the reason I clarify this isn't because I'm going to bat for it. I think it's a cynical game, made cynically, and designed specifically to be popular on tumblr
the issue with implying everyone hated it out of the gates is that it's gonna create a backlash where people start fighting in its corner again. you've gotta explain the specific and real issues that made so many people actually dislike it in a way that's more helpful than "it sucked"
it's handy that the devs did a whole conference talk that explains what's so cynical about it better than I could ever hope to
dream daddy wasn't bad for misunderstanding what tumblr wanted, but for understanding exactly what it wanted and using that to create a minimum-risk-maximum-reward cashout. one that informed the industry and is likely directly responsible for the wave of safe "dating sims" we saw immediately after