Dream Daddy review

“Build that dad!”

So I build my dad. He turns out to be a tubby, balding dude with tufts of grey around his ears and a thick salt and pepper beard. He’s wearing a blue t-shirt emblazoned with two fried eggs where his man-boobs are hanging. I call him Beanton.

Beanton’s just moved to Maple Bay with his teenage daughter, Amanda. In a scene-setting conversation I get to elaborate a little on the family history and decide that Beanton was once married to Amanda’s mother but she passed away some years ago. Father and daughter get along well though, and they’re looking forward to discovering more of Maple Bay.

We go for coffee at the local cafe. I order an Iced Teagan & Sara while Amanda opts for a Macchiato DeMarco, which will either make you chuckle in pain at the excruciatingly niche puns or scratch your head. Mat, the cafe owner, seems nice. Chilled. A little bit flirty maybe? I dunno, is it flirting when someone lets you sample his new banana bread recipe? Either way, I hope he picks up on the subtext when I tell him he should call it Right Said Banana Bread.

Back home, Joseph the next door neighbour pops over in a pink polo and blue sweater casually tied around his neck. He’s brought a plate of welcome cookies. Beanton and Joseph make small talk while Amanda scoffs the cookies. I’m just clicking through dialogue boxes here. The conversation’s cute and all, but I kinda wanna make some choices. I don’t, and the exchange ends when Joseph invites Beanton and Amanda round for a barbecue on Saturday.

Things pick up at the park when Beanton meets Brian, also the father of a teenage girl, and the two face off in a faux-Pokemon battle where they attack each other by bragging about their daughter’s accomplishments. Showing Brian that drawing of Amanda’s that Beanton keeps in his wallet was super effective!

Dream Daddy is a visual novel. You click through dialogue boxes and the odd internal monologue from your avatar daddy. Occasionally, and it must be stressed just how very occasionally, you get to choose to say something or to decide what to do next. It may well carry the subtitle “A Dad Dating Simulator” - and while it’s certainly true you’ll go on a handful of dates with the dads in town - there’s none of the complexity you might expect from an actual sim.

Where Dream Daddy does succeed is in depicting a cast of characters you’ll actually grow to like. At first the dads appear to be stereotypes - the preppy one, the goth one, etc - but take the time to get to know them and you’ll realise that the complexity is revealed in the deep characterisations of everyone you meet. Indeed, the real star of the show is the relationship between Amanda and her dad. But I guess Dream Daughter: A Parenting Simulator hasn’t got quite the same ring to it.

This article was first published in PC PowerPlay.