History VisualNovel / DokiDokiLiteratureClub

* ExistentialHorror: The way Monika is self-aware and how she uses this self-awareness has strong connotations of this, as she is from beginning to end defined by being a character in a romance visual novel. To begin with, she is cursed by the fact that she is merely the tutorial character, and as such isn't one of the romanceable characters, which essentially means that she is -- within the confines of the genre she exists in -- in the end not really all that important for the story. Her creator has essentially doomed her to exist in the shadow of Sayori, Natsuki and Yuri; forever unable to fulfil any other role but playing second fiddle to them. The kicker is that even when Monika gains self-awareness and the power to alter the program, all she can think of doing with this power is use it to make herself the only romanceable character because her way of thinking and viewing the world is still inherently limited by the type of game she is a character within. Namely, a game where the goal is to gain the player's "love", and so despite all her power, that is all she can think of using it for.

** After the player deletes her character file, Monika sends the player back to the beginning of the game, restoring the other three girls and making Sayori the president. Everything seems to be going well... until Sayori reveals that by becoming president, she has learned about everything that has happened, and has ''also'' fallen madly love in the player, and wants them to herself... forever... ''again''. As she begins to recreate Monika's room, she and the rest of the girls are deleted by Monika, who realizes there is no happiness for anyone in the game. As the credits roll, the [=CGs=] are deleted (unobtained ones rendered in grayscale), along with other aspects of the game. It ends on a note from Monika disbanding the club, which is all you'll see if you try to reload the game again.

** Deleting Monika during act 3 for the first time also nets you the "Kill Everyone" achievement, which clearly shows that Monika [[NeverMyFault is trying to pin the blame on you]].

** While she understands the RomanceGenre well enough to point out certain tropes that are in play, ultimately she shoots herself in the foot by fundamentally misunderstanding how the genre works. [[spoiler:Her MediumAwareness means that she knows the other girls are just characters in a game and not real people, so she expects that the player, who also knows this, will happily laugh along with her at the MindRape she subjects them to throughout the game and the jokes she makes about them. However, she completely missed the point that DatingSim games, like the one she's in, generally want you to ''empathize'' with and like the characters in them so you'll ''want'' to romance them, so she fails to realise that all of her screwing with the other girls will just make the player hate ''her'' instead for doing that to her clubmates. WordOfGod confirms that this was the IntendedAudienceReaction.

* WrongGenreSavvy: Much of the horror comes from Monika acting as if she's in a romance game (until the end of Act 3).

''Doki Doki Literature Club!'' is a MediaNotes/RenPy-based VisualNovel by Team Salvato, led by Dan Salvato, who was also a developer of ''VideoGame/ProjectM'' and a competitive player of both ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee'' and ''Project M''. It was originally released in 2017.

''Doki Doki Literature Club!'' is a MediaNotes/RenPy-based VisualNovel by Team Salvato, led by Dan Salvato, who was also a developer of ''VideoGame/ProjectM'' and a competitive player of both ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee'' and ''Project M''.

* AnAesop: In a more straightforward way, Act 1 of the game shows that depression isn't immediately recognizable by having the girl next door suddenly committ suicide at the end. It also shows that helping others suffering from depression takes more than simply telling them to "feel better," because she ends up committing suicide regardless of how the player treats her. A later scene with Monika goes more in-depth on what you can do:
--> '''Monika''': If you think you know someone struggling with depression... You can help just by treating them like they're a good friend. Spend time with them, even if they don't feel like doing much and remind them that they always have something to look forward to. Making plans in advance, letting them borrow something, or even just saying 'See you at school tomorrow'... All of those things can help your friend make it to the next day. I hope being friends with Sayori has given you some perspective on the true face of depression.

''Doki Doki Literature Club!'' is a UsefulNotes/RenPy-based VisualNovel by Team Salvato, led by Dan Salvato, who was also a developer of ''VideoGame/ProjectM'' and a competitive player of both ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee'' and ''Project M''.

On June 30, 2021, a [[UsefulNotes/{{Unity}} Unity]]-based UpdatedRerelease titled ''Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!'' was released for PC and consoles, adding side stories and bonus content along with HD graphics.

** The scene featuring Sayori's suicide features the background turning into a fake UsefulNotes/RenPy crash screen. If you check the game files after it appears, you can actually discover a traceback.txt file, which under usual circumstances is used to determine the cause of the crash. The end of this file features a hidden message from Monika.

** After Sayori's suicide, the player character notes that "this isn't a game where [he] can reset and try something else." Attempting to reload will cause the game to remark on a missing character file and a corrupt save. Checking the game files will reveal that the character file is indeed missing.[[note]]It should be noted that a character file is not a thing in UsefulNotes/RenPy: there are sprites, and they can have lines in the script, but there is not a special file defining the character; that concept was invented by this game as a mechanic to interact with it. However, the .chr files ''do'' contain encrypted images, memos, and QR codes -- many of which prompt even more digging and speculation after initial decryption.[[/note]]

-> ''And in your reality, if I don't know how to love you,\\
I'll leave you be.''

-->-- '''Monika''', "Your Reality", credits theme for ''Doki Doki Literature Club!''

Also, [[ContentWarnings this game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed]]. The game, while starting off cheery, [[CerebusSyndrome gets more dramatic later on]] as a [[WalkingSpoiler certain]] [[BigBad character]] attempts to [[{{Yandere}} steal the player for herself]].

''Doki Doki Literature Club!'' is a Platform/RenPy-based VisualNovel by Team Salvato, led by Dan Salvato, who was also a developer of ''VideoGame/ProjectM'' and a competitive player of both ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee'' and ''Project M''.

''Doki Doki Literature Club!'' is a UsefulNotes/RenPy-based VisualNovel by Team Salvato, led by Dan Salvato, who was also a developer of ''VideoGame/ProjectM'' and a competitive player of both ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee'' and ''Project M''.

The game is downloadable [[http://ddlc.moe/ via its official site]], and is also available for free on itch.io and UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}. However, the developer also allows people to support the game financially by buying a fan pack containing the soundtrack, wallpapers, and a concept art booklet.

* BlackBlood: The UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 and UsefulNotes/PlayStation5 versions of ''[[UpdatedRerelease Plus]]'' [[https://youtu.be/S3-tw2m3lNQ?t=13 alter Yuri's suicide]] to make her blood black instead of red.

* '''Natsuki''': [[{{Tsundere}} A cute girl with a strong sour side to her]]. Like you, she enjoys reading manga and picks up any genre of it right away.