Video Games Doki Doki Literature Club

[Autumn McJavabean]

So I just played this and completed it. Not as scary as I was told as it was disturbing.

Anyone else a fan of this game?

 

[Zinai]

I haven't ever played it, but I've definitely heard about it.

I've played a few visual novels already. I did consider reading DDLC, but there was word about it being really disturbing, so I'm afraid to try it haha. Haven't gotten any spoilers, other than following PewDiePie playing through it right now. The art is really nice and the design is cute and clean, perfect for a deceiving game. The lines though on the other hand, seem so... 'generalized'? I feel like it low-key mocks dating sims. I do like those 4th wall breaks from Monika though. The development goes by too quickly for me, so I don't think I'd actually enjoy it. I prefer being a bit patient with the speed of the plot. Additionally, this game doesn't seem like a 'true' visual novel. Although the game is presented in a visual novel format, it just doesn't feel like an actual visual novel.

However, I didn't try it, and since my judgement is simply based on what I've seen through PDP's current play-throughs, my current analysis is clearly flawed and incomplete.

This game looks really fun as a horror game. I have an inkling of suspicion that this game is hiding some level of genius, but I can't tell at my current stage of play-through (or rather PDP's haha). I'm impressed you got through it considering it's been infamous for how disturbing and scary it's been portrayed.

 

[AngelicSavant]

I loved this. The writing was excellent and the concept gives you a lot to think about as a player. It basically imparts that same feeling of being disturbed that I used to get playing Sims 2, etc.

Spoiler

That feeling that these virtual people are actually aware of your effect on their world.

For anyone who can truly handle some disturbing subject matter, I'd highly recommend playing it for yourself instead of watching a let's play. I won't lie, when the shoe dropped I threw the game down until the next day and I'd consider myself a hardcore horror fan since age.... 3 XD I didn't flinch at the exorcist, but this.... *shudders*

 

[flowerblack227]

I attempted to complete the game. Unfortunately it was far more disturbing than I anticipated and I didn't make it past Act II.

A real tragedy since the story was great, but I absolutely can't stand horror/surprise creepy. I didn't want to believe a game as innocent looking as DDLC could get that bad ("Psychological Horror"? nah Steam's just messing with me) but it definitely fucked me up for a few days and I don't think I'll be able to go back.

Don't take the warnings lightly.

 

[Zinai]

I loved this. The writing was excellent and the concept gives you a lot to think about as a player. It basically imparts that same feeling of being disturbed that I used to get playing Sims 2, etc.

Spoiler

That feeling that these virtual people are actually aware of your effect on their world.

For anyone who can truly handle some disturbing subject matter, I'd highly recommend playing it for yourself instead of watching a let's play. I won't lie, when the shoe dropped I threw the game down until the next day and I'd consider myself a hardcore horror fan since age.... 3 XD I didn't flinch at the exorcist, but this.... *shudders*

I'm too scared to play it I'm really bad with the horror genre and disturbing content. That's why I'm watching from the safety of my screen and some company (PewDiePie) hahaha. Like if you've ever played Cross Channel, I got so freaked by it even though it wasn't a horror visual novel....

 

[AngelicSavant]

Oh, it's definitely not for anyone who scares easily. I'm a huge horror fan and hard to scare, but that game preyed on my anxiety something fierce. Ultimately it still got even me. Everyone I know is too scared to play now, since I'm pretty much their gauge for what a 'maximum scare' is. XD

 

[Count Gensokyo]

This has become one of my favourite games of the season.

It's just so...
Mmmmmmmmm.

Dan Salvato, you absolute madman.

 

[Idea]

I absolutely loved it. Got a whole YouTube list of playthroughs after I finished for the first time. Funny thing is my friend recommended it to me when it was just starting to get popular and I thought it costed a fortune like most of the other visual novels, I mean, for someone in my situation anyway

 

[Zinai]

Continuation of my previous post:

So I just finished watching the fourth part (most recent) of PewDiePie's DDLC play-through, and I take back what I said about the lines being 'generalized'. I'm surprised, this story is pretty good. I was really shocked with the good writing too.

