After a certain point, I wanted to quit the game, and when I decided to keep going instead of quitting, I hit the “no” option, and an Xbox Achievement notification popped for not quitting. The self-awareness of the narrative is prominently featured. The cryptic music that remixes the happy theme heard throughout the game during this scene is haunting. The trigger warnings the game gives on the title screen are well noted when the player arrives at this shocking event. The bright atmosphere and the disguise of a dating simulation convinces the player to let their guard down, and the moment that happens, events unfold that seize the player with terror in what could be regarded as the most startling imagery seen thus far.

Under the cheerful music and the atmosphere of a literature club doing its thing, hides something incredibly sinister under its surface. For example, a small mini-game where the protagonist will have to select words to form a poem which can resonate with each character.

The player makes minor choices in the mini-game which will affect the narrative during your playthrough. With only four characters to interact with, the development of each provides layers of intricacies that show depth and humanity to each. Who is the Ace student, athlete and model of character perfection, who acts as a tension breaker. The next is Natsuki who is cold towards the protagonist in a Tsundere type anime role. You have Yuri, who is the dark and brooding type yandere who buries herself in the literature aspect of the club. When making it to the titular Literature Club, you are introduced to three more classmates that are all female anime tropes. The beginning of the game can move quite slowly and become cumbersome, but the background and detailing of the small world are necessary. The music is heavily notable here, as it changes with each subsequent screen the main character visits. Up to this point, the gameplay consists of reading the dialogue and laying down the landscape of the environment with detailed characters and fresh artwork.

Undertale doki doki literature club