Are you familiar with the world of dating sims? These types of games are incredibly popular in Asia, especially in Japan, and they propose – through selections of dialogues, minigames and usually simple mechanics – to try to conquer one of the girls or boys who inhabit the game world. Although dating sims are considered a ‘niche’ product in the West, there are many gamers who love them. The cases of people who learn Japanese and import titles such as the recognized one are not rare Tokimeki Memorial to be able to enjoy them.
Due to its cult fame, in recent years titles have come out in the West that parody or give an unexpected twist to this kind of games. There we have the fun Hatoful Boyfriend and the adorable Dream Daddy as examples. But there is one that stands out above the rest: the infamous and mysterious Doki Doki Literature Club (DDLC), which impressed us in 2017 and is again on everyone’s lips thanks to a new version ‘Plus’.
If you saw the trailer, surely you have many doubts. Why are you describing a dating simulator as a horror game? Naked eye, Doki Doki Literature Club Plus It seems to be one more in the infinite list of titles of the genre with attractive “anime girls” in which we have to choose the one we like the most and try to conquer her. But this work has “something more.”
We are not going to say what that “something else” is. The secrets of this game deserve to be discovered by each player and we do not want to spoil anyone. However, the same warnings as the trailer and the same DDLC at the time of starting to play they can already be a ‘spoiler’ in itself. We believe that this is a work that would have benefited from offering its surprise to an audience that was not expecting it at all, but we cannot ignore that these kinds of warnings are completely necessary to prevent some people from encountering content that could harm them emotionally. .
Please do not ignore these warnings. When the time comes, some of you will say “was that all? I was expecting something more serious ”and feeling cheated, but others could be greatly affected. The author of this review was one of them.
On Doki Doki Literature Club we take control of a high school student who is practically forced by Sayori, his childhood friend, to join the school’s literature club. Once there, find out what the only male member is. He will be surrounded by four beautiful girls: the lively Sayori, whom he has known all his life; the shy Yuri; the aggressive Natsuki; and Monika, a perfect, athletic and very popular student.
In addition to some moments in which we can choose our answer to a question, the main mechanic of this title is a minigame of writing poems. We are in a literature club after all. The objective is to select words from a list, trying to choose those that the girl we want to spend more time with may like. As we progress through the plot, we get to know them better and learn what are the words with which each of them can be identified.
During the first part of the game we discover that not everything is happiness in the literature club. As we spend time with the girls we discover problems and dramas that, surprisingly, are treated in a realistic and responsible way … until there comes a point where they become totally sensational and exploitative.
Doki Doki Literature Club and its version Plus are works that seek to deconstruct the genre of the ‘dating simulator’. They want to criticize some of its most problematic elements, but they are still problematic for other reasons. Once he reaches one of his endings, it is worth reflecting on the message he has left us and how we feel about it, especially if we are fans of the type of games that he imitates.
When it originally came out in 2017, DDLC it was a free game. In fact, we can still download it for free at itch.io Y Steam. The new version Plus paid has a higher graphic resolution, six new parallel stories, unlockable images and a new interface that includes a music player.
Those who have played the original version are surely wondering how this game can work on consoles. After all, it has elements that only make sense when playing on PC. The solution is the ‘Metaverse’. When we start the game, we access a kind of operating system. From this we have access to the game files, music, unlockable items and more.
Although this is an elegant solution to be able to enjoy the game on consoles, the truth is that Doki Doki Literature Club works best on PC and without this item. This adds one more level of separation between the player and the work that negatively affects the interaction with it.
Veterans of DDLC they will also want to know if this version is worth playing to learn more about the plot. The original game was full of secrets that were never solved. It is true that in our exploration of the Metaverse we are going to learn a whole new ‘metaplot’ about what is really happening, but we do not think it adds much to the history of the club girls. Nor does it solve the doubts we already had about Libitina, The Markov portrait and the Third Eye. Check out our ‘no spoilers’ guide to secrets to uncover the new mystery.
The alternate stories don’t do much either. These basically tell the story of the club if the male lead never makes it to it. They function as chapters of an ‘anime’ or ‘manga’ of the ‘slice of life’ genre. It has none of the subversive elements that made the game famous in the first place. If they expect more than that, they will be disappointed.
Another problem of DDLC More is that it encourages us to replay again and again to learn other sides of the story, unlock all the illustrations and secret content. But doing so progressively reduces the impact of your surprises. Eventually we find ourselves skipping the most relevant moments without paying much attention to them. It is interesting to know the history of Natsuki, for example, if in our first game we focus on Sayori or Yuri. The problem is that the impressive ‘the first time’ experience loses steam with each game.
Because of all this, it is quite curious that the original and free version of Doki Doki Literature Club seems superior to us than the improved Plus payment. However, this one is not without grace. For starters, it allows us to enjoy (or suffer) this intriguing title to console users. Dedicated fans will find more mythology and secrets to uncover. In addition, it has an excellent Spanish translation.
But whether with the original version of DDLC o la PlusWe highly recommend that you live this experience — heeding the warnings that you make at the beginning, yes — and look for a way into the heart of one of the girls from the literature club. You will not regret it. Well … yes you will regret it, but that’s the point.
Doki Doki Literature Club Plus (DDLC for friends) is not the first video game to try to deconstruct its own genre, but the way it does it – especially for players who arrive not knowing what awaits them – makes it worthy of being experienced at least once. This version Plus It may not be the best option for first timers, but veterans who NEED the most from Monika, Sayori, Natsuki, and Yuri will be able to gain a new perspective on them thanks to side stories and play detective with the new secrets of the Metaverse.
Review made with a digital copy of Doki Doki Literature Club Plus provided by Serenity Forge.
