Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!

Hold up, fellowships! This page potentially contains a lot of **spoilers** that will shatter your experience of the game associated with this article.
It is recommended that you play the game associated with this article first before reading it.

## General Information

### Composer

Varien
Jason Hayes (Guest)

### Artist

SquChan
LucidSky
Velinquent
Satchely

### Developer

Team Salvato
Serenity Forge

### Platform

PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox

***Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!*** (abbreviated as *DDLC Plus* or *DDLC+*) is a paid expansion of *Doki Doki Literature Club!* co-developed by Team Salvato and Serenity Forge, the latter also served as the game's publisher.

This version includes the original *DDLC* game with new side stories for the characters set outside the timeline of the base game, new music tracks, and a gallery for unlocking various pictures and concept art.

The game was announced on June 11, 2021, on Twitter by Dan Salvato along with the release of the *DDLC Plus* Website. The digital edition costs 15 USD, and the physical edition costs 30 USD.

## Release Info

The game was released digitally on June 30, 2021, for Windows via Steam and Epic Games and for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series. A Macintosh version released on August 12, 2021. Other PC platforms are to be determined, including if *DDLC Plus* will support Linux like *DDLC* does. The physical edition of the game released on September 21, 2021, for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. However, there are no plans for a physical copy on Xbox One or Xbox Series.

The physical copies are included in the *DDLC Plus Premium Physical Edition'*s box, which itself includes various merchandise along with the physical copy for the platform of the buyer's choosing. All physical copies will contain a disc or cartridge, but only the Nintendo Switch release has the poem notebook inner coversheet. A physical copy without the collectibles is not planned, but the premium physical edition is not sold for a limited time either.

## Game Features

* **6 New Side Stories**: Taking place outside the main timeline of the game, the side stories are of the girls and how they became friends through their struggles and adversity. There are six stories with different pairings of each character, allowing every combination of character to be given the spotlight for their individual tales. The stories each last for two parts. The total length of all the side stories is stated to be 50% the length of the original game script, including all branches and alternate scenes.
* **13 Additional Music Tracks**: Featuring Nikki Kaelar as the composer for the side story soundtrack, new tracks have been added to the game, including guest tracks from Jason Hayes and Azuria Sky, totaling the soundtrack to 26. A built-in music player is also included for these new and old tracks.
* **100+ Unlockable Pictures**: Progressing through the game and doing certain actions, usually with instructions, will unlock various types of images, including normal background art to concept drawings to imaginings of memorable scenes. These images can be set as the main menu background when unlocked.
* **Upgraded Visuals**: Rather than a resolution of 1280x720, the game's visual resolution and fidelity is a native 1920x1080.
* **Optional Content Warnings**: When starting the game, players will be given an opportunity to read more in-depth about the content that will be present in the game before playing, though it would contain spoilers. Players will also have an optional toggle that allows warnings to be presented before certain scenes. This toggle is turned off by default even when deciding to read the expanded warnings.
* **Built-in OS:** *DDLC Plus* features a built-in operating system, which can be reached by exiting *DDLC* via the menu or reopening the game after closing it. In it, the player can find the *DDLC* application, the Side Stories menu, a file browser, which replaces the game directory functionality of the original game, a mail list, a gallery for pictures that can either be collected throughout the game or unlocked by doing certain actions, and a music player. The player can also change their settings and view how much data they have collected in the Settings menu.

## Background

On the Team Salvato blog announcement, Dan Salvato felt that that the characters of *DDLC* deserved more time with a wholesome story on their interpersonal relationships, and it was feeling that led to the creation of side stories. He hoped that the struggles the characters experience and resolve through their budding friendships will be relatable for the players experiencing these stories.

Nikki Kaelar is said to have collaborated with Dan in the past regarding music theory in video games, but it wasn't until *DDLC Plus* where they both worked closely to bring forth the new tracks. Dan notes that while there exist entirely new tracks, leitmotifs and familiar melodies will also be present in new compositions, which would fit into how music enhances scenes especially for strong character moments.

Dan has also noted that with special editions of the game, he decided to integrate the new content in a way that keeps the authentic experience of the base game of *DDLC*. This new content does not include voice-acting, as that would change the experience of *DDLC* too significantly.

On the content warning blogpost, Joseph, a developer and community manager at Team Salvato, talked about the importance of game accessibility and its current rise in the video game industry. Taking direct inspiration from *Ikenfell*, Team Salvato has decided to include in-line content warnings where specific scenes will have specific warnings display beforehand if explicitly requested by the player in the settings. It is hoped that this implementation of content warnings will leave players relatively unspoiled but sufficiently reminded for their safety. This feature is expected to be updated over time from player feedback.

