Be Your Own Dream Daddy in the Dad Dating Simulator of All Our Dreams

Listen, I get it: we’re in the year of the Mommi. But Daddy will always have my heart. I am who I am, and while I love a powerful femme woman who drinks iced chardonnay, I’m always gonna choose Daddy. Which is why when I found out about Dream Daddy, my heart soared. I’d never felt so seen!

Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator (DDADDS) is exactly what it sounds like. A simulator game with the goal of dating all of the dads in your neighborhood. You begin the game being woken up by your perfect daughter Amanda — side note, I love her so, so, so much—after which you get to make your very own Dadsona.

I LOVE YOU MANDA PANDA

Besides the amazing storylines you get to play out, and all the terrible dad puns you get to make, this is by far my favorite part of the game. On top of the typical options like skin tone, hair color, eye shape, etc, you also get the opportunity to decide whether or not your dad is canonically trans. I’ve designed three dads so far: one who’s chubby and wears a big ponytail, one who is the fuckboi of my dreams, and one who looks like Alison Bechdel circa 1998.

I want to marry them both

The game also has some amazingly cool and strange characters. The first dad you meet is Mat, who is my dream Daddy, but who is so sensitive and difficult to have a date with. Then there’s Damien, a trans goth dad whose son Lucien sells oregano and pretends it’s marijuana. Brian is a redhead who is too competitive, Hugo is an overworked teacher, Joseph is a cool youth pastor with the hottest wife, Mary, our Lady of Wine Moms. Craig is an old bro-y friend from college who won’t leave his damn baby at home, and Robert is… well, he’s the fuckboy of the group. I found out through a guide on Steam that if you sleep with him on the first date, you never get to have another good date with him. Rude.

FUCK. ME. UP. MARY.

The game was scheduled to come out on June 13th but ended up taking almost a full week longer than expected to release, and it was so worth it. The game is so smart! Like, in addition to the fact that everyone is bisexual or gay, there are also trans characters and it’s no big deal! Are you telling me that someone’s trans-ness doesn’t have to be the only part of their identity?? Say it ain’t so. There are also a bunch of different storylines that can happen between you and each character. I’ve played through three times so far, and I date the same four dads every time and have had different dates with them each game. And I hear if you win (actually getting a dad to be your boyfriend) you get a pinup of the character. Hot.

Hugo actively monitors what’s happening on #cheesetwitter

For hours and hours of fun, for just $14.99 you can buy play Dream Daddy on Steam (They also sell enamel pins!!). You can also check out their twitter, where they’re constantly posting fan art. Listen, this summer is kinda trash, you deserve something nice. You deserve to create and date the dad of your dreams.

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Ari

Ari is a 20-something artist and educator. They are a mom to two cats, they love domesticity, ritual, and porch time. They have studied, loved, and learned in CT, Greensboro, NC, and ATX.

Ari has written 330 articles for us.

34 Comments

  1. i’ve never regretted spending $15 less, and the scorpio in me will chase robert until my dying day.

    • the definition of daddy in this case is quite literally a hot father. you are just a hot father dating other hot fathers. it’s great.

  2. I am definitely keeping this in mind next time I have disposable income!

    Idk if you guys have reviewed this one yet, I don’t think so, it’s called Choices: Stories You Play. It’s almost the most perfect game I’ve ever played. The art is a lot better than Episode, and the stories are actually pretty compelling. Nearly any main character can be queer! You ship your character and her female bff? Odds are they’re a dating option. If only tv could be like this. The only, only, problem I have with it is, like most apps, there’s premium options that cost diamonds, which you can only really get with money. And of course the premium options are where all the fun stuff happens. The game’s been out a year, and I’m hoping they come out with an option to watch more ads to earn diamonds, or something.

  3. I love this game. It sounds absolutely fantastic. While I have nothing but praise for the art style, game play, and general LGBT-inclusive experience, I don’t think I’ll end up playing it. I don’t have any desire to put myself in a role where I’d be imitating a man (cis or not) again. As well, given the nature of the “choose your own story” game play, I don’t think I can watch someone play on YouTube without yelling at the TV a bit. I want to play this game, but arg gender dysphoria sucks!

    I might convince my partner (he identifies masc) to play it though.

    • also might i suggest following carly and robin on instagram because they often will play through on their story and it is GOLD

  4. When I play this game, I basically giggle and grin the entire time (except in moments where I’m cursing myself for doing something wrong on a date). It is SO FUN. I played through once fast and didn’t get my Daddy; now I’m playing through slowly and dating around as much as possible. I love this game, and I know I’m going to play so many times.

    • omg the games in the dates are SO HARD!!! i’m like “can i get a tutorial????” the “find that dad” game on the date with Mat makes me so mad every single time.

      • i hate brian but i found out you unlock an achievement if you score 2000 on the fishing game and i’ve played the fishing game approximately 12413523523 times (closest i’ve gotten was a 1700).

  5. EXCUSE ME
    ROBERT IS MY DREAM DAD
    IF YOU DONT ***FUCK** HIM ON THE FIRST DATE
    HE IS THE BEST

    also so are you and so is this article praise dads

  6. I am currently stuck between Matt, Craig and Hugo as my potential Dream Daddy, it’s so hard to choose. Also I love all the indie music and film puns in this game, and THE DAD JOKES ARE SO BAD THEYRE GOOD!

  7. i don’t give a shit about men as a general rule and reallyyy do not care for the word “daddy” so this game was clearly not meant for me. With that said… great game a++ would buy again

    • every time i made a new character i was like “is this what men look like??? don’t care. i’d rather have a hot butch anyway.” because i too, do not give a shit about men (and therefore don’t know what they look like)

  8. I love this game so much!!! I played it seven times so I could romance all the dads. Damien is my ultimate dream daddy though tbh. Then Hugo, Craig, Mat, Brian, Joseph, and Robert.

  9. > I found out through a guide on Steam that if you sleep with him on the first date, you never get to have another good date with him. Rude.

    Hahahaha. Also, congrats on your 111th article!

  10. “I am who I am, and while I love a powerful femme woman who drinks iced chardonnay, I’m always gonna choose Daddy.” —> same tbh

  11. I went into this article 100% expecting it to be #fakenews and it’s real and I can’t believe it. I’m so tempted and so confused.

  12. I was really considering buying this anyways (which I think I’ve only done twice before and they were cause of AS) but one of my friends saved a screenshot with one of the worst puns I’ve ever seen and let me just say I’m so glad it’s payday so I can get this immediately

  13. I never thought I’d see the day Game Grumps and Autostraddle would collide, and yet here we are.

    I’ve been entertaining myself with all the playthroughs. Damien’s Walking Victorian History Lesson is a lot like one of my besties, haha.

    I feel like I’d get a bit weirded out making a Dadsona for myself? Mostly because I look like a carbon copy of my dad, and trying to imagine my dad being sexual…OYYYY NOOOOO

    I’ll have to make a dadsona that’s like the complete opposite of me meep

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