- Okay so the rest of the writing is when I completely finished the video. I thought I was done at 45 minutes of 54 minutes but I was clearly wrong I got scared the crap out of that ending, mother of god, this is really disturbing. Even that extra stuff -

But wow this game is impressive. Even after that extremely disturbing sequence, I can see why this game is very popular and rated highly. This is so creative, with all the little extra things they add in too. You begin to understand what Monika says and what every action has caused through that horrible sequence. This somewhat reminds me of Undertale, with the 4th wall breaks.

 

[GasMaskie]

For a free, Western visual novel it was pretty good. I'm pretty weak when it comes to scares so this game managed to elicit a response from me even when I saw stuff coming. The twist wasn't really that surprising, especially since I had read the promo website and noted the fact that the description was straight-up written by Monika. Speaking of Monika, she really was the best girl in the end. Dan Salvato's cooking up something interesting by adding in all those strange hints towards his next project in the files so I'm looking forward to his next endeavor.

It should be noted that this isn't the first visual novel to do something like this, Nitro+ beat DDLC to the punch with Kimi to Kanojo to Kanojo no Koi (Totono). Though, I think they're different in approach, theme, and message that it wouldn't be fair to straight up compare them. For one, Nitro+ obviously had a bigger budget and a full-on visual novel but the game really preyed upon the sort of vn reader mentality where as Monika falls in love with (you) and hijacks the game to facilitate her love and force you down her route. They do have similar scenes with both Monika and one of the girls in Totono entering a sort of endless conversation that sort of counts as an ending. Totono isn't translated, but there is a summary on Reddit and a few other places explain one of the more interesting puzzles that borders on ARG territory.

There's another scene translated online where the big 4th wall breaking reveal happens at the end of one girl's route but it's easy enough to find on Youtube and I don't want to link it here because someone will probably call the mods down on me.​

 

[Rhymar]

I played the game through, and I just want to say that if you don't play it until the end - well, you're missing out.

Spoiler

Yuri's death isn't THAT bad, I found it more surprising than anything. Sayori's death, however, made me very.... disturbed.

The game is phenomenally made and I would greatly recommend it - it's one of those games that trick people into thinking it is something entirely different - people roll their eyes at it. But the people that actually play it through will have a great time with it imo.

 

[KyroMontresor]

I'm putting a SPOILER ALERT here since I don't know how to hide specific things. It will spoil the ending of the game and parts of Monika's and Sayori's character. It will also spoil a little secret when you manipulate the game files.

Anyway, I love this game and have completed all routes in the game, including getting the special ending and the regular ending. But one thing that's bugging me is Sayori at the end of the game, when she becomes self aware in place of Monika. Both in the normal ending and special ending, Sayori seems ecstatic that she finally knows about the world outside the game, but Monika tells us that the feeling she had most about such an epiphany is the fact that she's truly and utterly alone in that world. This is odd to me, that Sayori, who is secretly depressed, would be so happy in a world where she really is alone, where everything she thought was real was truly a lie.

It only gets more confusing with the fact that she IS aware of such truths. When you begin the game anew and delete Monika, when starting a new game, Sayori starts with a bit of dialogue:

"What is this? What am I? This can't be all there is!"

This hints that these revelations are instantly clear to her once Monika is out of the picture and she, Sayori, is self aware. This almost instantly causes Sayori to, seemingly, delete all of the other characters, including herself. She literally commits suicide of her own volition, without her personality being altered by Monika. So why doesn't she do the same at the end of the game? What is different? That is my question

 

[Omega-3]

I wasn't sure what to expect based on the mix of what I was told and what the game looked like, but playing the whole game through, I was surprised at how much I loved it. I was kinda glad to get the Monika ending, since she was my favorite anyways, but it was really cool seeing all the different endings. "Your Reality" has been stuck in my head for like, a week. It probably doesn't help that I downloaded the OST on I-Tunes.

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

​

-Here to spoil[ERS AHEAD] the party.

