We, as players, almost feel betrayed by the architecture of the game itself, and this subversion of our expectations is enough to catalyze the onset of psychological unrest and fear. After all, what would games be without their rules? The deterministic way in which players interact with a game is fundamental to a satisfying, enjoyable gaming experience.įor this reason, the way in which DDLC switches its core concepts so dramatically is a gross breach of trust between player and game. Right from the get-go, everything about DDLC convinces the player that it does indeed conform to the dating-simulator genre, and that it will continue to do so in the future.
DOKI DOKI LITERATURE CLUB LOGO JAPANESE SIMULATOR
More to the point, though, it marks the beginning of the end for the player’s sanity.Īside from the horrific content of this first act, what is so fundamentally shocking to the player about DDLC’s shift from dating simulator to psychological-horror visual novel is the fact that video games are not normally supposed to undergo this kind of dramatic change. This dramatic turn of events is harrowing, to say the least. This is an incredible shock to the player: Sayori seems so carefree and innocent at first, only to perform a complete u-turn in terms of personality and demeanor, ultimately taking her own life. No matter which choice the player makes regarding Sayori’s feelings towards the protagonist, she becomes increasingly melancholy and depressed throughout the first act, resulting in her untimely suicide by the end. However, this is as close as DDLC ever gets to a typical dating simulator. If they accept, a couple of unique lines of dialogue ensue, and the player receives a unique image of Sayori (shown below) as a sort of “reward.”Īgain: so far, so typical for an anime dating simulator. The player also gets a chance to try their hand at DDLC’s poem-writing mini-game, in which they can pen a literary masterpiece to woo the girl of their dreams.Īfter becoming acquainted with the girls of the literature club, Sayori then confesses her feelings for the player, and they have the option to accept her confession or reject her. We start off with what looks like your typical anime dating simulator in Act 1, during which the player can romance Sayori, Natsuki, or Yuri, spending time with their love interest performing the standard dating-sim tropes like reading manga or eating chocolate together.
The most obvious aspect of DDLC’s psychological horror is the way in which it subverts player expectations at almost every turn.
Join me as we consider each of these in turn in order to discover just how DDLC writes its way into our hearts-because it’s not in the way we’d first expect. Breaking the fourth wall between player and game.Trapping the player within the game’s story.In this article, I argue that Doki Doki Literature Club (“ DDLC”) creates a unique sense of psychological horror through four main mechanisms, all of which are peculiar to the gaming medium in some way. It is a profound, complex work of fiction that is only made possible by the special storytelling features of video games. Either way, this is quite a horrifying visual from Team Salvato’s psychological horror masterpiece, Doki Doki Literature Club-a game that purports itself to be a lighthearted anime dating simulator, but that ends up leaving the majority of its players crying themselves to sleep at night, for fear of Monika taking over the world.ĭoki Doki Literature Club has many of the ordinary elements of horror, but it is not your typical horror story. Maybe this picture sends shivers down your spine, or maybe it gives rise to a deep sense of unease. Take a moment to stare into Natsuki’s dark, glitched eyes. A Comprehensive Theory of Majora’s Mask.
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