"A very well-crafted meticulously thought out planned scenario that builds and builds and builds"'
— Alex Hirsch, creator of Gravity Falls, after viewing approximately one-tenth of the game
Swooning Over Stans: A Grunkle Dating Sim is a Gravity Falls fan video game created in 2018 (it came out at the same time as Gravity Falls: Lost Legends). As its name says, it's a dating sim where you can choose to date Stan or Ford.
The story takes place the summer after the series: Stan and Ford have returned to the Mystery Shack and Dipper and Mabel are visiting them for the summer. One day, the player is driving by the shack when they get into a car accident. Stan and Ford go to help them, but the car is badly damaged and will take some time to have it fixed. But in the meantime, they can stay at the Mystery Shack.
From there, the player can interact with the cast and fall in love with either Stan or Ford, depending on which path they choose.
It has been acclaimed by fans for its inclusive gameplay, high quality artwork and Rom Com plotline.
The game is free to download here.
More information about the game can be found here.
Swooning Over Stans: A Grunkle Dating Sim contains examples of:
- 20 Minutes into the Past: The game was released in 2018 and set in the summer of 2013.
- The Atoner: In Ford's route, Ford still feels guilty for his fallings with McGucket and Stan respectively.
- Big Brother Instinct: In Stan's Route, at the morning of Day 5, Ford confronts the player and gives them a condensed version of: "If you break my twin brother’s heart I'll make you regret it." Only Ford can look threatening with a bowl of sugary cereal.
- The Boxing Episode: One date with Stan is a boxing lesson.
- The Cameo:
- Sheriff Durland and Deputy Blubbs appear in Stan’s route as an explicit couple as opposed to hints in the canon.
- Lazy Susan, Manly Dan, Wendy (in a photo), Robbie, Tambry, and a girl implied to be Pacifica also appear.
- Carpet of Virility: Stan. It’s especially obvious in his outfit for the dance.
- Darker and Edgier: While the game is light hearted and fits in the tone of the original show, it does get away with a little more by virtue of being a fan made project:
- Conversations with Stan on his route imply that he’s had a few hookups throughout his life.
- Stan and Ford can "swear for real" when Dipper and Mabel aren’t around.
- One scene in Stan’s route has him and the player in a steamy make out session.
- In Stan’s route, if the player chooses to eat breakfast with Manly Dan at Greasy’s Diner, he mentions Wendy’s mother in the past tense, using the fan theory that she died.
- Dating Sim: As stated in the subtitle, the whole point is to date one of two Stans (but not both at once).
- Dance of Romance: One of the dates with Stan is a disco dance night at the diner. Turns out he’s a very smooth dancer!
- Demoted to Extra: In Ford's route, Dipper and Mabel appear semi-frequently: Dipper appears playing Dungeons, Dungeons And More Dungeons with Ford in Day 2; Mabel is baking cupcakes with Ford's help in Day 3; and in Day 4, the two help Ford in their date. However, they only have a minor role in Stan's Route, at the beginning of the third day, where you can help both Dipper and Mabel to celebrate Waddles' and Gompers' wedding anniversary. And in either case, of course, they're no longer acting as main protagonists as they did in the source material.
- Expository Hair Style Change: Stan and Ford’s hair are both somewhat longer than it was in the original show. It’s implied that they grew it out during their travels at sea.
- Fan Sequel: The events of the game take place a year after the show ended.
- Fishing Episode: One date with Stan is a fishing trip at the lake.
- The Ghost:
- Soos and his Abuelita are also at the Mystery Shack, but they don’t interact with the player.
- Wendy isn’t seen, but she’s mentioned in Stan’s route.
- Her Boyfriend's Jacket: Stan gives the player his jacket to help dry off after their fishing adventure. They also wear it to the diner the next morning, feeling comforted by it.
- Hidden Depths: Stan is a surprisingly good dancer.
- If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: In Ford’s route, Dipper asks the player to not hurt his grunkle. While he doesn’t go into detail on what happens if Ford does get heartbroken, he’s very much a Beware the Nice Ones type, so the player is wise to oblige.
- Late-Arrival Spoiler: Aside from Ford (who is the series biggest twist due to being the Author) the game contains minor spoilers for the series finale.
- Laugh of Love: Quite a few with the player and the brothers.
- Lethal Chef: On the dinner date with Ford, Mabel tries to cook dinner for him and the player. Key word is tries.
- Limited Wardrobe:
- Ford mostly wears his canon outfit, save for the tuxedo he wears in Day Four.
- Mabel only wears the Cupid’s arrow sweater, in contrast to her Unlimited Wardrobe on the main show.
- Likewise, Dipper only has one outfit.
- Local Hangout: Greasy’s Diner is presented as one here, like in the main show.
- Makeout Point: Stan takes the player to a place near the official one after the dance. It soon becomes this for him and the player.
- May–December Romance: While everything about the player including their age remains ambiguous, it is implied that they're much younger than Stan/Ford. The former's route will make references to this and has him calling the player 'kid' in some dialogues.
- Moment Killer: In Stan’s route, after The Big Damn Kiss, the two of you are having a rather steamy make out session...and then Robbie and Tambry accidentally kill the mood by honking their horn.
- The Mothman: The first date with Ford involves looking for this cryptid.
- Multiple Endings: Each route has three different endings:
- The Best Ending: The player and Stan/Ford share a Big Damn Kiss and plan to start a long distance relationship. You also get a picture to remember them by.
