Doki Doki Literature Club!

Doki Doki Literature Club! is a 2017 freeware visual novel game developed and published by Team Salvato for Linux, macOS, and Microsoft Windows.

An expanded version, Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!, was released for macOS, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on June 30, 2021.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) The animation and art-style is very nice, well-done and accurate to what a modern anime-style dating simulator would look like.
 * 2) Despite being a horror game, the game isn't pure shock value in the slightest, as it actually has a robust plot, lore, character development, and message.
 * 3) Good music and sound effects, including Dreams of Love and Literature, Okay, Everyone!, Play With Me, My Feelings, My Confession, I Still Love You, and Your Reality among others.
 * 4) The poem writing scenes are pretty entertaining. All of the girls get their times to show the narrator their own literature (most of the times having complex, even ominous, double meanings that foreshadow later events to occur in the game); Dear Sunshine, Like Hole in Wall, Amy Likes Spiders, Save Me, Eagles Can Fly, Bottles, The Racoon, Because You, Ghost under the Light (pt.1/2), I'll Be Your Beach, The Lady who Knows Everything, and Beach.
 * 5) The acts are pretty entertaining.
 * 6) Despite not being an actual harem game, it still does play out like one for the first half. And due to that, it's one of the few harem-themed properties to actually subvert the common trope of the girls acting immature and childish and needing the protagonist to nurture and take care of them (a theme that's even present in some of the better harem shows like mh:besttvshows:Date A Live). Because here, the protagonist isn't the one caring for the girls, but instead, it's Sayori (one of the girls) who cares for him. As she puts it "Your happiness is really important to me, you know!"
 * 7) Nice and lovable characters with cute designs:
 * 8) * Sayori is a happy go lucky and clingy childhood friend who has been diagnosed with depression and uses said cheerful attitude as a coping mechanism.
 * 9) * Natsuki is a short tempered but sweet girl (a.k.a. a tsundere).
 * 10) * Yuri is the quiet bookworm.
 * 11) * Monika is the leader of the literature club, and the only self aware character in the game.
 * 12) Impressive technical features.
 * 13) Unexpected horror scenes with deep and dark lore, in a game which was supposed to be light-hearted. And they aren't just for the sole purpose of shock value, but they actually have symbolism and meaning to them.
 * 14) Not only is it free-to-play, but it has no microtransactions whatsoever like most free-to-play games do. However, there is a paid expansion which should be enough to help the developers of this game survive.
 * 15) * Although you still need to pay for the soundtracks.
 * 16) The game is entirely made with Python script, making it easy to modify.
 * 17) * You can also play other mods with well written stories, the main example is Doki Doki: Exit Music Redux.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) The game feels too long (3 hours for Act I, 2 hours for Act II, 25 minutes for Act III (if you immediately delete Monika), and 10 hours for the true ending.).
 * 2) *In fact, this game takes 3 hours until it starts being scary, which might have people forget that it's a horror game.
 * 3) Some have argued  the game's understanding of visual novels and Japanese media in general is flawed in multiple ways:
 * 4) * First off, it conflates dating simulations and romance visual novels, which are different concepts.
 * 5) * Doki Doki Literature Club! doesn't actually share much in common with dating sims at all since there is no emphasis on raising stats to impress potential lovers or a calendar system.
 * 6) The game can drag on at some points.
 * 7) The PS4 and PS5 versions are censored, due to PlayStation censorship.
 * 8) In order for this game to be scary, you have to remain free from all the information surrounding most of this game. The fact this game’s lore was spread like wildfire all over the internet doesn’t help, which ruins the shock value.

Bad Ending #1

 * If you delete one of the characters' files before starting the game, Sayori starts off as confused, then goes into a mental breakdown. The game suddenly malfunctions, then shows a game over scene with Sayori hanging herself.

True Ending

 * Make separate save files for each character (Natsuki, Sayori, and Yuri) route before Act 1 ends.

Trivia

 * It has been released on September 22, 2017, a hundred years after the medium of anime was first created.
 * The game caused controversy in the United Kingdom that it was reported by the BBC for being considered a risk to children (and as well as teenagers) according to the Manchester police because of the horrific event where a 15 year old boy called Ben Warmsly committed suicide, and his father said the game dragged his son in, in fact, the game would be on a pre-inquest review, and is due to take place in 10:00 of June 29th, 2018.
 * If you record yourself during Monika's route, you will unlock secret dialogue and a jumpscare.
 * The original release is available for free, while Plus! costs $15.

Videos
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