Game Review: Doki-Doki Literature Club

How can I put the game’s cleverness into words?  This game is simply mind blowing in so many levels.  This game is a perfect example to never judge a book by its cover.  This review is my personal opinion and may contain spoilers.  The review is not from a critic’s point of view rather it will be from a layman’s point of view.  The game is free to download in their official website, be sure to give it a try. 

Warning: Viewer’s discretion is advised, may contain materials not suitable for children below 13 years of age and those who are easily disturbed. 

The game starts with the above lines.  Well the home screen looks like your typical dating simulator games but you can never anticipate what is kept in hold for you.  The level of foreshadowing is high.  You can feel that something’s is going to happen.  And it happens at a kind of expected time but still will catch you off guard.  Moving on to in-depth review;

Art: I’ll give a solid 7 out 10 for the art style.  The character designs are simple but elegant.  There is not much thought put into the detailing for a variety of expressions of each character but still they have managed to pull-off good and cute art and appropriate scenery that goes so well with story.  The graphics is the normal 2 dimensional and there were no high expectations in this area. 

Pace: The pace of the story at first seems very slow.  You might actually feel like giving up in the first hour into the game.  Well it is almost your usual visual novel type of game.  So, this game involves a lot of reading of texts, which bores some of the gamers. 

Character: The characters are the highlight of this game.  There are four characters excluding the player.  Sayori: She is your happy and always cheerful type of girl or is she?  She is the Vice-President of the Literature Club.  She is also your childhood friend.  Yuri: She is a very shy but an intense girl.  She appears to be more mature than the others.  She likes sophisticated stories involving some horror.  Monika: She is the Club President.  She knows everything.  She was your classmate in the previous year of high school.  Natsuki: She is your typical tsundere who likes baking.  She is your junior and a year below in the high school.  All the girls are pretty enthusiastic for the club and like to work towards enjoying their time in the club.  All of the characters have something hidden in their deepest of minds which we get to know about in time.  The character development is kind of there but at the same time it is not as evident.  The game has done a great job in shocking us with some of the developments.  I will give a rating of 8.5 out of 10 for the characters. 

Story: The rating for the story sky rockets for me.  Giving a number less than or equal to 10 will underestimate the mightiness of the story.  If I have to constrain it to 10 then the story of the game gets a solid 10.  The words in the English language may fall short to express its greatness.  We know it is just a game but at the same time the level of storytelling done is simply amazing.  The major points granted to the story are its ability to break the fourth wall.  I realize it is all coding but the amount of coding to bring the outcome that needs to happen and that can interfere with the saved game files on your computer is scary.  When the game straight up ceased some file’s existence from my computer, it just sends chills down my spine.  At first while playing the game, it appears to be your typical innocent visual novel type dating sim game, but when it starts breaking the fourth wall you are left with nothing but feelings of awe and fear.  This game transcends from a cute game to a creepy so fast that you have no choice but to end up being afraid.  While playing it I know it is just a game in the back of my head and then all of sudden the game just calls me out by my real name and not by the name I used to play the game.  That moment scared the heck out of me.  This game is really not for the weak hearted.  There are scenes which are disturbing and that explain the warning. 

Soundtrack: The soundtrack of the game is pretty good.  It goes very well with the story.  When the mood of the game is light, the background music seems happy and carefree.  Same goes for the music for scenes which are intense.  The soundtrack adds to the immersive experience of the game.  I would give a rating 7 out of 10 for the soundtrack. 

Game play: The game play is simply IMMERSIVE.  I have not recently played a game that is as immersive as this one.  While playing games, the most important part of the game play is the ability to be immersive.  And this game does that very well.  As for the controls, they are really simple.  All you do is click the left mouse button for most part.  So, this game may disappoint those action loving gamers.  Hence it loses some points in the controls.  Well the game play is pretty easy and can be handled by almost anyone.  The rating for the game play will be about 8.5 out 10. 

So, all in all I would give a rating 8 of out of 10, which does justice to the game overall.  Most of the time I was left speechless by the game’s ability to play itself and that’s all for the review.