Why breaking the fourth wall doesn't really work | Doki Doki Literature Club impressions
I announced last year that I would like to play more visual novels in the upcoming year. And so I did.
I chose Doki Doki Literature Club, and what sealed the deal was... that it was free. As the old Polish meme says: "Free is an honest price!" I admit that the awareness of its short length also influenced my choice.
Although I want to focus on the designer's choices, I probably won't avoid spoilers. Consider yourself warned!
Let's start with something positive. It's been ages since I read romantic manga, so returning to sweet manga-style high school girls and their typical chatter about nothing (I'm a guy, sorry) required a bit of effort to get used to. It was worth it, as the game provides (at least initially) a good slice-of-life story and is worthwhile until the end of the first act.
The problems I had with the game only started here. The first act essentially ends with the word "end," which tempted me to finish there and just dismiss the rest of the game. I knew that the game didn't end there, so I started over.
Playing the same game but without a crucial character was strange: on the one hand, you don't know where the plot might be heading, on the other hand, replaying almost the same scenes was a bit boring, which the game developers tried to spice up by transitioning from a somewhat solid slice-of-life story with psychological issues to a grotesque tale with a fair amount of self-harm.
Although necessary for the final act, it decreased my enjoyment of the game.
And the finale, one of those that breaks the fourth wall and expects unconventional moves from the player, like deleting the file representing the character from the game files failed me.
I admit that when breaking the fourth wall occurs (the character addresses the player using their OS/Steam username), I felt discomfort, which the game creators probably intended. However, this feeling evaporates when the fourth wall in games is as good as the amount of information it can gather about the player. The username alone doesn't do much. I think I need to stop naming my user using my first name, and just call myself MachoPikachuOfMachuPicchu. Would the game achieve the same effect then?
Waiting for the player to start deleting files killed immersion for me. I became less and less engaged in the story.
Ultimately, everything that was done well throughout the game disappeared by its end.
The fourth wall in a movie will work further because of the lack of immersion there. But games provide immersion, even if it's a visual novel that doesn't necessarily give you engaging features, but it doesn't work as well.
What's the point if a character addresses the player when they can alter the game or simply turn it off? There's no stake or other hook for the player. It's not the right way. It’s a cheap trick, almost like a jump scare.