Doki Doki Literature Club! is a visual novel that was created by Team Salvato. It was released on September 22, 2017 for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux. On October 6, 2017, it was released for Steam.[1] The story involves a high school student that joins the school's Literature Club and the way the character interacts with its four female members. At first, it looks like a light anime dating simulator, but it soon becomes a psychological horror game.[2][3] It is a game that breaks the fourth wall very often.[4]
| Doki Doki Literature Club! | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Team Salvato |
| Publisher(s) |
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| Designer(s) | Dan Salvato |
| Programmer(s) | Dan Salvato |
| Artist(s) | Satchely, Velinquent |
| Writer(s) | Dan Salvato |
| Composer(s) | Dan Salvato |
| Engine | |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release |
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| Genre(s) | Visual novel |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
The creator of the game, Dan Salvato, was working on the game for close to two years.[5] Before creating this game, Salvato created modifications, or "mods", to Super Smash Bros. Melee.[6] At first, Doki Doki Literature Club! was released on itch.io then released on Steam. The game is free, but if you pay $10, you can receive the downloadable content.[7] The game got more than one million downloads three months after it was released.[8][9]
On June 30, 2021, Team Salvato and Serenity Forge released an expanded version of the original game, Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!, to Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. The expansion was later released to macOS on August 12, 2021.[10]
Gameplay
changeDoki Doki Literature Club! is a visual novel, so most of the game is the player reading the game's story. Sometimes, the player has to make decisions that change how the story goes.
The game has a poetry minigame where the player chooses certain words. These words correspond to a certain girl. If certain words are picked, different parts of the story can be viewed. The game also makes the player view some of the files that the game uses to play.[3]
The game has a lot of foreshadowing that tells the player certain things about the story. If the player decodes the character files, there are extra stories unlocked. At certain times special files appear in the game files. Text documents show up about the next scenes.
In the end every player ends up at the same "Just Monika" screen until the player goes into the game's files on their computer to delete "Monika.chr" in the games "Characters" folder. After, the game starts up again, with Monika absent, and Sayori acting as president. However, this makes Sayori take Monika's characteristics. Monika then saves the player, and then closes the game, and then credits roll.
Plot
changeThe player's character is invited by his childhood friend, Sayori, to join the school Literature Club. He meets the other members of the club; Natsuki, Yuri, and Monika. The player begins to get involved in the club and getting to know the girls better. Near the end of the first act, Sayori tells the player that she has depression and confesses her love the player. Regardless of the players choice, Sayori soon commits suicide by hanging herself. The game then restarts, as if nothing happens.
When the player begins a new game, the game is very close to the first run, but Sayori is missing, with none of the characters remembering Sayori, same with the player. If Sayori is mentioned, the game glitches and she appears as a mix of all the other characters' appearances. The player gets involved in the club again and gets closer to either Natsuki or Yuri. Unusual events become more common, like only being able to choose Monika's options. If the player chooses to be with Yuri, she will eventually become really obsessive over the player, and then confesses her love for the player. Regardless of the players choice, she will stab herself in her stomach and chest, and dies. If the player chooses to be with Natsuki, she will reveal that she has been malnourished and abused by her father. She ultimately becomes obsessive, and then snaps her own neck, killing herself.
With the new game, only Monika is alive. She tells the player that she knows she is in a game and can change the character files. She reveals that she pushed Sayori and Yuri and Natsuki to kill themselves. She will continue to talk indefinitely, until the player goes into the games files, and deletes Monika's character file. This causes her to be incredibly mad, insulting the player, calling them a "monster". She then restarts the game, but without her.
When the game restarts, Sayori, Yuri and Natsuki are alive, but Monika is gone. Sayori takes Monika's obsessive and crazy characteristics, and tries the same tactic to get to the player as Monika, saying that she knows about Monika, and is glad she is gone, because she can be with her. However, Monika comes back to save the player from Sayori. She then deletes the game, saying that "no joy can be found in the Literature Club." The end credits roll and Monika sings a song called "Your Reality".
Reception
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After the game was released, Doki Doki Literature Club! got a very devoted fanbase very quickly.[5][13] The game got more than one million downloads three months after it was released.[8][9] One month after that, the game got more than two million downloads.[14]
Many critics said good things about the game. Gita Jackson, a journalist that works for Kotaku said that Doki Doki Literature Club! was "a truly special game". She also said that "if you like horror games, especially ones that really get under your skin, please check out Doki Doki Literature Club."[4] Tom Philip, who is a journalist for GQ said that the game was "one of the scariest games I have ever played."[13]
Doki Doki Literature Club! won a few awards. At the IGN Best of 2017 awards, it won the People's Choice Awards for "Best PC Game",[15] "Best Adventure Game",[16] "Best Story",[17] and "Most Innovative".[18]
References
change- ↑ "Doki Doki Literature Club!". Steam. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
- ↑ Rose, Victoria (22 October 2017). "Doki Doki Literature Club is an uncontrollably horrific visual novel". Polygon. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Josuweit, Amy (31 October 2017). "Doki Doki Literature Club is a hidden horror game for the internet age". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Jackson, Gita (10 November 2017). "Doki Doki Literature Club Scared Me Shitless". Kotaku. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Jackson, Gita (20 October 2017). "Doki Doki Literature Club's Horror Was Born From A Love-Hate Relationship With Anime". Kotaku. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
- ↑ Good, Owen (13 September 2015). "Powerful mod adds replay feature to Super Smash Bros. Melee". Polygon. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
- ↑ "Doki Doki Literature Club!". itch.io. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Dennis, Catrina (11 December 2017). "Doki Doki Literature Club Surpasses 1 Million Downloads". WWG. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Barnett, Brian (11 December 2017). "Doki Doki Literature Club Hits 1 Million Downloads". IGN. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
- ↑ "Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! - Doki Doki Literature Club Plus Now Available on Mac! - Steam News". store.steampowered.com. 2021-08-12. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
- ↑ "Doki Doki Literature Club! for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 15 February 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
- ↑ Fenner, Robert (24 December 2017). "RPGFan Review - Doki Doki Literature Club". RPGFan. Archived from the original on 6 October 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Philip, Tom (19 October 2017). "Doki Doki Literature Club Is the Most Messed Up Horror Game You'll Play This Year". GQ. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
- ↑ Jones, Ali (15 January 2018). "Doki Doki Literature Club! surpasses two million downloads". PCGamesN. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
- ↑ "Best PC Game". IGN. 20 December 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
- ↑ "Best Adventure Game". IGN. 20 December 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
- ↑ "Best Story". IGN. 20 December 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
- ↑ "Most Innovative". IGN. 20 December 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2018.