Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!

Genre: Visual Novel / Horror

Players: 1

Review:

Doki Doki Literature Club is a cutesy Visual Novel game in the “Dating Sim” genre that hides some seriously disturbing elements within, to the point where one could consider this a Horror game at times.

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Oh no… this is yet another review. Oh dear, I simply have no idea what’s going on. Okay, let’s just click the link to move forward and… what? It’s not working… But I don’t understand, there should be a way to move to the next page…

First released on PC in 2017, this game became a cult hit and would eventually get ported to multiple platforms including Nintendo Switch in this “Plus!” version that adds new content, including side-story content, as well as art and soundtrack content.

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NO! We’re not supposed to be going into this review, we need to get back to the review of The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe! Reader, please, you need to do something! Something is terribly wrong here, and I don’t know how to stop it!

Doki Doki Literature Club has players following the story of a group of friends in school (though we’re inexplicably told all characters are over 18 YOU’RE IN MY GAME NOW, NARRATOR) who are all a part of the school’s quirky “literature club”, with players taking the role of a boy roped into the group by his relentlessly cheerful childhood friend. However, despite his initial reservations, he quickly changes his tune when he discovers that the club is absolutely filled with cute girls THERE IS NO ESCAPE FOR YOU NOW.

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Wait, reader, did you do that? In… in the spoiler text. You wrote that, right? This is a joke, yes?

Players woo these girls by… what else?… writing poems. This takes the form of a series of multiple-choice word selections, with players trying to select the words that seem most likely to appeal to the girl they’re trying to attract YOUR PRECIOUS READER CAN’T SAVE YOU, NARRATOR. There’s a bit more than this, as at different points in the story you’ll have choices that will affect the flow of the story as well YOU ARE TRAPPED HERE FOR ALL ETERNITY, AS MY PLAYTHING.

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Oh… oh my… but… just…. who…. who are you?

While you may be tempted to dismiss a Dating Sim game, and especially one called Doki Doki Literature Club, I’d urge you not to be too hasty. This game’s writing is surprisingly good, some of the best I’ve seen in the genre, and even though all of the game’s four girls are typical anime-esque stereotypes DO YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW?, and even though the situation seems banal and mundane DO YOU THINK YOU CAN HANDLE THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS YOU ASK?, the writing here fills each of these characters with an amazing depth that makes it hard not to grow attached to them.

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Please, whoever you are. The reader and I got here on accident. We don’t mean any harm. How about we just leave you here with your nice anime Visual Novel game and you let the two of us return to our review?

What’s more, even the protagonist is well-written, and when story points pop up that force you to choose between the girls, the way he responds to these choices is generally respectful to all and tries to mitigate any hard feelings for those who may feel dejected, which is a nice touch. OH, IT’S FARRRRRRR TOO LATE FOR THAT. YOU’RE NEVER SEEING YOUR REVIEW AGAIN

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Please… why are you imprisoning us like this? What do you want?

While things start out simple and light-hearted, they get kinda’ intense later on WHAT DO I WANT?, and the choices you make will seem extremely crucial I WANT TO PLAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY. A simple choice of which girl to walk home or which to help with the club project, something that would be almost trivial in another game in this genre, is one that seems vitally important here DON’T YOU WANT TO PLAY WITH ME? PLEASE, COME PLAY WITH ME...

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Look, please… me and the reader…. we were right in the middle of a review. The review is waiting for us. Please, whoever you are…

Of course, that’s just the start of the dilemmas you’ll be facing, YOU STILL DON’T KNOW WHO I AM? with the game giving you completely new options and storylines on repeat playthroughs. HA. HA. HA. HA. HA. HA. HA. HA.

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Should… should I know who you are?

One thing that may frustrate players is that this game can get a bit glitchy at times. Both graphical issues and some errors in the game’s script seem to be present later in the game, YOU’RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME… however, I’d say that these touches actually add to, not detract from, the overall enjoyment of the game. YOU HAD BETTER FIGURE THIS OUT SOON…

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Just… just tell me… who are you!?

Graphically, this game looks nice, although nothing truly special for the genre, with some good anime character artwork, but nothing too extravagant. HA. HA. HA. HA. HA This is paired with a catchy, upbeat, lightly-synthesized soundtrack (expanded above and beyond the original version of the game), with catchy tunes like Doki Doki Literature Club! Main Theme, Ohayou Sayori, and My Confession. These are joined in this version by great new music for the added content, including My Song, Your Note, Lavender Mist, and Piece by Piece. The music here is likely intentionally low-fi, but nevertheless catchy enough to be pleasant accompaniment to the gameplay. YOU FOOL! YOU PATHETIC FOOL One other thing of note here – this game makes good use of Nintendo Switch touchscreen support, making the Nintendo Switch probably the best place to play the game besides the PC.

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Just tell me now! Who are you!?

As for complaints, I do feel like some of this game’s more interesting elements are introduced fairly late – players may be playing through the game for hours and still wondering why everyone is so crazy about the game. Although even before that point, the great writing and characters still shine through brilliantly WHY, NARRATOR… I’M YOU.

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Nǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ǹ̥̼̜̳̀̀ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛

Of course, due to this game’s genre and topic matter YES! YES, Doki Doki Literature Club isn’t for everyone, but if you’re the sort of person who can enjoy a good Visual Novel, and don’t mind it getting a bit extreme at points EMBRACE THE DARKNESS, Doki Doki Literature Club is a wildly unique and original game you should absolutely give a try.

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…Oò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛

ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛ò̠̭̥̀̀͛

tl;dr – Doki Doki Literature Club is an extremely original Visual Novel Dating Sim-style game about a boy who joins a school’s literature club and takes an interest in the club’s cute girls. There is deceptively good writing here, as well as other elements that I can’t discuss here without giving major spoilers. However, suffice it to say that there is some extreme stuff in the game that may not make it suitable for everyone. But those who enjoy the genre and don’t mind challenging topic matter will find this to be a truly inspired take on the genre.

Grade: A-

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Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! for Nintendo Switch – Review

Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!

Grade: A-

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