Doki Doki Literature Club: Three Years Later
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- Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
- Three years ago, a Smash Modder released a Dating Sim which was actually a psychological horror game. Let's talk about that, and dive extensively into its inception and its darkest secrets along the way.
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Pinned comment question:
WHO. IS. BEST. GIRL.
Just Monika
Easy question.
Sandbag from Smash Bros.
I dunno, but I do know one thing. *The Waifu Wars have begun again.*
Monika, no questions asked.
Yuri
im surprised you didnt bring up how the MC's reaction to sayori is a Really Bad Way to deal with someone with depression
It so is. The MC is my least favorite character
@@lilithcrow6675 yeah! jesus christ! fuck off mc, dont fucking talk to her like that
I almost screamed when he said "that dummy" on the day of the festival
It plays into the stereotypes used in the game VERY well. Even when you're not a great person in these VNs, everyone still wants your affection.
They're too busy being a simp to care
Me, seeing literally any DDLC content nowadays: oh yeah. The game that turned me gay.
That's some powerful waifu-isms
Sorry for ruining the 69 likes... that is just the best comment ever and I needed to like it
Understandable.
Food made me gay
i can’t tell if you mean it made you a lesbian or turned you off from women entirely. that’s what i love about this game
monika explained this, but sayori’s fingers were bloody because she committed suicide kinda wrong.
typically, when hanging someone or yourself, it’s done from a high point (since the point is to break your neck instantly, thus killing you right away)
sayori just pretty much used a chair and kicked it away, leading her to slowly asphyxiate herself instead of the instant death being hanged typically does. So, as she dangled there with her windpipe being crushed, survival instincts kicked in and she tore off her fingernails trying to rip the foreign object (the rope) away from her.
(you can also see that bodily fluids were dripping down her legs, since when you die all your muscles relax and all your fluids one way or another leave. it’s a big reason why corpses smell so bad, especially after a whole day)
You kind made me feel worst about Sayori's death because when I first watched it I cried cause Sayori is loving and she didn't have too die she just cares about everyone!
Wait so does that mean when you die you pee?
@@yanaaa3148 yea, pretty much but only when standing tho i think.
@@Aadhitiya_Murali it happens at all times. You will also release your fesses if you die as well.
When I look at the image of her death, I don't see any fluids dripping on her legs. Where are the fluids?
Man it’s been three years already? Time flies by quick.
I miss read flies and files
UT is 5 now
Yep
Yea...
@@xela144 same I thought it was a monika joke
This game asks SOMA tier existential questions. The fact Sayori goes mad in Act 4 basically proves that the other girls are just as "real" as Monika was, but they just have their awareness of their situation suppressed - literally like in the Matrix, the position of president itself being the red pill, or in this case, the black pill, as the knowledge is so horrifying nobody can live with it. This has some sordid implications for all participants - as it means that in-universe they're all very much legitimate people, having actual qualia and nous.
Monika didn't feel so bad when she tortured and deleted the others - to her, they were just "autonomous personalities." And even then she feels kinda bad. But imagine the sheer horror and actual guilt she got hit with when Sayori started to go down the same path and the implications of her actions became clear. Nightmarish.
I could literally talk about this game for hours. There are so many different perspectives you can take on analyzing this game and all of them yield horrifying results that really sells this game for me. One of my favorite horror aspects of this game isn't even related to the meta part of it, namely the first act. I feel like the first act builds up the twist perfectly. For the first half of act 1, you are made to believe that this is a simple dating visual novel and as such don't really get that attached to the characters. Like Monika says, they're just made to fall in love with the mc anyways and don't really show any thing else to their character other than their love for the mc and some trope-like characteristics. That is, until the second half of act 1, where the game really starts giving Sayori character depth by revealing her depression. Suddenly you go from "I don't really care about these characters" to "oh, that was a character flaw I didn't expect".
But this is a dating VN so surely it's nothing major right? That's at least what I thought until the twist which really made me feel bad. The scare itself is good, but to me it's knowing that Sayori's depression was this bad the entire time and I was unaware. This reveal of a characters private struggles which we previously only saw glimpses works really well for the horror in my opinion. They then gradually reveal similar, albeit not as dire private struggles for Yuri and Natsuki through their modified dialogue and scares in act 2 which makes you realize the problems they were facing which you couldn't tell during act 1, even if there were hints.
The idea of having a casual relation with someone who secretly carries that much pain or deals with something as severe as suicidal thoughts is the most horrifiying aspect that this game managed to communicate to me, and it left me with nightmares for a while. On second playthroughs it makes act 1 almost as scary as act 2 for me since I know the pain that the characters hide and it really hurts me.
