Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator

 PC
User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 103 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 71 out of 103
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 103
  3. Negative: 20 out of 103

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. byarlant
    Jul 28, 2017
    3
    A dating sim that tries to play the "gay dating" originality card but ends up feeling too forced.

    The game is short, the characters are cliché and one-dimensional.

    The graphics are OK, the characters are well drawn.

    The dialogues are full of humor, but sometimes there are just too many jokes.

    The game panders to a limited audience.
  2. nexumine
    Jul 27, 2017
    2
    i wish people would stop sucking off these people just because they're the game grumps. they can make **** content too. i played this game for near 2 hours and was done with it. there's zero replay value, and for 15 bucks? there are visual novels for half that price that i can play time and time again. not only that, but there are games made by one person with zero budget that offer mei wish people would stop sucking off these people just because they're the game grumps. they can make **** content too. i played this game for near 2 hours and was done with it. there's zero replay value, and for 15 bucks? there are visual novels for half that price that i can play time and time again. not only that, but there are games made by one person with zero budget that offer me hundreds of hours of gameplay. but i might as well give them more money, because that's really all i see in this. the art is nice, but what is a game with nice graphics that you play for 30 minutes? a waste of time.… Expand
  3. retinal
    Jul 21, 2017
    3
    I think you can tell the team really wanted to make this a good game but the execution wasn't great.

    There are some good moments but overall I feel like the story is not well done for how short it is. Another major problem I have is the payoff at the end. It doesn't really feel like it did a good job building to anything that really makes you care. The hype is real and there is merit    I think you can tell the team really wanted to make this a good game but the execution wasn't great.

    There are some good moments but overall I feel like the story is not well done for how short it is. Another major problem I have is the payoff at the end. It doesn't really feel like it did a good job building to anything that really makes you care.

    The hype is real and there is merit to getting a game during a hype period to be part of the discussion but if you are looking for a solid "gaming experience" with a masterpiece of a story I think you should look elsewhere    … Expand
  4. austinatlantis
    Jul 21, 2017
    1
    I really, really wanted to love this game. I didn't think this game was absolutely terrible, but there are a few reasons I don't recommend it and am hoping I can get a refund on it.

    1. The game is too short. You only get 3 dates per dad, and the pay off at the end is not very good. You end up feeling like there should be a lot more to their routes, but there isn't. 2. Not all dads    I really, really wanted to love this game. I didn't think this game was absolutely terrible, but there are a few reasons I don't recommend it and am hoping I can get a refund on it.

    1. The game is too short. You only get 3 dates per dad, and the pay off at the end is not very good. You end up feeling like there should be a lot more to their routes, but there isn't.

    2. Not all dads get a sex scene. It seems weird to include one for some, but not all.

    3. The "voice acting" in the game is low quality. Some sound clips are much louder than others, some sound like they were recorded with a bad mic.

