WHAT IS DIALTOWN?

Dialtown: A Phone Dating Sim is a game made by DirectDoggo. It was released fully on Valentine’s Day 2022, with the original demo being released two years earlier on the exact same date. The setting is Dialtown, Wisconsin, in a universe where (almost) everyone has objects for heads. You play as Phonegingi, a strange green cryptid, and your initial goal in the game is to get a date so you can get into the local funfair to lay your eggs.

Through the different routes you go through, where Phonegingi helps the characters with their problems, they also learn and grow themselves. This ultimately leads into the final chapter and route of the game, where the development of Phonegingi really shines.

Throughout the game, you as the player encounter a large cast of characters, each unique in their own way, along with getting into a large variety of hijinks. Alongside the main routes, there are also a handful of mini-routes with other side characters for people to enjoy as well.

WHY DO YOU LIKE THIS GAME SO MUCH?

Honestly, there is a lot of reasons why I like this game. The surface level is that it’s a fun and goofy game with a lot of gags and bits that I enjoy. But the reason I like it is SO much is deeper than that—it’s more than just the game. It, in a way, kinda fundamentally changed my life. If you can believe that.

I found Dialtown back in 2020, approximately 2 months after the original demo was released. I got super attached right away upon seeing Karen (so much so I replayed her demo route ~5 times in a row when I first played, trying to see if I could change the outcome because I was SO sad that it left off her route on a sour note). Even in the EARLY days of the community, I had made so many meaningful connections with people I still have today. I remember being ecstatic when it came around to the full game's release date and was so excited that I 100%ed the WHOLE game in less than 24 hours after it dropped on Steam. Hell, I ended up being picked up to do the merch designs for it (which I still do to this day!)

I know my story with this isn’t exactly a typical one since I went from some guy who really liked the funny phone game to actively doing work on the project, but even working on it doesn’t change the fact that I’ll probably always be a fan of Dialtown first before anything else. Funny how things work out sometimes :’)