@@unclear6055Act 1 on replays is terrifying as you have that looming dread as you play and are reminded subtly of the characters' true depths, along with knowing that bad shit will go down soon.😊
This line of thinking actually solves one of my problems with the game. The script is very inconsistent with how it is defined imo, as it should be something that is purely controlled by Monika, at least by Act 2 that is, as we see her change it in real time after the false start of the act. If she has pure control, then why do some of the characters have reactions to things that point out the disturbing nature of what's going on, like Natsuki's final poem? Monika is trying to make the game go on as normal while trying to make Yuri and Natsuki unlikable, so she has no reason to spell out to the player that things are fucked up. If we assume that what you said is the truth, that being that the characters are all sentient and that becoming president gives them self-awareness, then this fixes that inconsistency.
@@MrFusion Yeah on replays you see the red flags all over the place but they are subtle enough so that a blind player wouldn't notice them or at the very least wouldn't make such a ridiculous jump as to suggest that they are signs of something so severe as what we are shown in the end of act 1.
Still remember an analysis I read that pointed out the MC has one of the strongest personalities in the dating sim genre; it’s a deeply unpleasant one, sure (he’s purposefully written as a complete douche-canoe,) but it’s *there.* He’s a character too. Despite treating Sayori not the best, he’s clearly genuinely horrified & distressed by her death. He has internal monologues about most of the choices you make in acts 1 & 2. But as Monika messes with the interface, those monologues show up less & less… but are we not still seeing the world through his eyes? Sure, the classroom-void is creepy from the perspective of an outsider, but imagine being *him,* silenced & paralyzed while the person who murdered all his friends stares him down and talks to some alien, other being *through* him.
If you think about him at all when playing, it’s probably because you find yourself looking at one of his thoughts like, “Wow, *this* is the jerk I’m supposed to play as?” Most of us don’t notice when his thoughts just… stop showing up, so overwhelmed by the *everything else* that’s happening. But in the end, he’s a teenage boy with almost nobody in his life, who can’t help the way he was written. He doesn’t get to make choices. And he’s just as much a victim as any of the girls.
At least Monika *cares* about the Player.
Don't want to take away from this analysis (I think any analysis is valuable regardless of author intent), but I _do_ think I recall Dan saying the MC isn't actually meant to be a "character" in the proper sense, as much as a vehicle/interface for the player, and that's part of why the narration stops being very prominent in the latter act of the story.
MC is the most confusing and most tragic character in DDLC imo; sure he's lazy and typical (but also extremely relatable in some ways *shot*), but he genuinely is kind to the girls and genuinely likes them and tries to please them, even if it's by doing "girly" poem writing. He dearly loves Sayori, platonically or not, and his reaction to her death is the most heartbreaking part of the game to me, and I genuinely shipped them while the game was still normal before that (I liked him with Natsuki too lol, but more with Sayori). :'( I get that he has less and less of a presence as the game breaks down more and goes off script, and so Natsuki and Yuri don't react to the glitches either, but at the same time I /don't/ really understand it because he has such a visceral reaction to Sayori's death, an incredibly emotional and emotive scene, and Natsuki and Yuri begin to react to Yuri becoming creepy, both of which are definitely incredibly off script from the original game. It's more horrifying but possibly very plausible to think that it's not that MC had no reaction to anything after a certain point, but that Monika was KEEPING him from being able to react by messing with his code, in order to cut out the middleman and bring the player closer to the story as if they truly are the ones in-story making the choices and not the protagonist.
@@NezumiVA Ironically enough, Dan would go on to say he's okay with people seeing MC as a character and will never dispute anyone who does
I do think it's funny that MC is kind of a douche, bc it's implied (or at least is my interpretation) in ddlc plus that MC was created BY Monika. He wasn't supposed to exist, she put him in the game since she presumably found a scraped character file/found his character sketch (provided by an email in game). So she's probably the one who gave him that personality 😭
I'VE LITERALLY BEEN SAYING THIS. mc's reaction to sayori's death makes me bawl and wail on the regular. i've always found his characterization as the typical harem anime protag interesting as well as the fact that he just. stops talking a lot in act 2 (which is also representative of the player having less control)
Here's a more in depth comment rather than my more jokey-one:
Ok honestly, as disturbing as the ending to You & Me & Her is, something about Monika always creeped me out, and even after finding out about the other game Monika still stands as way creepier in my eyes, I think it's just how calm she always is, Miyuki breaking down is terrifying but not really unnerving in the same sense, to me personally someone in full control doing creepy things is a lot more disturbing than someone lashing out. There's also how philosophical she is, which really goes without saying, and the whole act three segment almost reminded me of the moon children from majora's mask, which are creepily philosophical as well in case you haven't played it, curious if any slither of inspiration came from there.