## Trivia

* One possible reason for no plans regarding an Xbox physical release is that Serenity Forge could not reach the number of physical copies of the game that Microsoft asked for publishing to be allowed at all. Zhenghua Yang, the founder and CEO of Serenity Forge, confirms this through an unaffiliated Twitter user's statement and also states that discussion with Xbox is ongoing.
	+ It is currently unknown why there is no PC physical release for the game, though Zhengha Yang states that the team is thinking about it.
* *DDLC Plus* does *not* port the original *DDLC* game made in Ren'Py. The base game in *DDLC Plus* is "faithfully and painstakingly recreated" in the Unity game engine.
* Because *DDLC Plus* is a console release, the issue regarding character file management is solved with an in-game file explorer. The file manager is also present within the PC release, despite being able to browse the files on Windows or MacOS.
	+ Because of this, unlike the original *DDLC*, *Plus* does not make use of the game's actual files, opting to use only the in-game file manager for its mechanics in order to make the experience consistent between console and PC users, making a few Easter Eggs impossible in Plus.
* *DDLC Plus* continues to use the sprites from the original *DDLC* game. The new character artwork done for *Plus* that is found in the trailers and marketing material does not replace the original sprites for in-game scenes. The original character sprites received minor touch-ups along with a resolution increase.
* *DDLC Plus* is "the first 100% in-house physical game production" by Serenity Forge.
* The first time *DDLC Plus* is booted up, a disclaimer appears stating that all characters are over the age of 18.

## External Links

* *DDLC Plus* Website
* Announcement of *DDLC Plus* - Team Salvato Blog Post

## References

1. ↑ "We published the game and also co-developed it!"
- Zhengha Yang on Twitter
2. ↑ "DDLC Plus will be coming to Mac at a future date!"
- Serenity Forge *DDLC Plus* FAQ
3. ↑ From Twitter
A: "*Are there any plans on releasing the game on GOG as well? Either way, I'm excited to see this being announced for PC!*"
Serenity Forge: "*TBD. Currently, the game is available on Steam and Epic for PC!*"
4. ↑ "The physical edition of DDLC Plus will begin shipping for NA retailers in late Summer 2021!"
- Serenity Forge *DDLC Plus* FAQ
5. ↑ "The physical version of the game will come on a cartridge/disc!"
- Serenity Forge *DDLC Plus* FAQ
6. ↑ "Switch Exclusive: Poem notebook inner coversheet"
- Serenity Forge on Twitter
7. ↑ "The premium physical edition of the game will be the only physical version of DDLC Plus."
- Serenity Forge on Twitter
8. ↑ From Twitter
A: "*Is the premium physical version limited edition or is it going to always be there when there is stock?*"
Zhenghua Yang: "*It's not limited, we'll continue to support the game as long as people want it!*"
9. ↑ Gameplay Trailer at 3:09
10. ↑ "The total length of all the #DDLCPlus Side Stories is over 50% the length of the original game script (the \*whole\* script, including all branches and alternate scenes). So it really does total to hours of new story material!"
- Dan Salvato on Twitter
11. ↑ "To clarify as there is some confusion, the side stories are roughly 50% as long as all of the lines from the original game. If DDLC had 1000 lines of dialogue, the side stories in #DDLCPlus would be a bit over 500 lines, not 1500."
- Joseph on Twitter
12. ↑ Gameplay Trailer at 2:54
13. ↑ Gameplay Trailer at 3:00
14. ↑ "In the original release of DDLC, the full list of content warnings was made available via a URL to be accessed via a web browser. This worked for many, though in an effort to ensure this is easily accessible for all platforms, we have included an option to view this expanded warning in-game before starting the game proper."
- Team Salvato Blog
15. ↑ "When active, small content warnings will appear shortly before certain scenes or moments that contain potentially sensitive content. This can be toggled on or off at any time while in-game via the settings menu."
- Team Salvato Blog
16. ↑ "The content warnings must be turned on in the settings and are off by default. This is true regardless of if you say Yes or No to the initial warning at the start of the game."
- Joseph on Twitter
17. ↑ "As a design decision, DDLC Plus does not include any voice acting. Voice acting fundamentally changes the experience of a narrative, and we prefer to stay true to the original by having DDLC be experienced in its originally-intended way. DDLC Plus was designed as a story that was specifically meant to be read/narrated and not vocalized!"
- Serenity Forge *DDLC Plus* FAQ
18. ↑ From Twitter
A: *"Why is there no physical edition for the Xbox edition??"*
B: *"It’s due to Xbox physical copy restrictions that makes it hard on small studios to do. They make it so you have to have like at least 80k+ copies printed. So they are very strict on it unlike Nintendo and PlayStation where you can have a minimum of 1000 copies."*
Zhenghua Yang: *"Yup, Xbox physical is very different. We are currently in discussion with Xbox to see what we can do, but there's no plans at the moment."*
19. ↑ "We don't yet have plans for a physical PC edition but we're definitely thinking about it!"
- Zhengha Yang on Twitter
20. ↑ "For those unfamiliar, the original DDLC was created using the amazing Ren’Py game engine. Now, as a part of bringing DDLC to consoles, the game has been faithfully and painstakingly recreated in the Unity engine."
- Team Salvato Blog
21. ↑ "The original sprites are used for in-game scenes, this new art isn't replacing them in those situations."
- Joseph on Twitter
22. ↑ "We've done some other games in the past with other partners but this is our first 100% in-house physical game production!"
- Zhengha Yang on Twitter