The following recommendations will focus either on thematic relevance or gameplay similarities to Doki Doki Literature Club. Themes of human agency and free will, visual depictions of the surreal and horrific, the power of empathetic dialogue, the experience of depression, the vulnerability of losing control, and the 4th wall break that challenges notions of reality and fiction-these elements are the engaging qualities that make your heart pound “Doki Doki!” Fiction’s comforting embrace, the escape from reality that readers yearn after, clenches its grip and suffocates you. Traumatizing events spark this transition, and the beauty and horror of it are: you can no longer distance yourself. The line between reality and fiction has not just been blurred but shoved boldly into our faces. The stereotypes and biases the reader once held have been expanded upon, addressing reader concerns about unrefined tropes and surface level archetypes.Įveryday life has changed. What you thought you knew has gained new definition, a frightening new depth-one where falling again might yield even more horrors beneath. This distance created from this fall-this subversion-puts the reader into a surreal setting, once familiar and inviting but now unsettling and foreign. Utilizing recognizable character archetypes, a familiar setting, and common ideas, Doki Doki Literature Club masterfully sets the reader up for a fall. He has effectively opened up the niche visual novel medium by first focusing the appeal towards anime/visual novel fans and respectfully creating nuance that allows it to be appreciated by a wider demographic. By taking the conventions and expectations of the anime and visual novel mediums, Dan Salvato has written, programmed, and composed a surreal horror and romantic comedy, packaged within a metatextual visual novel. Spoilers Aheadĭoki Doki Literature Club is an excellent example of how to subvert an audience’s expectations. Thus, out of concern for the reader, please do not read this list unless you’ve read Doki Doki Literature Club. Out of concern for readers who are wary of spoilers, I will do my best to explain how certain games are applicable to the list and also be intentionally vague, the balance of which will change depending on the necessity to prove similar ideas and themes. Given the nature of Doki Doki Literature Club, this is a rather important detail. However, as a recommendation list, by comparing games to the main work, the nature of some games become revealed as a consequence.
Generally, these articles are aimed at an audience that has already played/seen the attributed work in question. Before we continue onward, I would like to first call attention to something.
0 kommentar(er)