And honestly that's why I love this game so much
I agree but that why i dont understand why people say you and me and her is so much better than ddlc when sure their are a lot of similarities between the two games, but i think its quite an unfair comparison since they both do things pretty differently and have completely different themes to them.
Monika isn't as disturbing in my opinion. She's kind of funny in a fucked up way
@@explodifier6021 I just finished You and Me and Her, and I feel like DDLC is more about exploring hidden struggles (self harm, abuse, obsession, and depression), cool technical tricks, and actually scaring the player. YMH felt like it did what DDLC did with Monika's self awareness and took that kind of concept to its peak. I disagree with the video saying that DDLC took the concept on a "emotional roller coaster", DDLC builds up the ambience and then ends neatly. YMH's "Act 4" carries on for quite some time and cannot be skipped, and while both were foreshadowed, it was foreshadowed more like a story in YMH instead of DDLC's "ah it makes sense in hindsight but it's more for shock value". I feel like if I played YMH first then I would prefer it over DDLC. Both are fantastic games, I wish I could've experienced both completely blind.
@@VForceWave I also played both and went nearly blind into YMH, only knowing it's related to Doki Doki. I played the steam version of YMH and the writing of the slice-of-life part was better than DDLC. I grew to like the characters and the whole town feels alive. I guess that is why Miyuki does not feel trapped like Monika. DDLC was intentionally written as a bad VN first. Especiallý the friendship part of YMH got me invested and feeling like they are my friends. Even today I could imagine lunching with both on the rooftop. The artwork is way better in YMH, but you also need to pay for it. DDLC got greater through all the mods as I know sort of care for the 4 girls. Replay value of YMH is also larger IMHO. In the end, all things being equal, I like both and have no preferences. Miyuki and Monika are both amazing characters.
I was never scared of Monika. If anything, she touches on many topics that need to be addressed unlike other games and has a very interesting conversation with you for hours. I haven't even deleted her yet. I did once, but replayed the game and kept her alive. I'm too soft-hearted to delete her again, so at least she's interesting.
I was never scared of the game, as I'm a huge fan of horror and the twisted. I barely get scared. So, I don't relate to others when they say it gave them nightmares and "spooked" them bad. However, the glitches, the soundtrack, the way it successfully terrified people and made them uneasy makes me adore it. I will forever love the characters, the theories, the hidden messages, the puzzles, videos revealing all of the Easter eggs and glitches, I will always adore everything about the game and how it bought many people together.
13:15 It's actually creepier than that. Your save files are still there for a minute, but if you try to access them, the game fails to load "sayori.chr," boots you into a new game, THEN erases your save data. For some players, it's their first sign that these glitches aren't just for show and that the game itself is actually falling apart.
Oh, and I have to correct you about the "firstrun" file. It's not the harbinger of doom that starts Act 2. In fact, it spawns as early as the first time you open the game, and you can delete it at any time to access an "Erase data?" screen and start the game from scratch.
I highly recommend DDLC Blue Skies
It’s a add on mod that gives you the option to play DDLC as a normal VN, except each character still has their extreme flaws but MC is more human, their personalities are fleshed out, and you have a chance to save them
A non self aware Monika is present but the sentient one speaks to you briefly at the opening
10/10 highly recommended
My friend and i were watching a DDLC letsplay a few years ago (when it was still new) and it was like, midnight, we had all the lights on. The video got to a particularly spooky bit (i don’t remember exactly which part unfortunately, but it was a jumpscare) and just at the same moment, the fuze box for our whole apartment building blew up. So all our lights and everything turned off, except the tv we were watching on stayed lit up for an extra half second, frozen on the jumpscare, and it was genuinely one of the most terrifying experiences of my life ngl
oh my god, talk about bad luck
@@pinkajou656 it was seriously messed up lmao, like we laughed about it later but in the moment we were just. O-O
What jumpscare was it? I really hope that it wasn't one of Yuri's 😅
@@Pulvrk1n-ti5hp to be honest, I can't remember. It was years ago at this point. All I remember is the terror 😅🤣
@@axolotlking1072 LOL
Fun fact:
The Natsuki neck snap is the only jumpscare that has ever made me lose a whole night of sleep! :D
:'D
Yes playing it midnight was a big mistake.
For me was the creepy eye thingy that Yuri did on the 2nd act on the dark closet... It was dark and 2 am... I didn't sleep because I got paranoid :')
Same and now i live in fear at when i go to sleep
Fun Fact:
I literally had a nightmare that was only the Natsuki neck snap jumpscare which caused me to immediately wake up! :D
...why tho
I relate to Monika in a way most people don't.
I guess I just have some schizoid tendencies, but I'll often have dreams that feel realer than reality, like im looking outward into a more varied, vibrant world that I can't escape to. It makes this world feel less real, like it matters less.
