Doki Doki Literature Club!

Worth buying? What 300 Steam reviews say.Worth buying? Here’s what 300 Steam reviews actually say.

Very Positive · 98%Very Positive · 98%2017

The verdict

A short, free visual novel that disguises a meta psychological horror story behind a cute dating sim. Best played blind; skip it if you hate reading lots of dialogue or are sensitive to suicide themes.

Great for

Players who like story-driven games, fourth-wall-breaking twists and going in blind

Main risk

Slow, click-heavy opening and a twist that feels like cheap shock value if it doesn't land

What players love

Shocking plot twist, best played blind

Mentioned in ~1 in 5 positive reviews

“Looks like a cute dating sim. It is not a cute dating sim. Go in blind, trust me. One of those games you can only truly experience once.”
Steam review · 1 h played ↗

“The game is good at making you comfortable before it starts messing with you.”
Steam review · 15.5 h played ↗

“All you need to know is the less you know going in the better it is.”
Steam review · 6.8 h played ↗

Effective cute-to-horror contrast

Mentioned in ~1 in 12 positive reviews

“the game is really good because it is a mix of both cute and horror”
Steam review · 5.5 h played ↗

“You are about to experience a fear of a completely real and disturbing kind.”
Steam review · 1.2 h played ↗

Emotional, memorable story

Mentioned in ~1 in 14 positive reviews

“One of the best psychological horror games I have ever played, the ending genuinely made me cry”
Steam review · 3.6 h played ↗

“It's one of the few games that made me stop playing for a minute just to process what had happened.”
Steam review · 1.4 h played ↗

Memorable characters and Monika

Mentioned in ~1 in 15 positive reviews

“the characters are well written with very distinct personalities.”
Steam review · 5.9 h played ↗

“I find Monika to be a very interesting character”
Steam review · 33.7 h played ↗

Great music and atmosphere

Mentioned in ~1 in 25 positive reviews

“The music is good and doesn't grate even when playing for hours.”
Steam review · translated · 20.1 h played ↗

“great story and the music was fun to listen too”
Steam review · 6.5 h played ↗

Free and clever fourth-wall breaking

Mentioned in ~1 in 30 positive reviews

“It is an absolutely brilliant exercise in breaking game design tropes”
Steam review · 13.1 h played ↗

“the only good game that’s free and need to open your files app the get the credits rolling”
Steam review · 3.9 h played ↗

What players complain about

Boring, slow start with lots of reading

Mentioned in ~1 in 4 negative reviews

“The 'scares' are not worth getting through hours of dialogue for.”
Steam review · 3.5 h played ↗

“the real story and gameplay start around hour 7 of playing.”
Steam review · translated · 9.1 h played ↗

“it’s just a clicking sim where you spam through hundereds of dialogues”
Steam review · 2.4 h played ↗

Horror is weak or relies on shock value

Mentioned in ~1 in 5 negative reviews

“More edgy than unsettling. All shock value, with little idea beyond that.”
Steam review · 9.8 h played ↗

“the horror is very light.”
Steam review · 4.8 h played ↗

“The horror is just so-so.”
Steam review · translated · 24.2 h played ↗

Little interactivity, choices don't matter

Mentioned in ~1 in 14 negative reviews

“whatever choises u make dont change the end at all.”
Steam review · 40.1 h played ↗

“There is little to no interaction to be had here, so why are we playing it instead of watching it?”
Steam review · 8 h played ↗

Poor handling of mental health and suicide

Mentioned in ~1 in 15 negative reviews

“it purely uses suicide as shock value as a person who has attempted suicide myself and I myself am mentally ill.”
Steam review · 5.3 h played ↗

“What did not age well however is the way how mental health issues are being used for cheap shocks and graphic images.”
Steam review · 4.2 h played ↗

Disturbing content, unsuitable for sensitive players

Mentioned in ~1 in 15 negative reviews

“IF YOU HAVE HAD ISSUES WITH THINKING ABOUT SELF-HARM OR COMMITTING IT BEFORE, PLEASE WATCH A LETS-PLAY, DO NOT PLAY THIS GAME.”
Steam review · 3.2 h played ↗

“if your struggling with life or suffer from depression do NOT play this game, i mean it.”
Steam review · 9.3 h played ↗

Crashes and glitches on Steam version

Mentioned in ~1 in 21 negative reviews

“DO DONT down load it from Steam because it will only keep crashing”
Steam review · 0.8 h played ↗

“spent approximately 2 hours trying to progress because I thought a crash was a feature / 4th wall break only to learn my game was bugged”
Steam review · 2.6 h played ↗

System requirements

From the Steam store page

Steam Deck: Playable

Minimum

OSWindows 7

Processor1.8GHz Dual-Core CPU

Memory4 GB RAM

GraphicsIntegrated graphics

Storage350 MB available space

OSWindows 7

Processor1.8GHz Dual-Core CPU

Memory4 GB RAM

GraphicsIntegrated graphics

Storage350 MB available space

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