Doki Doki Literature Club is a game that for its time was massively popular. It’s over 6 years old now at the time of typing this review, and it’s hard not to know anything about it. I’ll be honest, I went into this game already quite spoiled by most of its events, and especially its major twists. But I thought it would be worthwhile to play this game properly, especially since it’s free. Even though I was already spoiled by what a lot of what this game has to offer, I ended up still really enjoying it, and the journey that the game has to offer.
When it comes to Visual Novels for me, one of the major requirements for a Visual Novel to be good is for the cast to be good. A strong cast is important for many games, but Visual Novels require a much stronger cast, since they don’t have as many elements that other games include. It’s like reading a book. And I honestly really enjoy the main cast of Doki Doki Literature Club… except for the main character. When it comes to the main character, they’re just really rude and none of the other characters really make much note to that. And since the main character is meant to be the stand-in for the player, it often leads me to read stuff as if I were saying them. Because of that, and with what the main character is like, it often made me feel really frustrated. Aside from the main character though, the four other characters of Doki Doki Literature Club are all really great! The character dynamics are really fun, and I really enjoyed seeing the interactions between characters. I streamed it to some friends, and we tried to voice the characters throughout the game, Which honestly was super fun. Doing so I feel definitely allowed me to get further attached to the characters than I would have if I read it on my own.
Of course, when it comes to Doki Doki Literature Club, it’s hard to not ignore the horror elements of the game. I mean, the game tells you as you open the game, and asks you if you consent to seeing disturbing content. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to talk about the horror of the game, primarily because it doesn’t really hide it? However with that in mind, I really like how this game executes its horror. In particular, aside from the warning, you would have very little clue that Doki Doki Literature Club was a horror game. I do wish that there wasn’t a warning, because having no inkling of the game being a horror game would make it hit much harder, but I understand why a warning is there. Once you figure out a horror game, the game swerved off the road and you’re already tumbling off the cliff. It’s such a sudden shift, and I love how disorienting it feels. Having already been spoiled by it, I of course knew what was coming, but it allowed me to see all of the foreshadowing, and I think it’s really well done! I imagine that if I had gone in blind, I wouldn’t have been able to tell that it was foreshadowing, which is really well done.
Now to the actual horror elements of the game, I find them really interesting. Honestly, while the game definitely got me a couple times, I definitely think it would’ve hit me harder if I didn’t know what was already coming. Even then, the game is really good at keeping you on edge. Even though the shift to horror is sudden, the game doesn’t bombard you with horror from that point onwards. A majority of the second half of the game is still primarily a visual novel, but horror elements brought into it to remind you that things are not okay. And most of the time, the horror elements are never in your face either, or are very subtle things to just keep you uncomfortable. And I like how, no matter where you are in the game, you’re not safe from the horror elements. Pause Menu, Title Screen, Save Menu, Poem Screen, every single area of the game includes potential horror moments that you could experience. That sort of tension knowing that the horror can appear from anywhere I find really interesting.
And speaking of that, I really like how each playthrough of Doki Doki Literature Club is unique to the individual playing it. The friends I was streaming it to told me that stuff that I saw in the game was stuff that they never saw before. I really like how most of the horror elements are tied to the random events that could occur in each playthrough. With how subtle some of them are as well, it’s really interesting to me. It’s funny that I’m reviewing this game after I reviewed Undertale, which has a similar thing going on. I absolutely love when games have systems that make each playthrough of a game unique, as it gives me a more personal connection to the game. Especially with a game like Doki Doki Literature Club, where I feel it’s a game where you shouldn’t replay it, it makes that time with the game even more unique and personal.
Doki Doki Literature Club was a massively popular game for its time. I don’t know where it stands in the cultural space nowadays, but it did get a remaster a few years back. While I have been spoiled about things, this was my first time properly playing it, and I appreciate a lot of what it does. I find it interesting that a game like this became as popular as it did, especially since I’ve seen a lot of argument over the worth of Visual Novels. Regardless of that, I really enjoyed Doki Doki Literature Club, and I’m glad I finally got around to playing it.
When it comes to Visual Novels for me, one of the major requirements for a Visual Novel to be good is for the cast to be good. A strong cast is important for many games, but Visual Novels require a much stronger cast, since they don’t have as many elements that other games include. It’s like reading a book. And I honestly really enjoy the main cast of Doki Doki Literature Club… except for the main character. When it comes to the main character, they’re just really rude and none of the other characters really make much note to that. And since the main character is meant to be the stand-in for the player, it often leads me to read stuff as if I were saying them. Because of that, and with what the main character is like, it often made me feel really frustrated. Aside from the main character though, the four other characters of Doki Doki Literature Club are all really great! The character dynamics are really fun, and I really enjoyed seeing the interactions between characters. I streamed it to some friends, and we tried to voice the characters throughout the game, Which honestly was super fun. Doing so I feel definitely allowed me to get further attached to the characters than I would have if I read it on my own.
Of course, when it comes to Doki Doki Literature Club, it’s hard to not ignore the horror elements of the game. I mean, the game tells you as you open the game, and asks you if you consent to seeing disturbing content. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to talk about the horror of the game, primarily because it doesn’t really hide it? However with that in mind, I really like how this game executes its horror. In particular, aside from the warning, you would have very little clue that Doki Doki Literature Club was a horror game. I do wish that there wasn’t a warning, because having no inkling of the game being a horror game would make it hit much harder, but I understand why a warning is there. Once you figure out a horror game, the game swerved off the road and you’re already tumbling off the cliff. It’s such a sudden shift, and I love how disorienting it feels. Having already been spoiled by it, I of course knew what was coming, but it allowed me to see all of the foreshadowing, and I think it’s really well done! I imagine that if I had gone in blind, I wouldn’t have been able to tell that it was foreshadowing, which is really well done.
Now to the actual horror elements of the game, I find them really interesting. Honestly, while the game definitely got me a couple times, I definitely think it would’ve hit me harder if I didn’t know what was already coming. Even then, the game is really good at keeping you on edge. Even though the shift to horror is sudden, the game doesn’t bombard you with horror from that point onwards. A majority of the second half of the game is still primarily a visual novel, but horror elements brought into it to remind you that things are not okay. And most of the time, the horror elements are never in your face either, or are very subtle things to just keep you uncomfortable. And I like how, no matter where you are in the game, you’re not safe from the horror elements. Pause Menu, Title Screen, Save Menu, Poem Screen, every single area of the game includes potential horror moments that you could experience. That sort of tension knowing that the horror can appear from anywhere I find really interesting.
And speaking of that, I really like how each playthrough of Doki Doki Literature Club is unique to the individual playing it. The friends I was streaming it to told me that stuff that I saw in the game was stuff that they never saw before. I really like how most of the horror elements are tied to the random events that could occur in each playthrough. With how subtle some of them are as well, it’s really interesting to me. It’s funny that I’m reviewing this game after I reviewed Undertale, which has a similar thing going on. I absolutely love when games have systems that make each playthrough of a game unique, as it gives me a more personal connection to the game. Especially with a game like Doki Doki Literature Club, where I feel it’s a game where you shouldn’t replay it, it makes that time with the game even more unique and personal.
Doki Doki Literature Club was a massively popular game for its time. I don’t know where it stands in the cultural space nowadays, but it did get a remaster a few years back. While I have been spoiled about things, this was my first time properly playing it, and I appreciate a lot of what it does. I find it interesting that a game like this became as popular as it did, especially since I’ve seen a lot of argument over the worth of Visual Novels. Regardless of that, I really enjoyed Doki Doki Literature Club, and I’m glad I finally got around to playing it.