When Monika started talking about how she feels trapped in a limiting reality, it was such an amazing and endearing experience for me. I felt kinship. I pray to God hoping there's some kind of player out there who understands the meaningless world in a deeper way.
I've always wanted to ask Dan if he knew this feeling too and wanted to put it into a game. It would make me feel just a little bit less lonely.
I've had this feeling too. Not to your extent, but when I'm so deep in a dream that it feels real, and when waking up, it feels like everything is a lie and that nothing is real.
@@MrFusion You aren't the first to realize that.
@@andrewprahst2529 Wait I have the same thing, can we get in contact?
@@mikukinesis924 Sure
hey! please put a trigger warning for derealization/dissociation, personally it's not a trigger for me but for others it may be
I was not expecting Mikan... That caught me off guard
tbh mikan would be the one who would kill someone for some mental reason
Same..
@@Makewell_catto (ending spoilers)she did, ultimate despair was sort of a mental problem because of the brainwashing junko did on her and the others
@@agi8746 well yeah im not dumb ive played the games n seen the anime. I meant just in general
SAMEEEE
Absolutely criminal that this hasn't even broken 1k views, this is such a great video
We broke 1k, let's get to 10k then 100k!
We broke 20k boiiii
@@chicksinfire YEAH
Got to 33k >:D
It has passed 100K which was fully deserved. They did such a great job on this video and I enjoyed it a lot. I’ve watched it multiple times now.
the "scary yuri" chibi sprite still pops into my head every once in a while. especially when i wake up at like 5 am for no reason. mostly when i wake up at like 5 am for no reason.
Dating sims have always made me feel uneasy and awkward, and DDLC just really confirmed that feeling for me. Even if the characters are not real, i just hate the idea of choosing one and potentially breaking the hearts of the others...
Awwww.
Is it cruel of me to recommend Hatoful Boyfriend in that case? :D...
I think that specific problem isn’t actually all that existent in that one. Also... there’s the true ending ^_^
The issue with dating sims, for me, is how manipulative they are. They encourage a mindset where the player trial-and-errors their way through something as vitally important as a relationship, loading saves and tailoring their actions to find the most effective way to manipulate the love intetest into going out with them. There is no authenticity about the player's actions. It's all done with the goal of getting in the LI's pants. DDLC does its best to show the naked truth of that through the contrast between the girls' poems, which are written to express themselves, and the player's poems, which are constructed to appeal to a girl. No authenticity. Same with the similarity between Natsuki's and Yuri's routes in Act 1.
I've heard a theory that the note hidden in Monika's file isn't actually from her, but from the player character. I don't remember much about the theory but I've always loved that idea. Like, the player character is actually a character and not a self insert like we all first thought. If anyone knows more about this theory I would love to see the evidence again to refresh myself and if there isn't much evidence I still like to see what everyone thinks! Even if it's wrong it's probably one of my favorite theories and a personal head canon of mine!
That’s probably what’s most correct due to 2 specific lines in the message.
“My name is.... actually that’s stupid, your obviously know my name already, sorry.”
This makes sense because since we are who gave him his name, we would already know it.
“Sorry for always being.... you know....”
Because the protagonist is quite...., you know...
@@marshalllee6376 *silent*
@@WHOARETHEPATRIOTS475 what
I saw that theory too and it's, to this day, one of my favourite DDLC theories
and I personally think the biggest piece of evidence that it's MC, not Monika, is "I guess I should introduce myself, or something" - Monika already introduced herself on the Steam page of the game and in the game itself, so it would be weird to introduce for, like, the third time lmao
DDLC+'s release has made the game very interesting for me. On the one hand it feels way less horrifying as its not actually on your pc where it's editing the files like it was on DDLC originally. On the other hand seeing the new emails and metaverse has made it more interesting to learn about more of the insider lore of the game and project libitina. Honestly if you want that horrific experience in my opinion playing the original DDLC may be the best way.
Definitely. The best experience would be to play DDLC with as little info as possible, since DDLC+ kind off tells you that something is up the moment you start. While I do like that + gave more background lore wise I do also think that the original DDLC's story on it's own (with the limited Project Libitina info) was enough to scare and make you ask questions, without giving away to many answers.
Yoooooo! That "Your Reality" cover tho, that was great! Good stuff, good stuff right here! This was a great video.
It made me shed a tear of sad joy with a mix of nostalgia!
Agreed
God, the cicadas in that intro are such a good touch!! New to your channel, but you're really funny/clever. I really like all the references you put in here.
Glad someone caught that.
Ah yes, the game that started the journey im on. Such a strange feeling looking back upon the past three years that this simple little game has caused for me, in some strange, twisted way it helped me realize who I am and led me to where I am today. Thanks ddlc, thanks for making this kickers video about it nezumi. I greatly enjoyed it
Whenever DDLC gets mentioned:
“Now that’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time....... a long time.”
