If after finishing you want more, DDLC Plus! offers some side stories that explore the friendships and origins of the girls that sit outside the main story. Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! Some nice extras Of course, that’s only a personal opinion, but it is worth being aware before you start playing. Whilst the game doesn’t glorify it, it does feel as though it’s used as a story beat than treat it with the respect or sensitivity it deserves. There’re scenes that will affect you if you struggle with mental health. The content warning is important, though. If DDLC Plus! is something you want to play, then go in as blind as possible. It’s difficult to go into any more details. Secondly, you’re carried into another shocking moment that leaves you vulnerable and oblivious to what the fuck is going on. One of the major plot points hits you quite hard. It doesn’t take long to play through the game to get all the different endings, but each time it ‘restarts,’ things get even crazier. The more these connections are made, the more one girl might grow closer to you.
You learn who appreciates what type of poem, and from there you get closer to certain girls. Some deeper or descriptive words will appeal to girls like Yuri, whilst flowery or cute words might be more appreciated by Natsuki or Sayori. Each poem you ‘write’ requires you to pick from a wide variety of words. By sharing your work, certain girls will appreciate your poetry more than others. There’s a formulaic approach to its gameplay that sees you contributing with poems over a few days. Building friendshipsĪs you spend time writing poetry and building bonds with the characters, the protagonist becomes a fan of writing, being a part of the literature club, and basking in the company of the four girls.
Finally, Sayori is outgoing, positive, and full of life. Natsuki is a fiery and young student who is always rather defensive. Yuri is the quiet, shy girl who is best described as an emo with a penchant for fantasy. Monika is the club’s president, a popular student who left the debate club to start the literature club. At first, he’s rather dismissive of it, but soon starts to enjoy spending time with the other members. His long-time friend Sayori tells him to join the literature club. The main premise follows the protagonist as he struggles to find a club at school. Nothing about it makes sense, and you’re left trying to work out what the hell is going on. The bouncy, generic music starts to distort and transpose, with notes falling out of place and melodies abruptly ending. The four girls act out of character and their simple sprites take on some bizarre forms that leave you uncomfortable. Outside of the story, glitches start to break the game, dialogue appears all jumbled and illegible. There are things DDLC Plus! does that break the fourth wall and mess with your head. Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!: Uncomfortable and original From the moment everything changes, you realise just how smart Dan Salvato’s passion project is. It takes the insecurities of youth and implants them into your consciousness. The big event that flips the entire game on its head. Truths that don’t seem to sit right with the characters you’ve begun to befriend. It isn’t until the seeds of what eventually comes to pass start to be planted. Just blatant romantic nonsense that feels as unoriginal as expected.
You listen to four girls talk about cupcakes, poetry, and love. For the first couple of hours, it feels like the warnings about its mature content are misplaced. Colourful settings, bubbly music, and two dimensional characters vying for your attention. On the surface, it looks like any visual novel dating sim. However, the true nature of its psychological horror is more unsettling than I assumed it would be. Probably an obvious statement if you know what it’s truly about. Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! is not a happy game.