Doki Doki Literature Club is a short (albeit enjoyable) Visual Novel which ultimately surpassed my initial expectations. In fact, without revealing too much, DDLC’s main strength is perhaps the manipulation of expectations.

Every aspect of this game’s experience has been carefully crafted with a self-awareness that only sharpens the final impact of its message. The poignant climax of the so-called “true end” during the credits in concert with the contrast between DDLC’s message and the rest of the VN industry was an emotional suckerpunch that simultaneously left me thinking about the role of storytelling in interactive media.

In combination with the well-written dialogue, DDLC meticulously and organically creates complex, compelling, and believable characters through interactive exposition. For example, each girl has an inclination towards a certain type/style of poetry (and thus certain words) and your choice of language when creating poetry for them serves to better illustrate their personality, interests, and preferences in a way that feels very natural.

After playing through DDLC, I am left with the profound impression that most games are squandering the potential of their own interactivity in an attempt at maximizing accessibility. Highly recommended.