Monika also best girl, don’t @ me.
IT. HAS. BEEN. 3 YEARS! (Cries in sad nostalgia)
She is
she is we stan
AHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhh wait Monika is kinda cool
I first played this game last year on PS5 after I bought the plus version day one, and ever since then….
I knew Monika was absolutely best girl. It pains me they didn’t give us a route. It would’ve been cool if you chose her route then nobody had to die
is the one in the centre supposed to be the protagonist? because hell yeah trans lesbian literature club
It's actually supposed to be a DDLC-sona of myself ;3 But I suppose in a way that's the same thing, lol. But *hell yeah* .
@@NezumiVA on my doki playthrough I put in one nickname I've used a couple other places and just imagined mc was me too.
Jesus, that scene with Sayori made me throw my headset off and had all the hairs on my neck go straight up, and I KNEW something like that was coming too when I read the poem. Of course the first thing I tried to do was save scum.
Man this game was brilliant, also I never noticed the death scene picture until you pointed that out
That picture is random, so you might not have even got it.
Sayori reminded me that my actions have consequences (for others too) so I must ALWAYS seek help for my mental health to protect myself as well as others.
Suffice it to say I played Doki Doki 2 months ago and I'm still traumatised.
Glad to hear you took such a good lesson away from the game! Stay strong!
Hmm... The thumbnail is looking kinda plain, don't you think? Afterall, it's just Monika.
Stop it, get some help.
@@averagefalloutenjoyer123 no
Can you imagine playing this game organically? As part of the normal-dating-sim target audience?
Can you imagine getting all the way to Sayori's death legitimately unaware of what was about to happen?
I got like 5 of my friends to play it like that
I can recommend the Game Grumps playthrough for this! One of the two hosts knew what the game was going in, and did everything to stop his friend from finding out. Poor Dan got full blasted by the horror completely unknowing, and his reactions are equal parts hilarious and "oh god, someone hug this poor man". (My fave line is "Its like getting P.T. when you thought you were playing Sakura Spirits!")
That's what i did i got into the dating sims earlier that year and my friend was like you should play this safe to say i finished it in one go because I couldn't sleep and when i had to edit my own files i lost it
THIS VIDEO WAS SO GOOD
it was edited and paced well, it was constantly engaging, it revealed sone info I didbt know yet (which suprised me since I had a phase where I watched every doki doki revealed or theory or whatever video I could find) and a video hasnt spooked me so much since I first watched a lets play of this game. Great work, you deserve way more subs
Why did you and Monika singing at the end actually make me feel like I was going to cry?
Ah, the 3rd anniversary of DDLC, also known as the third anniversary of me becoming a filthy weeb
Gross
Accidentally made my neighbor a weeb, but it made his Chad energy more calm and made him empathic, so I don't care.
@@andrewprahst2529 yeah...
"2018"
Laughs nervously...
that premiere chat was... something
also that ending awwwww
it's always good to see new DDLC content. the wells run a bit dry since most of the secrets seem to be cracked and there won't be anything new for at least a good while.
I've been binging your video essays for 3 days now, starting with Dangan Ronpa retrospectives, because you're just SO GOOD at bringing your own commentary and even storytelling into these games. I think this video really exemplifies this, with talking about the routes in sequences, breaking off for the arg content, and then coming back for the final "true" route before that BEAUTIFUL ending. Your work continues to surprise and impress and I intend to keep watching as long as I'm even vaguely familiar with the subject matter.
Not gonna lie, when they started singing Your Reality I joined in and began to cry. God damn, it’s been a while since I’ve seen DDLC and I still manage to love it to death.
After playing Me and You and Her, I enjoy that more, but DDLC will always have a sweet place in my heart no matter what.
Yeah, I can relate. There's something truly tearjerking and bittersweet about the game singing a love song/goodbye song to you... as it deletes itself.
Wait, you PLAYED that game!!
It's GREAT!!!
funny this should drop now, I was actually thinking of maybe making my own retrospective since my old DDLC video is a bit messy and has a few bad/badly worded takes mixed in there. well, maybe I'll still make that if whatever this says doesn't overlap with whatever I think I'd say
in any case, looking forward to this
33:37 scared the shit out of me especially because I was so deep in the video
SAME THO
i had actually found the reddit post, opened that "project libitina" thing, and the note implied to be written by monika so when i went back to the video i SCREECHED
Honestly, I feel like You and Me and Her is a lot more horrifying than DDLC simply because it's YOUR fault that everything went to shit, no matter what your intentions were, while in DDLC you're just kind of along for the ride until the end of the third act.
