Dream Daddy is a very good game, an important game and a necessary game in many ways but, for all the interesting things it does when it comes to meaningful interactions, it fails to deliver on the dreaminess that’s such a big part of its title.
I don’t like classic dating sims but I am more than ready to jump into one with a weird premise since playing Hatoful Boyfriend for about ten hours a few years ago so I was happy to spend about the same amount with the title from Game Grumps.
I went all the way with both the smart one, teacher Hugo, and with dangerous one Robert and both failed to deliver the satisfaction that a truly dream daddy connection should, mainly because they are, like the other potential romantic partners in this most video gamy cul-de-sac, too archetypal.
Dream Daddy aims to cater to all tastes via its characters but fails to deliver a normal side to the various included dads, with the developers determined to make sure that each of them has at least two sides and that both are outlandish, impressive or weird (Hugo is a literature buff and a lover of wrestling and also manages to be knowledgeable in other domains).
The protagonist dad is, in contrast, mainly defined by his love and devotion to daughter Amanda and often seems too normal to actually be attracted to any of his potential partners and some even seem hard to accept as potential targets for non-romantic friendships.
Gamers can control his looks to some extent, which can help with roleplaying, but his love of food, naps and punning is always there and seems at odds with the way the other characters in Dream Daddy are written.
I often felt inferior and inadequate while trying to roleplay this character and I get that this can be seen as part of the message of the game, showing how our expectations when it comes to love and connections can be absurd and wildly at odds with the reality around us.
But the fact that I failed to connect with any of the Dream Daddy characters means that I was unable to fully love this otherwise very solid videogame, even while appreciating the entire Amanda sideplot and the emotions it manages to deliver.