There was a recent reddit thread on "best game that you aren't playing," and this one was mentioned repeatedly.
The basics: it's a free download. On its surface, it's a Japanese dating sim. There are warnings that it should not be played by children or the easily disturbed. HEED THOSE WARNINGS.
The only other thing I'll say is that when you get to the screen that says "End", the game is not over (though you might wish it to be). Best experienced without knowing anything else about it.
Download it here.
Doki Doki Literature Club
Moderators: LawBeefaroni, Arcanis, $iljanus
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Doki Doki Literature Club
No sig, must scream, etc.
- Smoove_B
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- baelthazar
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- Location: Indiana
Re: Doki Doki Literature Club
Just finished this.
Holy shit.
Holy shit.
My Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/CythUulu/videos
- Lordnine
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- Location: Burlington, VT
Re: Doki Doki Literature Club
I watched a play-through of this on Youtube some time ago. Was kind of neat but it's not exactly original at this point and I think some other games have pulled off a similar experience in more involving ways.
- baelthazar
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Re: Doki Doki Literature Club
Oh, I agree, but I think it does something very interesting that some of the others do not. I will put it in spoiler tags, so as not to ruin the impact.
Spoiler:
My Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/CythUulu/videos
- Hipolito
- Posts: 2201
- Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 2:00 pm
- Location: Chicago, Illinois
Re: Doki Doki Literature Club
I finished this game recently. If you haven't played this visual novel yet (it's still free), and there's a possibility you might, go ahead and do so before reading my impressions here.
This game reminds me of the movie The Exorcist (bear with me here) in that the first half is pretty languorous and there's little to indicate that anything's wrong. It lulls you, even bores you. Then, when things get going, it's relentless, brutal, and untrustworthy. One senseless shock happens after another, giving you no time to recover or make sense of what you're seeing. The game plays on our anxieties of computer glitches, giving malevolence and meaning to what we usually dismiss as random annoyances.
But even the slow and mundane first half has notable moments. In the Yuri path, the detailed description of simply sitting next to her and reading the same book together, along with the subtle changes in her facial expression, heighten the tension to erotic. The poetry is good, as is the soundtrack. The game also has some interesting observations on how people's personalities develop.
There's a load of hidden meanings, random events, and easter eggs, and I went down a YouTube rabbit hole to see them all. I also replayed the game to see the "special ending," which took a lot of time and some guidance from walkthroughs. It wasn't really worth the effort, though.
This game has renewed my interest in visual novels, especially horror ones, and I look forward to playing many more. On my wish list are Higarushi, Umineko, We Know the Devil, Mad Father, Kara no Shojo, Zero Time Dilemma (the last game in the Zero Escape trilogy), Saya no Uta, and Danganronpa.
This game reminds me of the movie The Exorcist (bear with me here) in that the first half is pretty languorous and there's little to indicate that anything's wrong. It lulls you, even bores you. Then, when things get going, it's relentless, brutal, and untrustworthy. One senseless shock happens after another, giving you no time to recover or make sense of what you're seeing. The game plays on our anxieties of computer glitches, giving malevolence and meaning to what we usually dismiss as random annoyances.
But even the slow and mundane first half has notable moments. In the Yuri path, the detailed description of simply sitting next to her and reading the same book together, along with the subtle changes in her facial expression, heighten the tension to erotic. The poetry is good, as is the soundtrack. The game also has some interesting observations on how people's personalities develop.
There's a load of hidden meanings, random events, and easter eggs, and I went down a YouTube rabbit hole to see them all. I also replayed the game to see the "special ending," which took a lot of time and some guidance from walkthroughs. It wasn't really worth the effort, though.
This game has renewed my interest in visual novels, especially horror ones, and I look forward to playing many more. On my wish list are Higarushi, Umineko, We Know the Devil, Mad Father, Kara no Shojo, Zero Time Dilemma (the last game in the Zero Escape trilogy), Saya no Uta, and Danganronpa.
Gracias por estar aquí.
Books read, games played.
Avatar: my Shepard from Mass Effect 1.
Books read, games played.
Avatar: my Shepard from Mass Effect 1.
- Isgrimnur
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Re: Doki Doki Literature Club
I'll, uh... I'll be taking a break after what is apparently Act 1.
It's almost as if people are the problem.