It has been nearly four years since Doki Doki Literature Club took the Internet by storm. Originally released as a freeware game on PC, the game garnered a cult following, with fans begging for a sequel ever since. While Doki Doki Literature Club Plus is not a sequel, this new version aims to bring the core game to consoles for the first time, while adding some zest for veterans of the original.
For those unfamiliar, Doki Doki Literature Club is a visual novel that revolves around five characters. Outside of the protagonist, who is just a shell for your actions, the other four members of the literature club are where this game shines. From the well-crafted dialogue to the choices you get to make on who to spend time with, each of the four girls feel distinct and interesting to talk to.
The story of Doki Doki Literature Club follows the protagonist joining a literature club after being invited to a literature club by Sayori, his childhood friend. After each day, you are sent home to write a poem for the next meeting. This involves selecting 20 different words from a list, with each word corresponding to a different character. After your poem is finished, the character the poem best represents will get an extra scene with you the next day. For example, picking words like “vanilla” or “twirl” would get you a bonus scene with Natsuki, whereas picking words like “sing” or “calm” would get you a bonus scene with Sayori. Unfortunately, this is about the only influence you have on the game’s story, as everything else is mostly predetermined.
Conclusion
Doki Doki Literature Club is still a fantastic visual novel, but the Plus version on PS5 struggles to find a purpose besides being a new way to play the original. Existing fans will appreciate some of the new content, such as the side stories and concept art, but locking the content behind multiple playthroughs of a game that loses its appeal after the first time around is a tough pill to swallow. On the other hand, newcomers have no reason to play this version instead of the freeware PC release, since some core PC features were compromised for this port. Doki Doki Literature Club Plus is still a great experience that should be played by anyone remotely interested, but this specific version struggles to be a worthwhile purchase for any fan, new or old.
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