Indeed, for many games, such as the Fighting-Game series BlazBlue, the Strategy-JRPG-Based series Fire Emblem and Disgaea, the mixed-combat-and crafting JRPG series Summon Night, and perhaps most famously, the Turn-Based JRPG series Persona, the Visual Novel format is the way by which cutscenes and story progression are told outside of gameplay segments. Many Visual Novels tend to come from Japan, where much of the ideas for such games originated. For Dating-Simulators specifically, the choices within the game that take you to different CGs, storylines, or endings typically focus around which girl or boy you want to smooch. Typically, these basic sprite interactions are interrupted on occasion by CGs (special illustrated images displaying specific action, such as characters fighting or kissing) or mini-games (such as choices regarding whether someone is lying or not, puzzles, etc.). Before I get to my thoughts on it, let me first talk a bit about my experience with Dating Simulators and Visual Novels.įor those of you unfamiliar with the concept of Visual Novels, they’re pretty much the computerized version of Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Books, with basic sprites on-screen to showcase what characters are doing or feeling. So, after months of seeing it passed around, I decided to give it a go earlier this week.

This is pretty impressive, coming from a free-to-play Indie-developed Dating-Simulator-styled Visual Novel. This is evident especially in the awards category, as it swept the IGN People’s Choice awards in every category it was nominated in.

Doki Doki Literature Club came out on Steam a couple months ago, and people have been up in arms about it ever since.

Doki doki literature club cgs