5 Reasons to Play Doki Doki Literature Club
Usually, when you purchase or start up a horror game, you know the general elements that will be present aiming to spook you – zombies, a cult, self-aware AI(s), straight up disturbing gore, or psychologically disturbing events amongst other things. However, there’s one game on steam that masks itself as a generic anime visual novel dating sim with cute girls of varying looks and personalities, but flips it completely upside down to give players one of the most disturbing, unsettling, and unique psychological horror experiences of 2017. The game is Team Salvato’s Doki Doki Literature Club in which we are here to tell you 5 reasons why you shouldn’t pass this game up if you’re in the mood to get severely spooked (spoiler free!).
1 – It won’t cost you a single penny
At the low price of free, this game won’t cost you a single dollar. What it will cost you may be a couple of pairs of pants though. Don’t let the price tag fool you, however, as the amount of work and detail put into the game exceeds many titles needing actual payment or of a triple-A manner. Your wallet has nothing to lose, nor do you in the money department!
2 – It only gives you one abstract warning, forcing you to go in blind
You get a single one-liner in the description of the game warning you of what is hidden behind the light-hearted exterior: “This game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed”. Once you boot up the game you get the same one-liner, but also must agree you are over the age of 13 – talk about creepy! Reviews on Steam even do a great job withholding spoilers, but it’s only after completing the game where many of their comments actually make sense. This makes you on edge throughout the game questioning when as well as how things will go crazy.
3 – It breaks the fourth wall in a surreal way
We’ve seen many clever games break the fourth wall over the years. To name a few are The Stanley Parable, The Beginner’s Guide, Undertale, and Eternal Darkness. While Doki Doki Literature Club breaks the fourth wall severely, it transcends it in the most surreal way. Because playing through it blindly is what makes it so horrifying, we won’t mention anything more other than it’s not what you will ever expect.
4 – Cute girls and visuals that will constantly make you question yourself
From the get-go, people who see the title and promotional image for the game will most likely already question why the words “psychological horror” and the-like are tagged under it. This doesn’t stop once you start and progress through the game either. It’s around the 2-3 hour mark where things really start to pick up making things truly unsettling. But rest assured, when you get to the climax of the game you will definitely know you’ve reached it and that things are going to get messy.
5 – Tons of secrets, easter eggs, and theories to behold
One of the most admirable aspects of Doki Doki Literature Club is Team Salvato’s careful, precise, and ingenious execution of the game. During and even well after you’ve completed the game, there are endless amounts of secrets to discover and theories to formulate. Completing the game leaves a bittersweet feeling, but it’s discussing, reading, and hypothesizing about different parts of the game that makes its mysteries fulfilling to analyze.
Have you played Doki Doki Literature Club yet? What were your thoughts on it? Let us know in the comments section below!