Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! is a great addition to the Doki Doki Literature Club! franchise, but I do wish there was just a bit more in the game. For those of you who have already played through DDLC!, you'll have a great time playing through it once again to learn more about our characters' prologues and other secrets embedded in the game itself. You might not be as surprised as you were during your first playthrough of DDLC! back in 2017 (or whenever you played it), but you will be quite intrigued and puzzled as you try and unlock the additional content. Just do your best to avoid spoilers that will be posted online. If you haven't played DDLC! before, DDLCP! is worth your time and an excellent way to get into the franchise. Just know this: This game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed. You've been warned.
I am a good friend.
Back in 2017, I came across Doki Doki Literature Club! (DDLC!) on happenstance; a popular Youtuber uploaded a spoiler-filled (and edited) playthrough. I jumped at the opportunity to see a benign literature-driven dating sim come to life and take an unsuspecting player by surprise. I recommended to all of my friends to play the game, since I am apparently sadistic. I even watched two different friends play it on stream, relishing every single “what the hell is happening” that was uttered. I’m a good friend, I promise!
DDLC! is a unique visual novel that provides the player with a chilling and memorable first experience. Playing the game with a sense of what’s to come dampens your playthrough and prepares you any future twists in the narrative. That’s why when Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! (DDLCP!) was announced, I was apprehensive of what the game could offer those like me–cult fanatics who enjoyed being deceived by (and deceiving others) playing DDLC!.
It is important to note that this review omits a great deal of spoilers and is intentionally vague at times. This is because of the reasons outlined above (for new players to the franchise) and to allow for those who played DDLC! before today to walk into playing DDLCP! with a glimpse of what to expect. If you’re sharing any reviews with others, do be mindful of spoilers so that they can enjoy playing through the game and becoming surprised by some, if not all, of what DDLCP! has to offer.
For those of you who haven’t played the original DDLC!, the spoiler-free gist is as follows: You are the protagonist of a high-school who is being dragged to join a literature club comprised of your neighbor and her three female friends. As you play, you’re presented with opportunities to write poems by selecting 20 words. Seeing as this is a visual novel/dating-sim, your actions matter, meaning that the words you choose can bring you closer together with the four other members of the literature club. Or do they?
For those of you who have already played DDLC! or at least know of it, you will most likely be on the fence about what DDLCP! would offer. First, it’s released on consoles (Switch, PS5, XBOX) as well as the Steam and Epic game stores. Second, the physical package (releasing August 31) comes with additional goodies including but not limited to: 2″ chipboard character standees, a set of vinyl stickers, a download code printed on a limited edition pink floppy disk, and more! Third, DDLCP! includes additional gameplay content that was not present in the base game.
Beyond the appeal of obtaining collector’s edition accessories and a new audience, DDLCP! features additional content for new players and DDLC! fanatics alike. Outside of the DDLC! game, there are six new side stories that can be unlocked by just playing DDLC! Depending on how you play and who you write poems for, side stories will unlock and give you a glimpse into how the Literature Club came to be prior to the Protagonist (you!) joining the club. Think of these side stories as prologues for the characters. I’ve unlocked a few so far, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised (not yet horrified, but I would imagine… soon) with the stories that have been told.
DDLCP! encourages you to replay the DDLC! story multiple times and unlock content, which I think is a GREAT addition that allows those to see parts of the story they may have missed. For instance, I came across a poem that I did not unlock when I initially played DDLC! three years ago, since I did not fulfill the conditions to view it. Also unique to DDLCP! is an “operating system” (virtual machine, really) of sorts that serves several purposes, one of which allows console players to “view” the game’s files, which is an important plot point that I will not spoil here. “Exiting” DDLC! will take you to this operating system, giving you access to the game’s music, photos, game files, and “messages” that operate similar to an alternate reality game existing in the DDLC! universe. I am intentionally being vague here, as exploring this operating system is important for DDLC! and DDLCP!’s gameplay.
My first critique of these new side stories is the lack of agency you have as a player while playing them. Instead of playing as the Protagonist, the player is instead a silent observer of the events leading up to DDLC! (with some internal dialogue of each of the characters). Part of the experience of playing DDLC! is encountering the variability of piecing together poems and making decisions. Of course, these stories are prologues, and it would be foolish of me to set an impossible expectation of having a pick-your-own prologue when we already know what the “end” is, but having an illusion of choice would have been enough to encourage me to play through the new side stories more than once.
These side stories are also quite short. In total, these stories can be completed in around half an hour (once you’ve unlocked them). However, this does not include the additional time you will spend mucking about in the operating system as you play (and replay) the game. It would have been nice if the side stories were connected with the OS more than they are, but the main game will keep you hunting for clues and different unlockable content. Again, these additional stories are wonderful additions to DDLCP!, as they come with additional music and art of the characters we have grown to love, but they’re just so short and restricted.
DDLCP! contains 13 new music tracks and over 100 pieces of new artwork of the characters (including exclusive concept art!), expanding the universe of DDLC! and giving players a deeper perspective of the psychologically thrilling tales that DDLC! wove in 2017. The additional music, crafted by Nikki Kaelar, sounds excellent and fits in with the same eerie lightheartedness from DDLC! I will admit that I am replaying some of the new songs as I write this because they sound so good. I never saw myself as one who would utilize an in-game music player, yet here I am.
Serenity Forge and Team Salvato have done an excellent job with expanding the DDLC! universe and giving new and seasoned players many reasons to pick up DDLCP! The amount of new content is just enough for someone (like me) who thought they played too much of this game to dive back in and try to unlock all of the secrets. I’ve played through the game several times already and each time I unlocked something new. You can expect at least 8 hours of gameplay out of DDLCP! if you have never played DDLC!. If you have played DDLC! before, if you’re a fast reader (like me), or you enable the SKIP in-game function, I would say that you can complete DDLCP! in less time than that. Your mileage will vary, and that’s okay.
Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! is a great addition to the Doki Doki Literature Club! franchise, but I do wish there was just a bit more in the game. For those of you who have already played through DDLC!, you’ll have a great time playing through it once again to learn more about our characters’ prologues and other secrets embedded in the game itself. You might not be as surprised as you were during your first playthrough of DDLC! back in 2017 (or whenever you played it), but you will be quite intrigued and puzzled as you try and unlock the additional content. Just do your best to avoid spoilers that will be posted online. If you haven’t played DDLC! before, DDLCP! is worth your time and an excellent way to get into the franchise. Just know this: This game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed. You’ve been warned.
