Hello ladies, gentlemen and those of a nonbinary nature, my name is Daibhi and this is the Gamerhub. Doki Doki Literature Club isn’t a AAA game. Some people might want to know whether I have a problem with this but honestly, I don’t. I get to play more games and work harder, whilst the AAA crowd complain about unfinished games. The genre differences are astonishing and I get to play games from all over the world. In terms of the country I get to play games from the most: It’s Japan. I have been to Japan, so this isn’t an issue. One of the games I can’t stand from the land of the rising sun, however, is dating simulator games. I thought I was getting that here. I was wrong…
I dislike dating simulator games from Japan for multiple reasons. They’re creepy, misogynistic and designed for “hikukomori”. This, translated from Japanese, means “men who hide from the world”. Unfortunately, they play a lot of videogames and I thought Doki Doki Literature Club was going to be one of them. By the power of Greyskull, I was wrong. In fact, I was about as misguided in this belief as Light Yagami was in his belief that he could become a god. Doki Doki Literature Club isn’t one of these games. Instead, this game might be about as terrifying as Outlast. I love the bait as switch we got here. This game isn’t a dating simulator made for bored, lonely men. This game is a full-on psychological horror game, and I’m honestly surprised I hadn’t played it earlier. I love the song by The Stupendium based on it.
Who made Doki Doki Literature Club?
The man himself
Doki Doki Literature Club was made by the genius that is Dan Salvato over in the USA. This is his debut game, and he made the first version available to play on PC in 2017. Before making this game, Salvato had made mods of different games, but was best known for his Super Mario Maker levels. Following the success of Doki Doki Literature Club on PC, he then started to make versions available to play on other platforms. For this review, I played this game on the Nintendo Switch. This version released in 2021, but it has consistently stayed at the top of console games sales charts since. After reading interviews about the development of this game with Salvato, I took the plunge. Let’s talk about Doki Doki Literature Club, why it’s brilliant and why you should play it.
Doki Doki Literature Club’s plot.
The plot of this game is deliberately designed to throw people like me off. I won’t spoil anything in this plot, but all good horror stories start gently, and this game is no exception to that rule. You, the protagonist, is a bit of an introvert convinced to join the titular club by your best friend Sayori. I can’t help but feel that this is a bit of a meta joke. At the end of each day, you have to write a short poem, before walking home with Sayori. Each day goes by, as a cultural learning festival looms large over your school. Sayori tells you that she has depression. [Side note- yours truly suffers a bit with this, and the depiction of it here is nothing short of brilliant]. After this, you help Natsuki or Yuri with their tasks, and you can choose to kiss them.
Maybe the messy room was a warning…
Whatever happens, you catch up with Sayori and go to school the next day. It’s at this point where you realise that something is wrong. Monika reads a poem by Sayori where she talks about something that needs to “get out of her head”. Then, it’s Sayonara to Sayori and the game reboots. This time, nobody remembers Sayori, and the bits where she talked are all a bit weird. It’s almost as if the game is glitching. I assure you, it’s by design, so don’t think the game is broken.
To avoid spoiling you, I won’t say anything else about the plot.
Doki Doki Literature Club’s Graphics
This game has been made to look like a J-Game, and to be honest, it’s very good. I play a whole host of Japanese video games, and this one looks as if it has come straight from Japan. The characters are all dressed the right way, drawn in the typical Shonen Manga fashion, and the colour palette matches. Well, until the twist, but I can’t get into that. Simply put, you’re going to need to play past the twist to understand why. Much suffices to say that until that twist, as the game marches towards it, the pinks and blues get darker and darker. In fact, the game starts going blood red at points, and this is a piece of brilliant foreshadowing.
Look at the detail here!
So without going further this way, I’m going to talk to you about the artwork. The way each character drawn is exquisite. Each character has their own colour palette meant to invoke certain moods and help you understand motivations. On top of that, the level of detail drawn in each character is astonishing. I know it becomes a lot easier to do this when the characters have barely animation, but it has to be said. Drawing hair on characters is a difficult chore, but Stachely, the freelance artist responsible has done an amazing job here.
Doki Doki Literature Club Gameplay
Doki Doki Literature Club again performs a bait and switch here. Because of the way this game is designed to work, this game plays like a dating simulation game. At least, at first. Once the twist I am doing my hardest to not spoil happens, this game kicks up a notch. However, I’m not allowed to spoil this game’s twist. So, this game is a dating game. You spend your time going through the story, concocting non-demonic poems. [Yes, hello The Stupendium, I couldn’t resist another reference]. Throughout this game, you’ll foster relationships with all three of the characters with typically Japanese names. Just be careful as you go, and this game rewards you. Other than that, this game is mostly pressing buttons and seeking out the side stories.
The world’s most cursed playlist
Doki Doki Literature Club has multiple different endings. As hinted at in the last paragraph, there are multiple ways to get the endings. If you get Doki Doki Literature Club Plus, you can play well over 100 of the side stories, each with a sense of both humour and foreboding. I take back what I said about Five Nights At Freddy’s, this game seems as though it’s reason for existence is to hurt you. I can attest to that: This game has given me nightmares. There’s a very good reason for this: This game lulls you into a false sense of security before scaring the heebie-jeebies out of you.
Where can I get Doki Doki Literature Club?
Doki Doki Literature Club is now only available in the extended version: Doki Doki Literature Club Plus. However, this game is available on a plethora of platforms across the gaming landscape. For clarity, I’ve played this game on both my laptop, my Nintendo Switch and a PlayStation 5. This game doesn’t require much in the specs on a laptop, and I’m really glad. It makes this game far more accessible for everyone, and this game really needs a sequel.
Final Thoughts
I’m not always a fan of games that bait-and-switch you into buying it, but Doki Doki Literature Club is genuinely astonishing. It can absolutely terrify you into nightmares (as I can attest to), and the villain isn’t immediately obvious. The villain is unstoppable, menacing and ultimately obsessive to the point where you genuinely check if they’re still around. Expect some great storytelling, amazing artwork and a videogame experience that you’ll never forget. For a game that doesn’t cost all that much, this game is genuinely one I’ve often wondered why a sequel doesn’t exist.
I give this game a 4.7/5 Joysticks
For the Gamerhub, I’ve been Daibhi, and you are all legends.
Where’s the harmonica?
