Do you ever wish- oh, actually, Monika is here to tell you about the game herself.

Hi, my name is Monika! I wanted to invite you to join me in the literature club, as it has always been a dream of mine to make something out of the things I love. With your help, it’ll be a breeze in this cute game! Plus you’ll get to meet a bunch of cute girls <3

There’s Sayori, your childhood friend, Natsuki, the cute but angry type, Yuri, the dark and mysterious type, and me, Monika! I’m the club leader, so of course you’ll promise to spend the most time with me, right? Anyway, I can’t wait to meet you!

D is for Doki Doki Literature club which, despite outward appearances, is not a game suitable for children or those easily disturbed.  Not because it’s a dating simulator, but because it’s a psychological horror game working within the narratives of a cute dating sim, subverting player expectations to catch players off guard. I really enjoy this game, and it’s free to play, so I would highly recommend people try it, as it does an excellent job of catching people off guard when they first play through it

My only real complaint, or warning about the game, is that it has a slow start. Part of this is because of the way the game operates. In order to subvert your expectations, it needs to do a lot of groundwork to build those expectations first. Twists have a much stronger punch when they are properly built and foreshadowed, which perceptive players will notice on their first “normal” playthrough. 

For a full list of warnings, visit the warning page for this game here, and if anything here interests you, I would highly recommend avoiding spoilers before playing. The later half of this review will dive into the story in greater detail, so if you have intentions to play the game as intended, go and do so! Come back afterwards. Once more, spoilers.

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Doki Doki Literature (sometimes referred to as simply DDLC) begins by riffing off many classic dating sim games. You, the player, join a literature club at the insistence of your friend Sayori. It just so happens that the club consists of 4 very cute girls, all of whom would love to get to know you better, and perhaps, hang out outside of school? They’re quirky, they’re cute, and the game has such a sweet way of letting you choose just which girl you want to hang out with. You write a poem for them, picking words you think they’ll like, and it’s clear early on what they’re about. Natsuki loves cute things, Yuri is interested in dark and complex topics, and Sayori is bittersweet. But you can’t woo Monika. Tensions rise towards the end of the week as Sayori becomes more and more distant, and Monika tries harder and harder to spend time with you. But of course, it all comes to a head the day before the festival, when you have a choice to make. Will you accept Sayori’s confession, and become her boyfriend, or stay as just friends?

This marks the turning point in the game, but not in the way many expect. No matter what you chose, you will find Sayori in her room the next morning, hanging from a noose of her own making, causing the game itself to glitch out, error messages appearing, as the game tries to handle her death. The game restarts.

It’s the beginning of the week again, and things are the same, but different. Sayori doesn’t exist, causing the game to stutter as it struggles to tell the story without her, until Monika invites you to the Literature Club instead. The week may play out similarly, but it’s clear somethings wrong with Yuri and Natsuki, as their flaws become overt, music turns sour, and the characters seem a little more… unhinged, and obsessive over the player. But not Monika! She’s clearly the right choice for you, don’t waste your time on the others, just hang out with Monika 😀 

There’s a variety of ways the story can diverge at this point, but they come together again when Yuri, mad in her obsession over the player, stabs herself, leading to an unsettling segment trapping the player in place as they stare at her dying corpse over the weekend. Errors are prolific at this point, but here comes Monika on Monday to help you out! Just wait a moment as she gets rid of Natsuki real quick, and a quick restart will get this all sorted out 🙂

In a classroom in the sky, Monika invites you by name to join the literature, and spend every day with her! She knows you’re not a game character like her, but that’s what makes you amazing. She’s aware, and oh so lonely, so she had to be with you, as you’re the only one who could understand her. She just had to alter the code a little, and maybe she made a few mistakes along the way, but it’s worth it in the end, because now you two can spend eternity together. Just so long as you don’t delete her. She’ll tell you how to find the folder, where you can see the messages she left behind in your first and second playthroughs, and the character folder, containing just Monika. Just Monika. 

If you chose, you may delete Monika, and watch her scream as she’s torn apart. Monika reveals that she never actually deleted everyone, as she really didn’t have the heart for it. Maybe she’s the monster, ruining this perfectly fine game world. This prompts the third restart, as Monika presents to you a compromise: a world without her. Sayori is now the club president, and everything is great! Yuri and Natsuki are getting along well, and Sayori couldn’t be happier now that you’re here! And she thanks you for everything… especially for getting rid of Monika.

Turns out whoever is the club president becomes self aware, furthering the cycle of obsession and fascination. Monika, still asleep in the code, tears the whole game down, claiming that no joy can be found here anymore, and that this game just continues to hurt innocent minds the longer it’s left here. So she deletes it, as credits roll by. Players will need to reinstall the entire game if they wish to play again, as playing at this point only gives them an error message.

Here, it’s just words, but I would recommend playing DDLC for yourself. I can’t wait to see what else this team produces, and if you’re interested in some of the secrets and hidden details of this game, I would highly recommend visiting The Game Theory’s channel, as they have several comprehensive breakdowns of some of the games more elusive aspects, such as analyzing the different character files, deciphering codes, audio files, and more to tease some future game. 

You can learn more about DDLC at Team Salvato’s website here. There is also a trailer available to watch.