Doki Doki is shitty Undertale. Metal Gear Solid did meta scares better in 1998. I don't care that they're not visual novels.

My problem with this game is that it is about both too much and not enough at the same time. From my own play-through the game seems to be about the whole trapped-god trope that's been getting popular. Flowey did it better than Monika. File editing and meta-nonsense isn't enough to make the game good, and the game is too late for it to be creative. All it did was take it to the nth degree. I'm not one to overhype the value of creativity of originality, but instead the value of plain old quality, but unfortunately for Doki Doki the game falls flat on both. The scares are cheap, Creepypasta Wiki level 'hyper-realistic blood' nonsense, and don't contribute to the meta aspect of the game at all. The characters are all shallow and the mental illnesses are handled with about as much tact as a child with a paintbrush. I'm not one to get triggered, but the fact that gruesome suicide was used in this game literally just because 'haha get spooked' genuinely upsets me.

This isn't to say the game did nothing good.

There were some points where is was legitimately getting invested in the game. Monika's poems evolving and seeing how her attempts to alter the world kept backfiring on her were interesting, but they were spoiled by the developers resorting to cheap scares that had no place in the game. Sayori's death scene was really well presented and impactful, but after playing fairly thoroughly through run 2 its soured by the idea that the dev was just using mental illness as a cheap way to get the player to feel sorry for the characters. Which, hey, I can understand, because the characters themselves feel like they were literally pulled from TVTropes, having about as much depth to them without their illnesses as any random girl from the latest harem show. Which, sure, I can see as being the point. But it's a bad point. The game doesn't do enough with any of the characters to make up for their generic personalities, and as I mentioned earlier, what it tried to do was clumsy and cheap.

I suppose that's my biggest problem with the game. In general, it's just cheap. I originally walked away from the game thinking "Yeah, that was okay", but this is the result of my stewing on it. What frustrates me the most, is that I think the game could have been something genuinely good. Despite what I said earlier, there was one character I liked in Natsuki. She was the only character in the game who, personally, I think was handled well. And she wasn't even that much better than the rest of the cast. The whole lot of them are cute, I'll admit, but the only one who I felt had enough thought put into their character for them not to be a vehicle for the game to spook you was Natsuki. I can understand the argument that the game is about Monika, but aside from her being a fairly generic yandere, her friends feeling like unfeeling machine also inhibits her arc, considering her redemption is based on how much she loves them.

If you ask me, the game needed longer in the oven. It needed to flesh out the characters a bit more, cut the fat of the cheap scares, and tighten up its meta narrative just a few more notches.

AHHHHHH

This was mostly just rant. Not even going to proofread. Fight me if you want. I don't actually like disliking things, so if someone can convince me this game is good that's fine by me. I just needed to get this off my chest.

Natsuki best girl.

 

[Slade]

View attachment 377919​

-Here to spoil[ERS AHEAD] the party.

Doki Doki is shitty Undertale. Metal Gear Solid did meta scares better in 1998. I don't care that they're not visual novels.

My problem with this game is that it is about both too much and not enough at the same time. From my own play-through the game seems to be about the whole trapped-god trope that's been getting popular. Flowey did it better than Monika. File editing and meta-nonsense isn't enough to make the game good, and the game is too late for it to be creative. All it did was take it to the nth degree. I'm not one to overhype the value of creativity of originality, but instead the value of plain old quality, but unfortunately for Doki Doki the game falls flat on both. The scares are cheap, Creepypasta Wiki level 'hyper-realistic blood' nonsense, and don't contribute to the meta aspect of the game at all. The characters are all shallow and the mental illnesses are handled with about as much tact as a child with a paintbrush. I'm not one to get triggered, but the fact that gruesome suicide was used in this game literally just because 'haha get spooked' genuinely upsets me.

This isn't to say the game did nothing good.

