DDLC
So. I played Doki Doki Literature Club last night.
The short spoiler-free version:
I had seen a lot of people commenting on how scarred they were from it, but while disturbing I did not find it any more disturbing than other games/movies I have played and watched. I did not find it as disturbing as I was led to believe it would be. It did have a few graphic images and if you are sensitive--or as they say now, easily triggered--to suggestions/themes of abuse, mental health, and societal pressures skip the game. I am not saying this to in any way minimize the impact of abuse, mental health or peer pressure on a person or to make light of the consequences when they are not recognized. I merely did not find this particular game as unsettling as some others in the horror genre. If anything, I would say the game is a psychological horror game.
For those that do not know, it plays like an otome game where the majority of the game is spent reading/listening to the character's inner and outer dialogue. You are playing a role in the story and developing relationships with the other characters based upon your choices. There is no "action" so to speak, but you can get a game over. Typically these games are meant to be played over and over so that you can see all the possible outcomes with each character. That said, if you decide to play this, you do have a good chunk of exposition before the game actually begins. I don't say that to be a deterrent, but just an FYI. I would strongly suggest playing it blind--do not use a guide or read anything with spoilers the first go around.
There are some graphic scenes, death, and various character specific personalities that deal with abuse, mental health, and society. However, I found it rather easy to call out each on where the plot was going and how that particular part of the story was going to end. If you can look past these aspects of the game--which honestly are far less graphic than they could have been or than they are in other games, to the main theme, it is worth a playthough because of what truly IS disturbing about it.
I said earlier it is psychological in nature because it is...not because of a character's psychosis but because of the games it plays with YOU. Once you get to the second leg of the story, you will get glitches in the game. Sometimes you will get flashes of images that can mess with your mind and don't forget to pay attention to the background. By the third go around, well...you just kind of have to see it. These glitches definitely add to the creep factor as you start to ponder what is really going on.
Perhaps the most disturbing to me though, was the final conversation. Fair warning, you will have to either reinstall the game or follow the directions on Steam or online to delete the game files to continue, otherwise you are stuck in an infinite loop of creep.
It's actually really well done at the ending and the game itself speaks to some of the tendencies we have as humans and how it impacts those around us. It also illustrates how easily we might be taken in, particularly in a world with constantly evolving technology. This game just kind of gets into your head a bit, and that is the most disturbing part to me.
I don't regret playing it. It's free on Steam currently, but it does leave you with an unsettling feeling that you might want to have something else to do right after.
The short spoiler-free version:
I had seen a lot of people commenting on how scarred they were from it, but while disturbing I did not find it any more disturbing than other games/movies I have played and watched. I did not find it as disturbing as I was led to believe it would be. It did have a few graphic images and if you are sensitive--or as they say now, easily triggered--to suggestions/themes of abuse, mental health, and societal pressures skip the game. I am not saying this to in any way minimize the impact of abuse, mental health or peer pressure on a person or to make light of the consequences when they are not recognized. I merely did not find this particular game as unsettling as some others in the horror genre. If anything, I would say the game is a psychological horror game.
For those that do not know, it plays like an otome game where the majority of the game is spent reading/listening to the character's inner and outer dialogue. You are playing a role in the story and developing relationships with the other characters based upon your choices. There is no "action" so to speak, but you can get a game over. Typically these games are meant to be played over and over so that you can see all the possible outcomes with each character. That said, if you decide to play this, you do have a good chunk of exposition before the game actually begins. I don't say that to be a deterrent, but just an FYI. I would strongly suggest playing it blind--do not use a guide or read anything with spoilers the first go around.
There are some graphic scenes, death, and various character specific personalities that deal with abuse, mental health, and society. However, I found it rather easy to call out each on where the plot was going and how that particular part of the story was going to end. If you can look past these aspects of the game--which honestly are far less graphic than they could have been or than they are in other games, to the main theme, it is worth a playthough because of what truly IS disturbing about it.
I said earlier it is psychological in nature because it is...not because of a character's psychosis but because of the games it plays with YOU. Once you get to the second leg of the story, you will get glitches in the game. Sometimes you will get flashes of images that can mess with your mind and don't forget to pay attention to the background. By the third go around, well...you just kind of have to see it. These glitches definitely add to the creep factor as you start to ponder what is really going on.
Perhaps the most disturbing to me though, was the final conversation. Fair warning, you will have to either reinstall the game or follow the directions on Steam or online to delete the game files to continue, otherwise you are stuck in an infinite loop of creep.
It's actually really well done at the ending and the game itself speaks to some of the tendencies we have as humans and how it impacts those around us. It also illustrates how easily we might be taken in, particularly in a world with constantly evolving technology. This game just kind of gets into your head a bit, and that is the most disturbing part to me.
I don't regret playing it. It's free on Steam currently, but it does leave you with an unsettling feeling that you might want to have something else to do right after.