    4. For what the game is, I think it's too expensive. Especially if they are truly planning on having paid DLC.

    Overall the game just feels incomplete. I don't think 3 dates per route is enough to really be satisfied with the outcome. I feel the developers should have taken their time to really flesh out a complete game, instead of literally rush to get it out ASAP.    … Expand
  5. preClassic
    Jul 21, 2017
    3
    When first hearing that the Game Grumps were making a game--I was over the moon. I have been a fan for a while now, and upon watching the trailer in the wee morning hour of 3 AM, I was already counting down the days til release. And then release day came, and I was still counting down the days. When I finally get the game I am excited and greeted by a pleasant menu screen and theme song.When first hearing that the Game Grumps were making a game--I was over the moon. I have been a fan for a while now, and upon watching the trailer in the wee morning hour of 3 AM, I was already counting down the days til release. And then release day came, and I was still counting down the days. When I finally get the game I am excited and greeted by a pleasant menu screen and theme song. What I didn't know at the time is that... that's all I'll be getting from the game. A pleasant screen and some music. As I'm clicking through the dialogue, I get slightly disappointed that it isn't fully voiced, (albeit the creators never implied that it would be, so it's my own expectation to be let down) but then as the game drags on... I understand why it's not fully voiced. The dialogue is... annoyingly dense. I haven't perused the dating sim genre all too much in my time, and what I've read about them, it seems this is pretty much on brand for a game like this, but dense dialogue doesn't mean good dialogue. The rest of the game is beautifully done. The UI is simple and elegant, the art is above and beyond, the mini games (while not really that interesting to me) are equally as good. Sometimes the little grunty-reaction sounds from the characters don't make too much sense and are clipped at the end, but that's the worst thing about the bare bones of the game. It's just that when making a visual NOVEL, the dialogue is more important than good coding and art. It seems to me that the writing team's writing process was to sit and come up with dad jokes and references. And that's it. The writing feels like an interminable effort to seem quirky. The writing isn't confident that it can be witty in simplicity or innuendo, so it instead takes the route of beating the player over the head with a joke until the player isn't really able to determine if it was supposed to be a joke in the first place. It got to a point, for me, that I was so bored with the over the top cheeky dialogue trying desperately to convince me that it was clever that I just skipped on through. And I didn't miss any story whatsoever. Now the game may not be for me--which is understandable, I'm hard to please--but I didn't even come close to relating the character that is supposedly me. Player characters are supposed to be bland so whoever's playing can insert their own personality into them. That's why Link is mute. With this player character, it feels more like instead of being able to insert myself into the story that I’m just watching some guy go about his life. The player character has his own personality when you start the game, and only those who are as introverted and socially-awkward as him will relate at all. Which is the opposite of what the game was trying to achieve. I feel so little agency throughout that it feels like I’m just clicking through a block of dialogue, waiting until I get to the next false choice option. If I pick any of the selections I’m getting to the same place and no matter what I say or do the other characters will love me all the same. Nobody will hate you no matter how many times you deliberately try to make them.
    Overall, Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator, feels uninspired and bland. It tries to do more than it can and for those of us who enjoy writing the pitfalls are steep and unending. It had promise, but, in the end, promise does not a good game make.    … Expand
  6. KorbenX9
    Sep 8, 2023
    0
    A soulless pile of garbage with no fun to be had, and a game made by a tone-deaf let's play channel that thinks it is a company for some reason, that wants to take advantage of the LGBQT community to make a quick buck instead of supporting their actual "friends". Never support this game or the game grumps EVER!!!
  7. NamGam
    Jan 23, 2023
    0
    From the people that would rather an actual gay man (online known as DingDong) kill himself than accept any criticism that the game they were making was exploitative.

    Inciting incident: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h44s5twLRno Summary: "Back in 2017, Ding Dong and Julian both spoke up about Game Grumps' then upcoming game Dream Daddy, a game advertising itself as a gay dad    From the people that would rather an actual gay man (online known as DingDong) kill himself than accept any criticism that the game they were making was exploitative.

    Inciting incident: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h44s5twLRno

    Summary:

    "Back in 2017, Ding Dong and Julian both spoke up about Game Grumps' then upcoming game Dream Daddy, a game advertising itself as a gay dad dating sim. Put simply, they didn't like it, it felt exploitive and pandering, but if it made someone except who they are so be it. Publicly, Brian and Suzy went on damage control saying that it's not a cash grab and that they had nothing to do with beta testing. But behind the scenes things were much much worse.

    Ding Dong was doxed, his family members were called, and he was outed as gay, something he had not told them yet. The other employees who complained to him and urged him to say something about the game backpedaled, throwing blame directly on him. With everything that happened Ding Dong attempted suicide and thanks to his partner Julian, Ding Dong is still alive to this day, but it's clear the damage had been done."

    Final word:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odKSINOdMH0    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

58
#58 Most Discussed PC Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 18
  3. Negative: 1 out of 18
  1. CD-Action
    Oct 30, 2017
    70
    A well-written, lovable story gracefully focusing on things that matter in life. The game’s logo is misleading, as romance and sex are kept in the background. [10/2017, p.52]
  2. Shacknews
    Sep 29, 2017
    60
    Considering I’ve already written 2000 words on a game with no gameplay that lasted less than two hours, I would say I’ve probably seen enough. Did I learn anything about myself? Would I have enjoyed it more if these people were gay terminators as part of a weird government social experiment? Probably, yeah.
    Read full review
  3. games(TM)
    Sep 8, 2017
    70
    Dream Daddy is a breath of fresh air. [Issue#191, p.82]
See all critic reviews »