There were some points where is was legitimately getting invested in the game. Monika's poems evolving and seeing how her attempts to alter the world kept backfiring on her were interesting, but they were spoiled by the developers resorting to cheap scares that had no place in the game. Sayori's death scene was really well presented and impactful, but after playing fairly thoroughly through run 2 its soured by the idea that the dev was just using mental illness as a cheap way to get the player to feel sorry for the characters. Which, hey, I can understand, because the characters themselves feel like they were literally pulled from TVTropes, having about as much depth to them without their illnesses as any random girl from the latest harem show. Which, sure, I can see as being the point. But it's a bad point. The game doesn't do enough with any of the characters to make up for their generic personalities, and as I mentioned earlier, what it tried to do was clumsy and cheap.

I suppose that's my biggest problem with the game. In general, it's just cheap. I originally walked away from the game thinking "Yeah, that was okay", but this is the result of my stewing on it. What frustrates me the most, is that I think the game could have been something genuinely good. Despite what I said earlier, there was one character I liked in Natsuki. She was the only character in the game who, personally, I think was handled well. And she wasn't even that much better than the rest of the cast. The whole lot of them are cute, I'll admit, but the only one who I felt had enough thought put into their character for them not to be a vehicle for the game to spook you was Natsuki. I can understand the argument that the game is about Monika, but aside from her being a fairly generic yandere, her friends feeling like unfeeling machine also inhibits her arc, considering her redemption is based on how much she loves them.

If you ask me, the game needed longer in the oven. It needed to flesh out the characters a bit more, cut the fat of the cheap scares, and tighten up its meta narrative just a few more notches.

AHHHHHH

This was mostly just rant. Not even going to proofread. Fight me if you want. I just needed to get this off my chest.

Natsuki best girl.

True! Although, in its defence, it's a 100% free game, and was made independently by one guy (as far as I'm aware at least) ... which is why around 1-3 hours of content took 2 years to make. When considered by those standards, I think it's great! If you compare it to professionally-made projects though, of course it's going to pale in comparison.

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

True! Although, in its defence, it's a 100% free game, and was made independently by one guy (as far as I'm aware at least) ... which is why around 1-3 hours of content took 2 years to make. When considered by those standards, I think it's great! If you compare it to professionally-made projects though, of course it's going to pale in comparison.

Mmm, one of my main points is that the game should have just had a longer dev time, though. You can spend two things on a project. Time and money. The biggest problem with the game I had was the writing, and that's one of the things that you can definitely just spend time on if you don't have the money. It's even one of the things where time is arguably more valuable than money.

I can understand the idea of it being 'good for being free', but I'm bothered that the game is getting much more praise than I think it deserves. I forgot to mention in my post that on a technical level it's actually quite cool, the file tampering blends into the gameplay pretty seamlessly, the poem writing was an unobtrusive minigame and cool way to contextualize route selection and hey, the art is good too. But that's not particularly revolutionary at this point, so the lacking writing really lets the game down for me. Which, sorry for repeating, isn't something that you need money to improve.

 

[KyroMontresor]

Mmm, one of my main points is that the game should have just had a longer dev time, though. You can spend two things on a project. Time and money. The biggest problem with the game I had was the writing, and that's one of the things that you can definitely just spend time on if you don't have the money. It's even one of the things where time is arguably more valuable than money.

I can understand the idea of it being 'good for being free', but I'm bothered that the game is getting much more praise than I think it deserves. I forgot to mention in my post that on a technical level it's actually quite cool, the file tampering blends into the game play pretty seamlessly and hey, the art is good too. But that's not particularly revolutionary at this point, so the lacking writing really lets the game down for me. Which, sorry for repeating, isn't something that you need money to improve.

SPOILERS: I see your point when it comes to the characters being rather generic, but for a game that is two hours in length, I'd say that's going to be a given. Archetypes/stereotypes exist in media because they are easy to understand and relate to. Sayori is your typical "Feel-good" character, Natsuki is pretty much a tsundere, Yuri is the anti-social bookworm, and Monika is the one ousted from them all, jealous to yandere-type extremes. Your point stands that their personalities are not very fleshed out, but that could be the idea, given that this sort of game spoofs your average harem-visual novel.