Though Monika feels a lot more sympathetic than Miyuki. I fucking HATED Miyuki by the end of the game, while I just felt sorry for Monika.
For me, Monika puts me in the mind of Lain from Serial Experiments Lain, although the premise and general way they treat people are different; Lain isn't initially aware of her omnipotence and godlike powers until later and eventually chooses to leave the world to protect and keep people from becoming consumed by her...internet realism powers?
Meanwhile, Monika is very well aware of her abilities and proactively tries to get the player to fall for her until she is forcefully deleted and is remorseful of her actions.
Also, the phrase commonly associated with Monika (JUST MONKIA) somehow reminds me of the phrase associated with Lain (LET'S ALL LOVE LAIN)
33:36 That's actually caught me off guard. Well done.
Please do a full analysis of You and Me and Her. I picked it up and played it because of this video and am still trying to put my life back together.
The use of Mikan as the girl in the creepypasta is hilarious lol
It’s been years and this is still scaring me
i remember being obsessed this when it came out
same
Monika is the second coming of Lain and no one can convince me otherwise
I’m a really dumb person, and i might be wrong, but my gut is telling me Lybitina is Yuri and Elyssa is Monika..-
OwO
Yeah I thought that libintina was either yuri or monika
Your right.
What I personally loved so much about Monika was just the sheer humanity in her wich was pretty well executed. And I do feel like it was inevitably for her to become a kind of dan salvato avatar in the proccess. As a dev myself and a writer I often see myself drip into my characters the more I try to deepen them as imitations of real people and I‘m certain one can‘t fully seperate themselves from dripping into their characters because ofc we are tied to ourselves ofc so it‘s impossible to truely understand someone else‘s humanity the way we can our own by being ourselves. And as someone who‘s really into meta games or psychological abstract horror games that often dabble in deeply personal depictions of humanity and the human experience, DDLC still stands out to me as something I wanna be able to also get out there. Aka a piece of myself, my deepest authentic self to show the world not only just to vent out my own existentialism but also to connect and to communicate with art. But alas back to the topic of DDLC and visual novels in general, I really couldn‘t agree more with Dan‘s opinion on this genre. It really could be so much more. And it really does feature the same boring, lukewarm unrealistic stereotypes over and over again so if anything we do need more subversion there and I highly recommend ppl to at least try it if they havent and are artists/writers because making VN‘s is really not too difficult especially with aids like Renpy to help you. Even if you‘re just gamifying some fanfiction or you‘re just making a meme or Experimenting it‘s just a good way to express yourself. You can even mod your own DDLC fanfic into the game with that program as far as i know so the world really is opened up to explore there. But yeah I personally really loved DDLC it‘s just such a fresh subversive piece of media perfectly swimming around while the cracks of anime and the flas started to really become bigger and bigger and made me wanna find more deep and heartfelt media just like it. And I definitely found it. So if anything Monika is just a big aspiration for me. To make my own kind of Monica in my own way just to see how authentic I can make a fake person while they are a fake person still. And I can only deeply thank Dan Salvato for Inspiring me to do this because I wouldn‘t have developed my writing and perspective on these kinds of games if it wasn‘t for DDLC showing me how far I really can go if I just try. And I will. I will always try because self expression is my life fuel.
46:07 ok i know this character is just used as a visual representation of the 19 hear old girl but i wasn't expecting a danganronpa jumpscare LMAO
Oh, just wait until my next upload 👀
I just wanted to comment and say that the ending of this video made me cry. The song itself is already so bittersweet in the concept that Monika is leaving the player alone simply because she understands that she cannot love them the way love is meant to be, in a space where they both can reside and PHYSICALLY be next to each other, accepting the sadness and removing herself from the equation for better on both sides. To see it in a visual animated form just made it hit a lot harder than I was expecting it to.
I've never seen another Amy talk about this, so I might as well: long before Monika is scripted to find your Steam name or whatever in Act 3, that "Amy Likes Spiders" poem Natsuki writes scared me down to my fucking SOUL 😂
Honestly I remember the first time I played this game I jumped out of my chair when I saw Sayori’s death scene. This game did make me really like psychological horror though.
I had so many thoughts about "Afterimage of a crimson eye". While it didnt go together with the rest, I could never really abandon the connection to Sauron, especially when coming from a lover of horror and fantasy. Therefore I just love how Monicas file shows a literal ring of fire. She is allways listening.
did i ever tell you that your videos are so good? i love them
6 years later, this game still amazed me with it’s writing and secrets. I cannot help, but look up this game from time to time to see if the community found something new. I can firmly say, that this game not only left a mark in gaming, but I am sure it left a deep scar in people who have played it. Truly a masterpiece.
