Writer's Note: To better explain my indicate, I talk about the story of Doki Doki Literature Gild, so if you accept notwithstanding to play it and don't desire to be spoiled, this is your alarm to turn back. Every bit an additional note: If you haven't played Doki Doki Literature Lodge, delight read the content warnings for the game. This game is dandy--hands ane of my favorite horror games out in that location--simply information technology goes to some night places. Only know what you're getting into beforehand.

Doki Doki Literature Society Plus is at present out, enhancing the original psychological horror game with HD visuals and adding new story content and an image gallery. The release besides marks the first time you tin play the game on panel, as DDLC Plus is available on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, and PC.

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Now Playing: Doki Doki Literature Order Plus - Exclusive Gameplay Trailer [Play For All 2021]

That said, if you oasis't played DDLC yet, I advise you to play DDLC Plus on PC for the optimal experience. The story doesn't change--you'll experience the same haunting narrative, juxtaposed with friendly and colorful visual novel imagery, regardless of where you lot play--simply a bit of the horror in the game'due south twist is lost on consoles. The scares just work better on PC.

For those who have not played Doki Doki Literature Club and don't intendance nearly spoilers, let me grab you upwardly to speed. In DDLC, you play as a teenager who joins their loftier school literature club at the prompting of their childhood friend, Sayori. Alongside klutzy withal cheerful Sayori, the club is composed of cute notwithstanding tough Natsuki, quiet yet passionate Yuri, and always helpful president Monika.

Monika decides every member should compose poems to share with ane some other and so the club can grow closer. If y'all utilise words and themes for your poems that appeal to Sayori, Natsuki, or Yuri, they'll abound romantically attracted to you. As the days go along, Monika mentions that yous never spend fourth dimension with her and lets skid details that she, every bit a video game character, shouldn't know--like how you can save your game to preserve your progress.

After some time, Monika begins messing with Doki Doki Literature Order'due south code in club to make the other characters seem less appealing. Sayori's depression suddenly becomes full-on suicidal thoughts, Yuri's self-deprecating nature inexplicably transforms into an insatiable cutting fetish, and Natsuki's ambitious deposition gives way to a standoffish, verbally abusive attitude. As the girl's new personalities influence their coded goal every bit video game heroines that must dear the player character, they begin to pursue your angel in increasingly vehement ways, forcing Monika to delete them one past one then that the game can go along going. Eventually, information technology's just y'all and her. She then admits that she knows your grapheme isn't real and begins talking to you, the player, and corrupting DDLC'due south code and so that you can no longer restart the game. It's just you and her now, forever staring into each other'south eyes through the screen. Creepy.

That is until you lot go into the game's lawmaking and--similar Monika did to Sayori, Natsuki, and Yuri--you lot delete Monika.

When played out, this whole experience is incredibly unnerving. At showtime glance, Doki Doki Literature Club looks similar your standard, cutesy rom-com visual novel. The game then slowly drip feeds you clues that something is upward with your fellow club members and that Monika is responsible. But nix quite prepares you for the reveal that Monika is fully sentient, knows your real name (or, at least, your username), and has somehow reached across the game to corrupt your hardware so that she, a lowly side grapheme, can discover some happiness and exist with you, the person she loves.

It's a shame what Monika does to Yuri--the shy bookworm did nothing wrong.
It's a shame what Monika does to Yuri--the shy bookworm did nothing incorrect.

It's a horror that works because of its surprise. You lot don't expect the game to break the fourth wall, and having it seem like Monika really has command over the game makes her feel very much alive. Information technology'southward terrifying in the most crawly way--and it'southward sold on the fact that yous really accept to leave the game, open up the "My Computer" binder on your desktop, go to the game's files, curl through until you get to the "Characters" binder, find Monika'south file, and find a way to delete information technology from your computer. It's what y'all would do to kill an unresponsive plan or app, merely in the context of DDLC, you're killing an artificial intelligence that's holding you hostage.

Or at least, that's how information technology feels on PC. Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch aren't structured like computers. And so to mirror the experience, the console versions of DDLC Plus play out on a fake PC desktop. When Monika takes over, y'all exit to this fake desktop, open up "Files," and then just become to Monika and delete her.

And DDLC loses a lot of its horror in this scenario. For 1, it spoils a bit of its surprise right off the bat, hinting that y'all'll need to apply this faux PC desktop for something at some point. No such hint on PC--why would you question your own desktop that y'all meet everyday?

Just Monika.
Merely Monika.

But more importantly, this gear up-up removes the feeling that Monika is taking over your life. On PC, the demand to go out the game and go into the reckoner or Steam'southward files makes it seem like Monika is actively taking over your hardware and you take to fight her to cease her from escaping--an thought planted in your caput when the game flashes a strange message partway through the story that one of the programs tried to escape, only failed. I never once felt fright playing DDLC Plus on Switch, as Monika was ever confined to the game. She never did anything to change Nintendo's hardware. So the entire time, she didn't feel live--she was just an interesting gimmick in a psychological horror game.

Doki Doki Literature Club'south horror is effective considering the game is built to accept reward of how PC hardware and software works to really sell the haunting realization of its twist. Information technology's an incredibly clever segment of gameplay, and an of import aspect to fully appreciating the psychological horror of its story. The console versions lose something because they don't take advantage of how Xbox, PlayStation, or Switch hardware and software each uniquely work to interruption the quaternary wall and bring the horror into the existent world. These versions instead try to emulate the PC experience, which makes it experience fake and thus less scary. And then fifty-fifty though Doki Doki Literature Social club Plus is an effective horror game wherever you play it, the total impact of its psychological twist is lost on consoles. If you're going to choice it up, grab it on PC.

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