High School Dreams

As an “older” guy, High School Dreams is a game that on paper should not have clicked with me as much as it did. I had such a fun time with this, way more fun than I thought I would and I can see why some people may get addicted to it. Now, granted this is clearly a game that is aimed at teenage girls. However, I grew up in the days of the 80s and 90s high school comedies and I kind of got those types of vibes with this game.

The First Day Of High School

I am sure that we all remember our first day of high school, I was nervous as hell and I think that High School Dreams does kind of give you that first day of high school feeling when you start. What I think is very clever about this game is that the game lets us create our own character and the way it does this is fun. We are sitting in our room, in front of our mirror and it is supposed to be like we are deciding what to wear for our first day of school.

Dream Boys!

The premise of High School Dreams is that you want to make friends, have fun and of course find a guy to date. This is done in a much more “cute” way than some of the dating sims that are out there and there are six different guys that you can date and get to know better. I got a huge kick out of this as the six guys feel like your stereotypes from a John Hughes comedy. We of course have the high school jock at one end of the spectrum and the nerdy (but still cute) guy at the other end. You get to chat with these guys and decide which one you like best. The presentation is rather basic, but it does fit with the “cool” and “cute” high school vibe that they were going for with this game.

Teenage Dreams

I would say that the gameplay of High School Dreams is very easy to get to grips with. This is a 3D game where you are able to move around the different locations. It is not just the high school, but you also can head to places like the mall too which is fun. You will chat with people and have to do “missions” for them which most of the time are just fetch quests or going to a specific place. It is very easy to get to grips with and if I am being honest, there is no real challenge here. However, I do find the whole thing wholesome and I did enjoy it.

Those Extracurricular Activities

Like most high school experiences, our created character here in High School Dreams has a bunch of extracurricular activities that she can enjoy. These are fun and in the form of mini-games which are basic, but they are still fun and add a lot of variety to the overall gameplay experience. There is, of course, a dancing mini-game as all teenage girls love to dance right? There is a fun mini golf game and an ice skating one too that I am pretty sure I am the greatest at in the entire world!

Pros:

• I like the cutesy style that the game has going on
• Creating your character is a lot of fun
• The mini-games do add a lot of variety to the game
• This is a fun high school style dating sim game that anyone can enjoy

Cons:

• It may be a hard sell for non teenage girls!
• While I had fun with it, it is not the kind of game I can see myself going back to

Howdy folks, High School Dreams is a social/dating sim style of game that for those that got well and truly into it, is awesome! The game has a very interesting backstory and the story of its development is something that I found very interesting. While it has been out for a while, it was only recently that I took the time to check it out and see how it stood up against other dating and life sim style games that I have played recently.

The New Girl In Town

The game starts with you creating your character and it is very impressive just how much freedom High School Dreams gives you when it comes to creating your character. You do this in a vanity mirror type setting and it is pretty cool. It is like you are getting all dressed up before your first day of high school. The game is your typical high school style of story and it does have a lot of charm to it so I can see why some people would love it!

Boys, Boys, Boys!

That is a very 80s reference, but I do think that it is very fitting when talking about High School Dreams. You see the real goal here is to make friends and date one of six cute guys. The lineup of guys that are fighting for your attention pretty much fits every high school stereotype you could imagine ranging from the hottie, the jock to the cute but nerdy guy. Getting to know people, making friends, and finding love are really what this game is all about. It is kind of like a high school centric version of The Sims.

Dude, Let’s Crash The Mall!

The gameplay of High School Dreams is pretty easy to get to grips with. Your character is easy to move around and you will be going to different locations such as the actual school the mall and so on. Most of what you will be doing boils down to simple fetch quests for characters and just going from point a to point b, but it has a certain amount of charm to it that is hard to explain. To keep things from getting too boring, you also have a series of mini-games to take part in such as playing a round of mini golf, going ice skating, and even getting your dance on. There is always something to do in this game and I found just screwing around, doing the mini-games, and doing some shopping for funky new clothes all to be quite enjoyable.

I know that at first glance you may just pass High School Dreams off as a game for teenage girls. To be honest with you, teenage or even pre-teens are clearly who this game is aimed at. However, I do have to say to be fair, the game is very well made. The character creation suite and the way you can always buy new gear is something that is done well.

Pros:

• The whole style of the game is pretty cool
• The mini-games are a lot of fun
• There is always something to do here
• The high school setting is pretty neat

Cons:

• The game is clearly aimed at teenage girls
• I do wish there were perhaps a couple more mini-games