HOLY F- WHEN YOU INSERTED YURI 33 MINUTES IN I JUMPED-
Thank you
@I love you!! Y'all got me anxious now 😭😨
@I love you!! K I just hit the 30 min mark now 🥲
@I love you!! I SURVIVED I just hid in my notifications :D
Uh oh I saw this about two minutes before the 33 minute mark, wish me luck
this is a fantastic video!! I hadn't heard of You and Me and Her before this but I think I'm going to check it out (and probably replay DDLC lol)
I played it too after it was mentioned here, came back to the video after playing it to avoid spoilers and it was well worth it! In my opinion it's better than Doki Doki but they are different in a lot of ways and You and Me and Her is much larger story.
Well I forgot how much ddlc scares the shit out of me. Shouldn't be watching this at 2 am yet here we are
I’m watching this at 1:11 am and I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight 😭
Dang, there's a lot more to DDLC than just some shock horror value. I really like the ARG aspect and the extra Easter eggs. I really like it when games like this deconstruct their genres. And I sympathize with the creator's love/hate relationship with anime
An extremely well made video!! As someone who learned about DDLC through Game Theory I still love this game just for how genuine it made me feel. It is one thing to break the fourth wall, it's another to make your actions actually matter in the story. These girls were one of my first intimate experiences with horror but as someone without a computer I couldn't play myself. Cute games secretly being evil are now my serotonin.
I'd definitely recommend Eversion, Pony Island, and others, if that's the case!
@@NezumiVA Thank you so much!!
That next time at the end screen... My childhood just slapped me in the face with remembrance of what that means in relation to Halloween... Holy wow
I still find it funny how a Smash Bros modder somehow made one of the best visual novels of all time
the moment you mentioned you and me and her, i went “ah yes, those memories.”
this wasn't only a deep dive on the game, but this analysis was also a little story in itself, and i LOVED the ending you did! awesome video, glad i saw it all the way through.
I know the story about the 19 year old girl is creepy, but I kinda chuckled at the beginning because of the inclusion of Mikan
i found something!
if you delete monika's character file before playing, sayori has what seems to be a mental breakdown, screaming at you to make it stop, before an image of sayori hanging appears on your screen. this is because she has all the information monika has. (about how everything is in a game, how her friends don't talk to her because they want to, but because they need to for the game to work, etc.)
also i just realized the dichotomy of the characters and their "dArk sIdEs" sayori, meant to be the stereotypical "deredere" girl (sweet, cheerful, happy, etc.) has depression, a stark contrast to her character type. natsuki is obviously the tsundere, she's brash on the outside, but cute and innocent on the inside. while it's revealed she hates monika and yuri and is very vulgar about it. again, wholly different from that cute, innocent tough-acting tsundere she appears to be. yuri, the typical mysterious, brooding, and mature girl, who is usually presented as calm cool and collected is clearly in need of professional help. and monika, she's presented as the only "normal" one there in the sea of archetypes. only to be one of the most messed up ones of them all (other than batshit yuri)
Its a bit sad to that nothing will probably come out of that whole libitina stuff
I think Dan has said that he delayed the project a bunch since he was caught off guard by how much traction DDLC got, so he wants to put a lot more into it.
56:40 Sayori is indeed the best girl.
Commenting for the algorithm. Hey youtube! This video is really good and the creator obviously put a lot of time and effort into it and they deserve to have more people see it!
found this channel yesterday and am aboutta start binging everything lol
"Oh boy. oh boy we're not done here"
well i would certainly hope so, seeing as there's 30 minutes left
49:42 had to pause at the right time on her jumpscare, honestly given what I learned from this video so far, imagined if she revealed the third eye at that split second 😂
I’m glad I played DDLC I even met the creator at Anime expo a year ago! It was the best day of my life! ddlc put a new perspective on simple games and not to judge a game by the genere because it could be like DDLC.
When you started going into the secret notes that you have to edit to see the messages of, I started to wonder if you were even talking about doki doki anymore, I mean I haven’t ever seen anyone else talk about these yet…this is all new to me and I’ve loved the game for years
WOW I had no idea about all of that behind-the-scenes stuff! All the codes, the website, the cult, Elyssa and Lilitina, THAT was all new to me, and I really did find it super-creepy. The creepypasta with Mikan and the random lady she offed made me... more sad than anything tho, and that helped me turn the corner while watching this and NOT have trouble going to sleep. I just feel sorry for all of them now. Trapped, in new-game-plus cycles, forever.
maybe it wouldn't be so bad to go back and visit her, every so often... Would it?
