It’s both a celebration of the genre and a deep dive into the potential of interactive fiction. Doki Doki Literature Club! wasn’t great because it defied what visual novels were, but because it had mastery over the storytelling tools afforded by them.
Perhaps its best trick was convincing a generation of uninterested western gamers to dip their toes into the genre. While there’s no surprise that the twists remain at the forefront of the discussion, it’d be a waste to ignore the myriad aspects the game nails just as well. Now experiencing the game again years later, I’m reminded of how phenomenal its storytelling was, its idiosyncrasies aside.
It would be an understatement to say that, during this time, its twists, tricks, and outright nightmarish scenes have become infamous. For four years, Doki Doki Literature Club! was left to fester in the public consciousness.
