Doki Doki Literature Club was one of the most unexpected games of the past decade. From its quirky, romantic, visual novel story, to the dark twists and turns it takes, this blew up way bigger than anyone could have expected. Although not reaching the levels of Five Nights At Freddy’s due to the style of game, everyone who came across Doki Doki Literature Club fell in love with the characters and aesthetics. As you do with games that garner such unexpected adoration, we now have an updated re-release in Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! 

The first thing to keep in mind is, some of the changes made to this game crossover into spoiler territory. While I will be doing my best to not give too much away, some sections of the game will need to be discussed. Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! is a huge step up on changes from the original. The starting screen lets you explore different romantic options that your character has followed, as well as check out the music player for songs that you’ve discovered through the game. It’s interesting to note that the start screen is also laid out like a computer screen, with each of the options being a start menu option. More on this later.

The characters in Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! have all seen an incredible overhaul. While the art and names remain the same, as well as many of the stories the characters tell, the dialogue feels as if it’s been changed from the original. In the original the player character had no idea how to speak to people, saying probably some of the worst things possible in the situations brought up throughout the game. Namely, issues with depression. It’s great that it feels like it’s a real discussion now between characters, and honestly may be able to help people understand how to speak to people with mental health problems.

On the note of knowing how to speak to people, the leader of the Literature Club, Monika, actually has some really good dialogue. While some of it is used to discuss the solution to certain puzzles (probably because most people didn’t figure it out), there are actually really good tips for aspiring writers as well. Go figure in a literature club. Outside of this part, the game is mostly the same. If you don’t like reading, this is not the game for you.

Now to tiptoe around spoiler territory. The end of the game sees the player and Monika speaking. If you know the solution, you may be asking “how would I do this on a console?” This brings us back to the computer screen start page. One of the options allows you to make the required changes, but thankfully it’s not out in your face screaming “GO HERE,” but at least it’s a bit more obvious for people like me who had to Google it originally.

Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! brings some much needed quality of life changes to the original game. It also makes it much more accessible to people, no longer being PC only and bringing it to most consoles. If you’re into visual novels, horror, puzzles, or all of the above, this is a nice cheap one to check out.

 

Graphics: 8.5 Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! has some great character and area designs. I could only wish for a bit more variety, but as a whole its really pretty.	Gameplay: 6.0 There isn’t really much gameplay to be fair. This is a visual novel interrupted by picking words you think one of three girls would like. Great story, but not much in the way of choices.
Sound: 8.0 The cutesy and romantic music, in contrast to some of the darker songs throughout this games OST are great. Thankfully, there’s now a music player in the game for your favourite tunes.	Fun Factor: 6.5 Even though there isn’t a whole lot to do to make it more “fun”, exploring Doki Doki Literature Club again was great.
Final Verdict: 7.0

Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! is available now on PC, PS4, and Nintendo Switch.

Reviewed on Nintendo Switch.

A copy of Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! was provided by the publisher.