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Discussion How do you feel about the term Sad Dad?

How do you feel about the term Sad Dad when referring to Sony's games

  • It makes me laugh

    Votes: 37 25.7%

  • It makes me chuckle slightly

    Votes: 70 48.6%

  • I'm indifferent

    Votes: 24 16.7%

  • It annoys me

    Votes: 3 2.1%

  • It makes me a sad dad

    Votes: 10 6.9%
  • Total voters
    144
Nintendianajones64

Nintendianajones64

Bob-omb
I was having this discussion with some people recently about video games and the types of games studios make. And a person in the discussion described the type of games sony makes as Sad Dad games. I thought this was pretty funny but some people got upset at the term.

How do you feel about the term Sad Dad when describing Sony's games?
 
0
It's a funny term but it highlights the similarity in tone of most Sony games and that should be a wake up call for them to actually make more diverse games.
 
Is sad dad some meme I'm not aware of? I've literally no idea what it means and Google only gives back cringey stock images 😂
 
7threst said:
Is sad dad some meme I'm not aware of? I've literally no idea what it means and Google only gives back cringey stock images 😂
Click to expand...
"Sad Dad" is a meme term for a Sony game that features a sad paternal figure, like the Last of Us or God of War

It's occasionally generalized to refer to that entire brand of Sony third person cinematic action adventure game, even if there are no sad paternal figures involved
 
I like it in that the term begs the question of where are our Sad Mom games and might steer conversations around how pervasive male-centric lenses are with stories. I like it less so if folks use it as a serious criticism of Sony's games since they have a pretty diverse game portfolio.
 
NabiscoFelt said:
"Sad Dad" is a meme term for a Sony game that features a sad paternal figure, like the Last of Us or God of War

It's occasionally generalized to refer to that entire brand of Sony third person cinematic action adventure game, even if there are no sad paternal figures involved
Click to expand...
Ah thanks, had no idea.

It kinda dismisses a pretty diverse portfolio I feel...
 
It's funny.

It's mainly referring to The Last of Us and God of War 2018, but more broadly, it's really just shorthand for Sony's portfolio of very serious, massive budget, single player, cinematic games. It bothers some people, but there's really no denying PlayStation's bread and butter these days are those types of experiences.
 
Nintendianajones64 said:
Also your username makes wanna ask

"FEELING LONELY?"
Click to expand...
Lmao, I get 7th Guest references a lot when it comes to my username! Even though it actually refers to this track I really loved back in the day when this style of music was pretty refreshing.

I do love me some 7th Guest though. That soundtrack and vibe is really something else. Never really got into The 11th Hour though.
 
7threst said:
Lmao, I get 7th Guest references a lot when it comes to my username! Even though it actually refers to this track I really loved back in the day when this style of music was pretty refreshing.

I do love me some 7th Guest though. That soundtrack and vibe is really something else. Never really got into The 11th Hour though.
Click to expand...
Same. I tried the 11th Hour and was so disappointed with it compared to the 7th Guest. Another awesome game from that era is Phantasmagoria. It's a head splitting good time.
 
Last edited:
It makes me chuckle, but it's beginning to have this weird effect on me where every time I hear a game described as a sad dad game, I get excited to play it, because those are generally really good.
 
Makes me sad I'm not a dad because I could use this joke to bond with my child. This is really important for me because it is through their light that I can learn how to deal with my dark past and finally heal.
 
Thorakai said:
I like it in that the term begs the question of where are our Sad Mom games and might steer conversations around how pervasive male-centric lenses are with stories. I like it less so if folks use it as a serious criticism of Sony's games since they have a pretty diverse game portfolio.
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This is why more people need to play Returnal. Great character that I really enjoyed.
 
0
heisenwalterbergwhite said:
It makes me chuckle, but it's beginning to have this weird effect on me where every time I hear a game described as a sad dad game, I get excited to play it, because those are generally really good.
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it's starting to become a go-to for "instant emotional resonance with dudebro audiences" I feel. not a slight towards the games, but something more akin "award bait" genres when viewed on the surface
 
He's not wrong. Sony makes a lot of games.with gruff bearded men with a sad story line. Nothing wrong with that, but Nintendo gets mocked for its child friendly image all the time so why should Sony get a pass. Your friend getting upset by sad dad terminology hopefully aren't the same people saying "Nintendo is for kids"crowd
 
It's a little funny and apt. Not sure why anyone would take offence. It doesn't say anything about the quality of said game.
 
0
31914878607_25f295492a_o.gif


look at him, he's so conflicted because he has a heart of gold but also had to kill a man to survive
 
big lantern ghost said:
It’s OK to be a sad dad sometimes!

