Reviews

Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator is a light-hearted, well written dating simulator that is filled to the brim with humour. However, this goofy premise does not prevent the player from building genuine relationships and emotional connections to the characters. The writing manages to strike a balance between comedy and serious conversation, which helps the characters feel like they are real human beings.

The game describes itself very well; Dream Daddy is a Dating Simulator/Visual Novel. The gameplay consists mainly of a branching narrative, in which the player is able to make choices, to affect the outcome of the narrative. The story is told in the standard format: Characters appear on the screen, while their dialogue runs. This will often leads to the player choosing what their response/action will be, which furthers the narrative. Dream Daddy intermits the narrative with short mini-games. These are a welcome change of pace, although they cannot maintain the level of quality the main game offers. The story starts when you, a single dad, and your daughter Amanda move to another part of town. This is where you are able to meet the neighbouring single dads, while learning more about yourself and Amanda in the process.

Dream Daddy is most of all very easy to play and read through. The narrative is extremely well written, being both light-hearted and serious at the same time. The game manages to bring the playful and emotional teenager stories, and the serious and comedical dad stories together in a way that complements each other. All characters feel extremely human, which allows you to make emotional connections with the characters more easily. Amanda (your in-game daughter) is the best example of this. After playing through the game, I genuinely care for Amanda. She is my daughter, I care for her, and I need to protect her. Not from zombies, or any other rational dangers, just from being a teenager. Near the end of the game, Amanda showed her appreciation for me taking care of her, and it was an extremely fulfilling moment.

While being mostly comedical in nature, Dream Daddy does take the chance to start conversations in ways that only games can do. Actually taking care of a teenage daughter, being a homosexual/bisexual dad, and being a parent are all things I am yet unfamiliar with, but this game allowed me to a small glimpse into that world. And that does give a new perspective on the irrational protectiveness parents feel towards their children, for example. 

One complaint voice about Dream Daddy are the voices that accompany the dialogue. The game does not feature full voice-over, but instead just contains small, voiced catch-phrases that are played during dialogue. These can feel a bit random, and could become annoying, although I personally did not feel this frustration.

Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator is by far one of the best, and most interesting text-based games I have played. It's humorous tone is extremely enjoyable, while also covering more serious subjects. This makes Dream Daddy a recommendation, for anyone slightly interested in narrative games, even if you normally tend to avoid Dating Simulators.

PS. This game might be better enjoyed with friends, as any choice based game usually is. However, I played it solo, so I cannot really comment on this.

Snake Pass is an innovative platformer, and is clearly created with a lot of love and attention to detail. The game's cute visuals are accompanied by David Wise's relaxing soundtrack. The new range of skills and moves the player has to learn are refreshing, and will become second nature quicker than you might expect. Although the camera misbehaves at times, the gameplay stays fun and interesting throughout. Overall, the game provides a casual (but not shallow nor easy) experience that everyone should at least try out.

Snake Pass is a 3D platformer and collectathon game, in which the player takes control of a snake, Noodles. Playing as a snake is at the core of all gameplay in Snake Pass. To traverse the levels, the player has to move (and think) like a snake. This means slithering around, and wrapping your long body around bamboo to climb. In each level the player is tasked with finding three gemstones, which are required to unlock the next level. Next to that, blue wisps and coins are littered across the level to guide the player, encourage them to explore or provide a skill test.

I enjoyed Snake Pass tremendously. The movements are extremely satisfying to perform, and with each level you finish your snake-skills visibly improve. The game remains challenging throughout, and doesn't become stale or boring, since the skills constantly have to be applied differently. Unlike in other games, Snake Pass actually requires to player to think about their movements. A great example of this is the standard ground movement: the player actually has to move Noodles in S shapes to make any kind of speed. This is so novel, because it add so much flavour to the game, while in theory, the game would have played the same with standard directional movement.

Next to the interesting controls, the game also features some amazing level design. The levels are between 10 minutes and 40 minutes long, and contain multiple paths leading to different gemstones. Even though this means the levels are open in their structure, there is rarely any backtracking, since the levels loop back. The game is also sublime at guiding the player; there are always trails of collectables to follow, and the game makes sure there are enough vantage points from which you can find your next path. The collectable coins provide interesting challenges, which test your skills. These coin challenges also ease your into new skills, that you will require later.

The visual style and soundtrack cannot be overlooked, since they help the game establish the casual and relaxing tone. The attention to detail is visible in the ability to pick a facial expression for Noodles, or in the way your bird sidekick lands on nearby bamboo. This all adds to the charm the game provides. 

A complaint that is often voiced about Snake Pass is the precision of the movement. Arguably, this is a large issue in most 3D platformers, especially since perspective remains an issue in this genre. The actual problem in Snake Pass seems to lay in the camera, which causes the character to be obstructed by the terrain every now and then. This makes it very hard to move Noodles around in a precise way, and can therefore cause some frustation. The difficulty is also often mentioned, but I cannot find myself in this. Although the game can be intimidating at the start, since the movement is so foreign, this doesn't last long. The game provides a decent challenge, but if you take it slow, there is fairly little risk.

The charming style, combined with the well-executed gameplay and innovative ideas, lead me to complete Snake Pass entirely. Although the game has some minor issues, they rarely result in frustration or confusion. The overall package makes Snake Pass a very strong recommendation.