- The Good Ending: Close to the best ending, but there’s no kiss. There’s a pleasant conversation that implies Maybe Ever After and a picture.
- The Bad Ending: While there’s no hard feelings between the player and Stan/Ford, there is some sadness (and Ship Sinking) as they say goodbye. There’s also no picture at the end.
- Mythology Gag: Here we have a compilation:
- Both dates:
- Soos is the new Mr. Mystery.
- Abuelita lives in the Mystery Shack.
- Stan and Ford mention sailing across the world in the Stan O'War II.
- Gompers and Waddles are still married ("The Love God"), Mabel even says that they're celebrating their anniversary.
- Dipper is shown wearing Wendy’s hat instead of his own, as they switched at the end of the series.
- The first image from the game shows the dating test from the short "Mabel’s Guide To Dating". Stan still has a 3, but Ford got a 5.
- The loading scenes that chart the players progress with either brother use the same drawings of Stan and Ford shown on Mabel’s letter to her and Dipper’s parents in "Dungeons, Dungeons and More Dungeons".
- Stan's Route:
- Stan remembers his previous experience with Darlene.
- Stan tries to get away with hijacking car parts from Bud's Auto Sale, by reminding Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland that he saved the town in Weirdmageddon.
- In Stan's date, he wears the fancy outfit he wore in "The Stanchurian Candidate".
- Some of the photos you can collect show Stan wearing his outfits from "The Legend Of The Gobblewonker" and "Boss Mabel".
- Stan invites you to fish on the Stan O'War from "The Legend Of The Gobblewonker". He also gives the player a hat like the ones he gave Dipper and Mabel.
- Robbie and Tambry make an offscreen cameo in which they accidentally ruin a make out session between the player and Stan. It’s confirmed they’re still dating.
- A scene in Greasy’s Diner shows that the "Never Mind All That Act" put in place at the end of the series is still in effect.
- Ford's Route:
- Ford mentions that his favorite constellations are Orion and Ursa Major. Mabel and Ford decorate their cupcakes by drawing Orion with cream.
- One of the dates is playing "Dungeons, Dungeons and More Dungeons" alongside Dipper. At a point in the session, the stained glass windows contain references to the four main characters.
- During both the meteor shower and pool dates, Ford opens up to the player about his past, including events from "A Tale Of Two Stans" and "Weirdmageddon".
- One of the unlockable images is Ford raising his hand for a "high six".
- The final date is going to the community pool featured in "The Deep End".
- The cupcakes that the player, Ford and Mabel make together are for a party celebrating Marius’s visit to the town, and he’s still dating Grenda.
- Both dates:
- Road Trip Plot: The story starts with the player taking a road trip through rural Oregon.
- Rule of Symbolism:
- Mabel’s sweater is two pink arrows with heart details. Being the tools used by Eros/Cupid to help people fall in love, this represents her role in the game as a matchmaker.
- In the "Dungeons, Dungeons and More Dungeons" scene, the stained glass windows of the building include symbols referring to the Pines family and things about them or what they went through in the series:
- Dipper’s has a pine tree surrounded by question marks in the center, a shooting star and an alien. On top is a picture of Bill Cipher.
- Mabel’s has a rainbow on top with a shooting star below. There’s also a pine tree, a smiley face and a pig at the bottom.
- Stan’s makes up the image of a sailboat with details referencing the Portal and his scar with his fez’s symbol in the center. On top is blue flames, as a reference to his fight with Bill. At the door, there’s more blue flames along with Stan’s symbol and an image of Bill.
- Ford’s has the Journals’s hand symbol with a 6 on it, the Portal, and Bill Cipher on top like Dipper’s.
- Saved by the Awesome: In Stan's Route, Stan attempts to exploit this trope when you and Stan get caught by Sheriff Blubbs and Deputy Durland in hijacking car parts in Bud's Auto Sale. It doesn't work.
- Slice of Life: The supernatural elements of Gravity Falls are more downplayed here, especially in Stan’s route.
- Squee: Mabel’s reaction to the player and Stan/Ford getting together in the Best Endings.
- Stargazing Scene: One date with Ford is watching a meteor shower with him.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: The first date with Stan is stealing car parts with the player. However, they get caught by Blubbs and Durland (who happened to be on a date night). Stan tries his usual smooth talking, but they get arrested and put in jail. He and the player soon bust out when the cops’ backs are turned.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Ford. Considering that in canon he never undressed, you can convince Ford into taking off his sweater in Day 5.
- Winning Over the Kids: A non parental example in Ford’s route with the "Dungeons, Dungeons And More Dungeons" session with Ford and Dipper. While Mabel has instantly become friends with the player, Dipper is polite but understandably wary. But after the date, he’s more friendly.
- Workout Fanservice: One of the unlockable pictures of Stan is him practicing in a boxing ring.
- Yawn and Reach: Stan does this to the player when they’re in his car after the dance.
- Zany Scheme:
- One of the dates in Ford’s route is orchestrated by Mabel. She has to bake cupcakes for a party with her friends, so in order to get Ford and the player together as assistants, she fakes a baking accident by burning some store bought cookies. In addition, she times it so that they would be the only ones available to help, as Stan is busy in his office and Dipper is in the woods looking for mysterious creatures to film. It works perfectly.
- Mabel also pulls this in the fishing date during Stan’s route, by getting her and Dipper to leave with the excuse that Grenda’s pet lizard is having a baby. A later date reveals that it was real.
