Mental Illness in Video Games: Doki Doki Literature Club and The Cat Lady

Mental Illness in Video Games: Doki Doki Literature Club and The Cat Lady

Content warning for discussion of depression, self-harm, and suicide. This article is dedicated to Marissa, who kindly gave me the games.

Mental illness is a complicated thing. People affected by it don’t need me to explain that. As society is becoming more open about discussing mental health issues, it’s important we look at another facet: the portrayal of mentally ill people in media. Often, it’s not great. Instead of being compassionate and accurate, we get harmful stereotypes and misinformation about certain illnesses. Luckily, there have been good depictions in media recently, such as Ilana from Broad City finding unique (and humorous) ways of dealing with her seasonal depression. (more…)

Game Enjambment: Fear (Doki Doki Literature Club!)

Game Enjambment is a reoccurring poetry series on games and gaming.

Doki Doki Literature Club! has quickly become one of the internet’s favorite games. Disguised as a cute visual novel where the player joins his best friend’s new literature club, it drops its innocent facade after less than an hour of gameplay. I made the mistake of not knowing anything about this game before I played it.

This poem contains spoilers for the game’s “twist.”

Doki Doki Literature Club!, Dan Salvato, Team Salvato, 2017

What scared me was not
that Monika was awake.
Neither did her love

push me away. No:
It was the way their faces
snapped, shattering fast.

A twisted head. A
glitch. Memories gone far from

this place. I was

alone,

Read the rest of the Game Enjambment series.

Game Enjambment: Flatlining (Doki Doki Literature Club!)

Game Enjambment is a reoccurring poetry series on games and gaming.

Doki Doki Literature Club! has quickly become one of the internet’s favorite games. Disguised as a cute visual novel where the player joins his best friend’s new literature club, it drops its innocent facade after less than an hour of gameplay. I made the mistake of not knowing anything about this game before I played it.

Content note for suicide.

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Game Enjambment: Sentience (Doki Doki Literature Club!)

Game Enjambment is a reoccurring poetry series on games and gaming.

Doki Doki Literature Club! has quickly become one of the internet’s favorite games. Disguised as a cute visual novel where the player joins his best friend’s new literature club, it drops its innocent facade after less than an hour of gameplay. I made the mistake of not knowing anything about this game before I played it.

I’ve had a lifelong fear of Missing No. that I can’t really explain, but to say that DDLC freaked me out is an understatement.

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Being Sayori: Doki Doki Literature Club and Understanding My Mental Health

Contains spoilers for Doki Doki Literature Club and discussion of self-harm, depression, anxiety, and suicide.

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