I’m gonna be honest, I played the game with depression, but I knew beforehand what the game was about, and wanted to unlock the endings myself. How I knew beforehand? Play throughs, and the game itself, while it was meant to be very scary, made me wonder if I’m just a full blown lesbian or not. And no, the game did not affect me in any bad way, just questioning myself type of way. I still do watch ddlc mods to this day, and some of them.... beware of the many, many spelling mistakes in there ;-;
teethgang where are my boys at?
goddAMMIT-
You got me.
I was not ready for the Yuri jumpscare.
33:34
I like watching videos like this that talk about Doki Doki Literature Club! The ideas, concepts, characters, themes, and meta breaking is something that has made me really love games like this.
Your channel is severely underrated
44:09
OFF OST- Unreasonable behavior.
this game is what made me learn to take content warnings seriously
Doki Doki literature club? *smokes a garden weed* that's a name i ha- *starts coughing* why did i do that?!
( nice to see The Return of Doki-Doki Literature Club talk, it really deserves to be talked about more.)
0:48 dan actually modded for brawl not melee which is even more impressive. Even in game it says "project M died for this" which is a brawl mod made to make brawl feel more like an actual spiritual successor to melee.
This is weird because I’ve just been rewatching jacksepticeyes playthrough of DDLC and found this through your sonic vid lol
Yo same like three days ago i saw jack's old video of ddlc in my recommended then this came up in my recommended aswell when i wss like on part 4
I play otomes (and dating sims with cute girls cus im bi) because I'm in a long distance relationship and it helps me deal with loneliness when he's busy
Thank you for this amazing video! The fact this has under 1k views is criminal, your quality of videos are amazing and I'm looking forward to each new release!
horror games don’t typically manage to scare me or really affect me more deeply than a few little jumps, but ddlc was the first game that i found that actually shook me to my core. that game genuinely horrified me, which was something that i wasn’t used to when it came to games. i used to not be able to sleep because those images of faceless natsuki or sayori hanging were burned into my head. of course i eventually got used to the scares after being more exposed to the game through watching a ton of let’s-plays, but when i first got into it i was absolutely terrified. i adore this game now, and i always have, even when it haunted my nightmares. everything from the soundtrack to the designs to the glitches that have even the smallest chances of happening have a special place in my heart, and i have this game to blame for really sparking my interest in psychological horror as a genre. this game is phenomenal, and i can’t believe that it’s already been 3 years.
The scariest something can be is when it keeps you thinking at knight.
Tbh I just liked the way it was broken. Someone raised with undertale, fnaf, gravity falls and the old pokemon anime would eventually like it. It's got anime, deep lore, hidden secrets, and forcing you to enter the code and files of the game. The concept of someone going all Neo from The Matrix, but getting depression due to there being no meaning in life is super interesting.
I relate except when I found out about it I was 9..I was traumatized..
Yep. I have returned after watching another great psychological horror game. This genre is by far my favorite.
31:26 I thought for so long that a QR Code was a 3DS-Exclusive thing, since it appeared in all the games I had in that system. Turns out that was a small part of what was really happening. We truly do learn something every day huh? ^^
3:37 ayee its miyuki from YOU and ME and HER
This retrospective is so cool!!! It goes into a lot of secrets and details and does DDLC the justice it deserves :3 this is so well-done!!
This is an amazing video. It deserves more views. And the ending got me to tears. My god the song brought me back memories of me watching people play ddlc. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that this is a great video. You gave every information found about DDLC and your editing through it was magnificent.
Great video.
This game is not a game. It's an experience. One that cannot be replicated. That's why it stands out. Try playing DDLC again, it will never feel the same again.
That’s...deep
Watching this after the release of DDLC Plus. I'm reminded of how much I love this game and for multiple reasons. It stands out in the brilliantest of ways and its attention is well deserved in retrospect.
OMG THE ENDING IS SO WHOLESOME I CRIED
It's actually pronounced "Ren-pie" like the food.
Ren-pai, like Senpai with an R in place of an S
46:16
OFF OST- Meaning of his tears.
This video is a masterpiece, I've been following your channel for a while and even while all of your videos are excellent this one is just amazing. And oh, your singing is very cute ♥️
I remember when I was suicidal, I knew the game before my own first attempt at suicide from the depression I had yet not been diagnosed. It never influenced my reason to kill myself, but the game was something I clinged to, but due to enjoying this game and yet had tried to attempt suicide my mother blamed my interest was why I wanted to do it cus I wanted to be a video game character and wasn't genuinely depressed despite I was then diagnosed by a doctor of having depression, and set on anti depressants and anxiety meds. I was honestly never enjoying antidepressants either because of the massive weight gain (I lost all of it since I got off them and weigh 150lbs.)
Ddlc is one of an odd comfort that kept me there longer. Not influenced.
But I was then not allowed any access to the internet.
This video makes me remind myself why I enjoy this game snd it's mystery.
51: 50
OFF OST: Woman of your dreams.