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Your character doesn’t have an interest in literature, but he does want a girlfriend, and the Literature Club is populated by a quartet of cute anime women who take an inexplicable liking to the protagonist. The original “Doki Doki Literature Club” marketed itself as a stereotypical cutesy anime dating simulator you play as a faceless high school otaku who is coerced by his bubbly childhood friend into joining the school’s small Literature Club. Stop reading, and go play it.įor the uninitiated who have only peeked at the game’s cover art or various screenshots, that’s all probably a bit confusing. It’s also a game that is best experienced by going in with as little information as possible if you’re a newcomer, in short, the game is phenomenal. “Doki Doki” is a subversive narrative experience, a clever commentary on video gaming, anime, and the people who consume those things, as well as a contemplative look at serious mental health issues. To understand why the legion fanbase of “Doki Doki Literature Club!” - a free visual novel that was released on PC in 2017 - are ecstatic about the game’s new $15 special edition, it’s easiest to begin by discussing what made the original game resonate so strongly with its audience.
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