Some of the scares were unnecessary, you're right. The one concerning Natsuki when she complains that you didn't read with her... It seemed to be there entirely for shock value. Still, I praise the game on some of its subtly, where it simply uses certain words that put you on edge. At the end of the first act, the shock of Sayori's suicide stayed with me through the game, and the use of minor visual effects or unusual text made sure I wouldn't be able to relax.

I don't disagree with the majority of your points. The writing could have been a bit better, the characters were stereotypical, some scares were unnecessary, the meta-ness (though unfortunately uncommon in most games) wasn't particularly original, but in the end, I feel like the game delivered what it promised: a psychological horror experience. If anyone were to say that, going into this game blind, they weren't at least unsettled, I wouldn't believe them.

Coincidentally, however, I feel like they didn't do enough with Natsuki's character. Not to say I didn't enjoy her presence in the game, she was probably my second favorite character, but I feel like her development was less than that of the others in the story.

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

SPOILERS: I see your point when it comes to the characters being rather generic, but for a game that is two hours in length, I'd say that's going to be a given. Archetypes/stereotypes exist in media because they are easy to understand and relate to. Sayori is your typical "Feel-good" character, Natsuki is pretty much a tsundere, Yuri is the anti-social bookworm, and Monika is the one ousted from them all, jealous to yandere-type extremes. Your point stands that their personalities are not very fleshed out, but that could be the idea, given that this sort of game spoofs your average harem-visual novel.

Some of the scares were unnecessary, you're right. The one concerning Natsuki when she complains that you didn't read with her... It seemed to be there entirely for shock value. Still, I praise the game on some of its subtly, where it simply uses certain words that put you on edge. At the end of the first act, the shock of Sayori's suicide stayed with me through the game, and the use of minor visual effects or unusual text made sure I wouldn't be able to relax.

I don't disagree with the majority of your points. The writing could have been a bit better, the characters were stereotypical, some scares were unnecessary, the meta-ness (though unfortunately uncommon in most games) wasn't particularly original, but in the end, I feel like the game delivered what it promised: a psychological horror experience. If anyone were to say that, going into this game blind, they weren't at least unsettled, I wouldn't believe them.

Coincidentally, however, I feel like they didn't do enough with Natsuki's character. Not to say I didn't enjoy her presence in the game, she was probably my second favorite character, but I feel like her development was less than that of the others in the story.

Starting from the end, I'd argue that none of the characters actually developed except for Monika. All the changes in characters in the game were forced by her game-tampering, rather than actually being the results of the plot, their, or your actions. The reason why Natsuki feels like she lacks development is because she isn't tampered with by Monika, other than her memories being wiped. Her relationship with her father is instead.

The reason I liked Natsuki the best is that Salvato did just enough to make me care about her. She was the only one in the game that felt like a tropey character, rather than a character trope, if that makes sense. I'm not against archetypes in general, but you need to do more than just 'copy paste' them into your story. An example of something with basic tropey characters that do their job none the less is Undertale.

Like I mentioned in my response to Slade, the came comes close to being something good, but it think it falls short. I probably wouldn't have posted here if it wasn't for that Overwhelmingly Positive rating on Steam and how everyone seems to be treating it like its the best thing since sliced bread.

 

[Slade]

Mmm, one of my main points is that the game should have just had a longer dev time, though. You can spend two things on a project. Time and money. The biggest problem with the game I had was the writing, and that's one of the things that you can definitely just spend time on if you don't have the money. It's even one of the things where time is arguably more valuable than money.

I can understand the idea of it being 'good for being free', but I'm bothered that the game is getting much more praise than I think it deserves. I forgot to mention in my post that on a technical level it's actually quite cool, the file tampering blends into the gameplay pretty seamlessly, the poem writing was an unobtrusive minigame and cool way to contextualize route selection and hey, the art is good too. But that's not particularly revolutionary at this point, so the lacking writing really lets the game down for me. Which, sorry for repeating, isn't something that you need money to improve.