Signed,
An Occasionally Sad Dad
Click to expand...
Co-signed ~~ another occasionally sad dad.

Also, I think the term pre-dates the Sony games mentioned in this thread. I remember my friend calling The National "sad dad" music a while back.
 
0
When I first heard it I thought it referred to the people who play the games and not the games themselves, like i pictured a part of the audience as the average man having a midlife crisis thinking he didn't accomplish much and escaping into games that feature white male protagonists in sort of a frustrated male power fantasy lol

In that mindset, I think it's pretty funny.
 
It's hilarious, but I also embrace boomer shooter as well.

Admittedly, it also makes it very easy for me to ignore a game, I generally find the theme and gameplay pretty unengaging.
 
Thorakai said:
I like it in that the term begs the question of where are our Sad Mom games and might steer conversations around how pervasive male-centric lenses are with stories. I like it less so if folks use it as a serious criticism of Sony's games since they have a pretty diverse game portfolio.
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One of Sony's high profile games is a secret sad mom game.
You could argue that Horizon: Zero Dawn is a sad mom game, the sad mom being Elisabet Sobeck.
 
0
Joel: Sad dad
Kratos: Sad dad
Nathan Drake: Becomes a dad will probably be sad soon
Horizon: Aloy has sad dad
Bloodborne: Father Gascoigne is a sad dad
Shadow of the Colossus: Wander is actually the girls dad. He is always sad especially the Bluepoint remaster
Spiderman: Uncle Ben sad surrogate dad
Heavy Rain: JASON
 
It makes me sad that I may too become a sad dad some day in the future

In all seriousness, in some ways I find it funny but it's also odd as only 2 Sony games really meet that. Now, if someone said movie games, that would be more accurate as their big games are generally big cinematic and narrative driven experiences, albeit no less reductive as they do have real gameplay
 
0
FrostyLemon said:
Joel: Sad dad
Kratos: Sad dad
Nathan Drake: Becomes a dad will probably be sad soon
Horizon: Aloy has sad dad
Bloodborne: Father Gascoigne is a sad dad
Shadow of the Colossus: Wander is actually the girls dad. He is always sad especially the Bluepoint remaster
Spiderman: Uncle Ben sad surrogate dad
Heavy Rain: JASON
Click to expand...
Let's go a bit further.

Astro Bot: The bots are like his children and he's sad at the beginning when he wrecks the ship
Gravity Rush: Kat has no dad, which is sad.
Ghost of Tsushima: Sad uncle
Returnal: Sad mom
Gran Turismo: Sad car (you start with a very bad one)

On topic: It's a funny term though it gets weird when people start using unironically as people outside the loop will be confused more than anything. In forums it's probably fine since everyone will get what you're talking about.
 
FrostyLemon said:
Joel: Sad dad
Kratos: Sad dad
Nathan Drake: Becomes a dad will probably be sad soon
Horizon: Aloy has sad dad
Bloodborne: Father Gascoigne is a sad dad
Shadow of the Colossus: Wander is actually the girls dad. He is always sad especially the Bluepoint remaster
Spiderman: Uncle Ben sad surrogate dad
Heavy Rain: JASON
Click to expand...
I immediately thought: "yeah, but I feel the penguin mother in Super Mario 64 got these dads beat you know" 😂
 
I'm a dad so i resonate with dads like Joel and Kratos. I would love for my oldest kid to play these games but he is not interested, so i'm sad...a sad dad.

For real, first time i hear this term, makes me laugh, if any i want more sad dad games.
 
I usually chuckle slightly at the term when used ironically and I always chuckle slightly at the person when used unironically. So chuckle it is.
 
0
The term got turned into a Sony term because of God of War and Death Stranding and console warring but, the term was referring to the trend of AAA devs trying to make their games deeper at the start of the 2010s by those devs drawing on their own life experiences which was starting parenthood as old white dudes. It only made them slightly more mature but ousted the loads of white privilege in the AAA market given the lack of women leads.
 
0
Sad Dad wasn’t just for Sony first party games though The Last of Us and New God of War became the poster children of the term as the most popular examples.

It’s a funny term.
 
0
Sad Dad implies the existence of Happy Mom.
But yeah there is a trend in games storytelling revolving around a struggling paternal figure. This reflects both the view of games writers, developers, etc "growing up" and a narrow lens for storytelling by writing through ones own perspective.
So yeah give us some mom, sibling, cousin, grandparent, ect games
If we're stuck with dad games spice em up give us F@ck, Marry, Kill daddy games
 
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