The fan-favorite sushi master from Dave the Diver is finally stepping into the spotlight.
During PlayStation’s latest State of Play showcase, developer Mintrocket officially unveiled Bancho the Chef, a brand-new standalone cooking adventure coming to PlayStation 5. The game serves as a prequel to Dave the Diver, taking players back to 2004, nearly two decades before the events of the original game.
Bancho the Chef follows Bancho’s journey across Japan, Korea, China, and other regions of Asia as he trains under master chefs and hones his culinary skills. Long before becoming the legendary sushi chef players we know and love from Dave the Diver, Bancho was an aspiring cook searching for his place in the culinary world.
Unlike Dave the Diver, where much of the restaurant gameplay revolved around serving dishes in the sushi bar, Bancho the Chef puts cooking front and center. Players will prepare meals themselves, serve customers against the clock, improve restaurant reputations, and learn new techniques from renowned chefs across different regions.
The new title blends cooking simulation, RPG progression, and adventure mechanics, continuing Mintrocket’s tradition of mixing genres. Alongside the cooking gameplay, players can take part in various side activities, including fishing, interacting with local characters, and even petting cats.
One of the biggest changes from Dave the Diver is the visual presentation. Mintrocket has moved away from pixel art and embraced full 3D graphics to better showcase food preparation. The reveal trailer highlights detailed cooking animations, from slicing fresh fish and frying ingredients to smoke rising from grills and the glossy finish on prepared dishes.
PlayStation 5’s DualSense controller also plays a major role in the experience. According to Mintrocket in their official PlayStation blog, haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, touchpad controls, and the controller’s built-in speaker have all been integrated into the cooking mechanics. Players will feel the resistance of slicing ingredients, cracking eggs, and even washing dishes through the controller’s unique features.
The announcement comes as Mintrocket continues work on Dave the Diver‘s upcoming In the Jungle DLC expansion. While the studio has not announced a release date for Bancho the Chef, it has confirmed that more information will be shared later this year.
For longtime Dave the Diver fans, Bancho the Chef offers a chance to finally learn how one of the game’s most beloved characters became the culinary master of the Blue Hole.