I think the reason why it's so popular is because it's very -- this probably isn't the best way of putting it -- easy to digest? Like Kyro said, it takes 2 hours to finish on average, so you don't really need to invest a lot of time to absorb the message. It's short, simple, and somewhat straightforward so it tends to draw in a larger population. Also, hype likes to touch itself, so there's that.

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

I think the reason why it's so popular is because it's very -- this probably isn't the best way of putting it -- easy to digest? Like Kyro said, it takes 2 hours to finish on average, so you don't really need to invest a lot of time to absorb the message. It's short, simple, and somewhat straightforward so it tends to draw in a larger population. Also, hype likes to touch itself, so there's that.

Yeah. It's popular for similar reasons to anime like re:Zero and Erased. Its got a good hook, is easy to get into, and has strong presentation.

 

[KyroMontresor]

Starting from the end, I'd argue that none of the characters actually developed except for Monika. All the changes in characters in the game were forced by her game-tampering, rather than actually being the results of the plot, their, or your actions. The reason why Natsuki feels like she lacks development is because she isn't tampered with by Monika, other than her memories being wiped. Her relationship with her father is instead.

The reason I liked Natsuki the best is that Salvato did just enough to make me care about her. She was the only one in the game that felt like a tropey character, rather than a character trope, if that makes sense. I'm not against archetypes in general, but you need to do more than just 'copy paste' them into your story. An example of something with basic tropey characters that do their job none the less is Undertale.

Like I mentioned in my response to Slade, the came comes close to being something good, but it think it falls short. I probably wouldn't have posted here if it wasn't for that Overwhelmingly Positive rating on Steam and how everyone seems to be treating it like its the best thing since sliced bread.

Ah, I suppose "development" wasn't the right word, since you're right that most of them didn't change at all. A better word would be "revelation." The secrets that were uncovered throughout the game relative to each character.

I'm sure a reason that I feel that Natsuki's character was underwhelming is because she was hardly touched by Monika. There are other reasons, mostly due to the fact that the issues she deals with don't directly contrast her personalities like the other characters. Sayori's a ball of depression wrapped in a happy-go-lucky bow, Yuri is a quiet character with obsessive tendencies causing her to break such a facade, and Monika is a caring club president willing to kill them all. Natsuki, however, is mean and abrasive because her father is the same way. Perhaps this is why we feel differently about her: Her "issues" explain her personality. I don't think that's a good thing, but perhaps you do. Food for thought

But in the end, I feel that the characters people like the most probably stem from how relatable they are to the player.

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

Ah, I suppose "development" wasn't the right word, since you're right that most of them didn't change at all. A better word would be "revelation." The secrets that were uncovered throughout the game relative to each character.

I'm sure a reason that I feel that Natsuki's character was underwhelming is because she was hardly touched by Monika. There are other reasons, mostly due to the fact that the issues she deals with don't directly contrast her personalities like the other characters. Sayori's a ball of depression wrapped in a happy-go-lucky bow, Yuri is a quiet character with obsessive tendencies causing her to break such a facade, and Monika is a caring club president willing to kill them all. Natsuki, however, is mean and abrasive because her father is the same way. Perhaps this is why we feel differently about her: Her "issues" explain her personality. I don't think that's a good thing, but perhaps you do. Food for thought

But in the end, I feel that the characters people like the most probably stem from how relatable they are to the player.

Well, I'd disagree that the other issues don't explain their characters. Yuri's obsessive tendencies and shyness are both the result of isolation and just looking at comedians is enough to show that playing the happy guy is a common coping mechanism for depression. Monika is the only one of the bunch that doesn't have this, and its because- as indicated by Sayori losing it when Monika deletes herself- hers are a result of her meta powers. I can see taking issue with Natsuki being the only one not directly meddled with by Monika, but I'd argue thats just another flaw in the games writing. Setting up a scenario with Sayori and Yuri that Natsuki doesn't follow for some reason.

But in the end, I feel that the characters people like the most probably stem from how relatable they are to the player.

