Caelin Bragg
Lantern Staff
Much like the themes explored in the game, Doki Doki Literature Club’s fun and charming exterior is just a front to the dark, twisted reality that exists inside of it.
Doki Doki Literature Club tries to act like every other bad dating simulator that infests Steam’s store page, but knowing who the developers are quickly made me skeptical to the game’s true nature. My suspicions were confirmed the moment the game booted.
“This game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed” is the message greeting players when the game starts. It quickly breaks its own façade, and for good reason. This game deals with very serious issues that affect many people on daily basis.
The game was actually updated, which included a much more descriptive content warning at the beginning, along with a link to a more spoiler filled warning on their website because the original was not clear enough for some where the themes hit too close to home.
Doki Doki Literature Club plays like most any dating sim and has a familiar premise for fans of the genre. The player’s character goes to high school and gets roped into joining his childhood friend’s literature club as they were lacking members, and it turns out the club is filled with entirely cute girls–any of whom the player has the option to romance.
Except not really. That is just the premise the game wants the player to think. The turn of the game starts out mild with allusions to serious issues, to confirmation of those issues to full blown psychological horror. When the game takes its turn, it does not stop and just keeps going until the original game is nonexistent.
If I had one complaint with the game, it is its length. It is not unlikely that this game could be beaten within just a few hours. It took me longer than that from me being terrified to play it, but my total playtime still amounted to about five to six hours. But the game is free, so it is difficult for me to get hung up on that.
Doki Doki Literature Club understands horror in games perfectly and executes on it superbly. I would highly recommend any one who is a fan of horror play it, and anyone who wants a surprisingly deep bit of story and nuance thrown in as well. Just be conscious of the warnings. They are there for a very good reason, and this game is absolutely not suitable for everyone.
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