bomb [World Premiere] 7:42 DONUT PANIC 8:40 My Little Cafe Nightmare 9:34 Dead Watch…
neutral · AI labelView post →The game is a little grindy but the gameplay loop is really satisfying. Dive, collect loot, craft and build up your town, repeat. You have to sacrifice people to unlock higher tier materials/equipment. It doesn't require as much sacrifice as Cult of the Lamb but expect to lose a lot of people. Sacrificing people also increases the difficulty in the respective biome. Don't do it until you're ready, but there is also a countdown to doomsday. Don't wait too long.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Contrary to popular belief there is no "or" to dive or die, You'll do both! but it is a Seriously enjoyable game that warranted a few playthroughs ALREADY (and i'm still excited to start some new ones with any new content)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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