This is definitely true for fiction in general, but when I talk about which character is the best I mean from a writing perspective not a 'my waifu' one. Natsuki just happens to be my favorite too, haha.

 

[KyroMontresor]

Well, I'd disagree that the other issues don't explain their characters. Yuri's obsessive tendencies and shyness are both the result of isolation and just looking at comedians is enough to show that playing the happy guy is a common coping mechanism for depression. Monika is the only one of the bunch that doesn't have this, and its because- as indicated by Sayori losing it when Monika deletes herself- hers are a result of her meta powers. I can see taking issue with Natsuki being the only one not directly meddled with by Monika, but I'd argue thats just another flaw in the games writing. Setting up a scenario with Sayori and Yuri that Natsuki doesn't follow for some reason.


This is definitely true for fiction in general, but when I talk about which character is the best I mean from a writing perspective not a 'my waifu' one. Natsuki just happens to be my favorite too, haha.

Personally I wouldn't say obsessive tendencies stem from isolation. It's true that stressful situations can cause mental disorders, but what one views as stressful changes depending on the individual (But I guess trying to justify a cause of mental disorders for a fictional character is arbitrary). As for Sayori's character, I touched on it earlier in the forum, concerning how her depression is very "come and go" you could say.

"...one thing that's bugging me is Sayori at the end of the game, when she becomes self aware in place of Monika. Both in the normal ending and special ending, Sayori seems ecstatic that she finally knows about the world outside the game, but Monika tells us that the feeling she had most about such an epiphany is the fact that she's truly and utterly alone in that world. This is odd to me, that Sayori, who is secretly depressed, would be so happy in a world where she really is alone, where everything she thought was real was truly a lie.

It only gets more confusing with the fact that she IS aware of such truths. When you begin the game anew and delete Monika, when starting a new game, Sayori starts with a bit of dialogue:

"What is this? What am I? This can't be all there is!"

This hints that these revelations are instantly clear to her once Monika is out of the picture and she, Sayori, is self aware. This almost instantly causesSayori to, seemingly, delete all of the other characters, including herself. She literally commits suicide of her own volition, without her personality being altered by Monika. So why doesn't she do the same at the end of the game? What is different? That is my question."

This could just be a plot point overlooked by Salvato, but I couldn't confirm that. To me, it seems like all four characters could far more in depth than the game truly shows. With all of the secrets, hidden codes, RNG events, and so on, one could theorize that here's more going on than meets the eye. I'm pretty sure it's no secret that Salvato's next game will have ties to this one, so there's bound to be things hidden even from those who spend hundreds of hours combing through the game. I just hope it won't get to the point that FNAF has.

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

Personally I wouldn't say obsessive tendencies stem from isolation. It's true that stressful situations can cause mental disorders, but what one views as stressful changes depending on the individual (But I guess trying to justify a cause of mental disorders for a fictional character is arbitrary). As for Sayori's character, I touched on it earlier in the forum, concerning how her depression is very "come and go" you could say.

"...one thing that's bugging me is Sayori at the end of the game, when she becomes self aware in place of Monika. Both in the normal ending and special ending, Sayori seems ecstatic that she finally knows about the world outside the game, but Monika tells us that the feeling she had most about such an epiphany is the fact that she's truly and utterly alone in that world. This is odd to me, that Sayori, who is secretly depressed, would be so happy in a world where she really is alone, where everything she thought was real was truly a lie.

It only gets more confusing with the fact that she IS aware of such truths. When you begin the game anew and delete Monika, when starting a new game, Sayori starts with a bit of dialogue:

"What is this? What am I? This can't be all there is!"

This hints that these revelations are instantly clear to her once Monika is out of the picture and she, Sayori, is self aware. This almost instantly causesSayori to, seemingly, delete all of the other characters, including herself. She literally commits suicide of her own volition, without her personality being altered by Monika. So why doesn't she do the same at the end of the game? What is different? That is my question."

This could just be a plot point overlooked by Salvato, but I couldn't confirm that. To me, it seems like all four characters could far more in depth than the game truly shows. With all of the secrets, hidden codes, RNG events, and so on, one could theorize that here's more going on than meets the eye. I'm pretty sure it's no secret that Salvato's next game will have ties to this one, so there's bound to be things hidden even from those who spend hundreds of hours combing through the game. I just hope it won't get to the point that FNAF has.

It's clear that Sayori's are supposed to, though. She's been isolated in the past so she's clingy to the people she has now, which results in her going fully blown yandere when Monika 'amps her up'.

Sayori isn't the one to delete herself in the post-Monica end. Monica is. It's implied that being 'President' and obtaining the meta powers makes a character drunk on power, so Sayori immediately does the same thing that Monika does, then Monika re-enters the game and shuts it down for good. Monica's epiphany is implied to come before you arrive, but Sayori's comes after, as well as being loaded up with memories of everything Monika did, so she's just happy that she gets to spend forever with you. The character she is in the rest of the game basically doesn't matter once she gets the god powers. It's more of the meta-narrative rather than the character one.

The good end is still more meta stuff. About inevitability what whatnot.

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

Personally I wouldn't say obsessive tendencies stem from isolation. It's true that stressful situations can cause mental disorders, but what one views as stressful changes depending on the individual (But I guess trying to justify a cause of mental disorders for a fictional character is arbitrary). As for Sayori's character, I touched on it earlier in the forum, concerning how her depression is very "come and go" you could say.

"...one thing that's bugging me is Sayori at the end of the game, when she becomes self aware in place of Monika. Both in the normal ending and special ending, Sayori seems ecstatic that she finally knows about the world outside the game, but Monika tells us that the feeling she had most about such an epiphany is the fact that she's truly and utterly alone in that world. This is odd to me, that Sayori, who is secretly depressed, would be so happy in a world where she really is alone, where everything she thought was real was truly a lie.

It only gets more confusing with the fact that she IS aware of such truths. When you begin the game anew and delete Monika, when starting a new game, Sayori starts with a bit of dialogue:

"What is this? What am I? This can't be all there is!"

This hints that these revelations are instantly clear to her once Monika is out of the picture and she, Sayori, is self aware. This almost instantly causesSayori to, seemingly, delete all of the other characters, including herself. She literally commits suicide of her own volition, without her personality being altered by Monika. So why doesn't she do the same at the end of the game? What is different? That is my question."

This could just be a plot point overlooked by Salvato, but I couldn't confirm that. To me, it seems like all four characters could far more in depth than the game truly shows. With all of the secrets, hidden codes, RNG events, and so on, one could theorize that here's more going on than meets the eye. I'm pretty sure it's no secret that Salvato's next game will have ties to this one, so there's bound to be things hidden even from those who spend hundreds of hours combing through the game. I just hope it won't get to the point that FNAF has.

Reposting because I misunderstood your post, sorry.

"It's clear that Yuri's are supposed to, though. She's been isolated in the past so she's clingy to the people she has now, which results in her going fully blown yandere when Monika 'amps her up'.

It's implied that being 'President' and obtaining the meta powers makes a character drunk on power, so Sayori immediately does the same thing that Monika does, then Monika re-enters the game and shuts it down for good. Monica's epiphany is implied to come before you arrive, but Sayori's comes after, as well as being loaded up with memories of everything Monika did, so she's just happy that she gets to spend forever with you. The character she is in the rest of the game basically doesn't matter once she gets the god powers. It's more of the meta-narrative rather than the character one." This still applies, though.

In the 'Delete Monika Early' end, Sayori's hit with the revelation early, and without the knowledge of what Monika is going to do. So, instead of losing it she just shuts down completely and takes the game with her.

In contrast, if you've spent time with everyone she's instead effected by your kindness and just lets things come to a close.

Thinking about that myself, the ending has warmed up to me a bit, but my issues with the central chunk of the game remain.

I'll play Salvato's next game regardless to see if it sheds some positive light on this one. But until then I'm not much for 'maybe these characters are better than they seem' kind of thinking.