If DDLC didn't have the horror, it wouldn't have been as popular.

[Urkel]

The whole reason why ddlc is great is because it isn't your average visual novel. The writing is actually decent and it makes you attached to the characters, which is great because that is how the game uses that against you. Seeing the characters you care about mentally tortured and killed. While this game doesn't look like a horror game, it most definitely is, and what makes it so great is that it is one of the most unique horror games out there. :)

[Tregrenos]

Meta horror tends to resonate well as a game, more so than it does in any other media. It can be really impactful if used properly as it draws the player more into the game. There are a handful of titles that do this really well that I'd suggest checking out if DDLC was the kind of horror you enjoy.


https://store.steampowered.com/app/1386900/Observer_System_Redux/
Observer is a cyberpunk mystery that has you delving into the memories of the recently deceased to solve the case, but along the way you have to deal with the mental side-effects of these actions. The main character being an elderly man is a contrast to the futuristic setting that adds to the unique atmosphere this game presents.


https://store.steampowered.com/app/282140/SOMA/
Without going into too much detail SOMA will have you questioning the meaning of "self" and "humanity". Made by the developers of the fantastic Amnesia series they are no stranger to atmospheric horror.


https://store.steampowered.com/app/906100/Observation/
Going into the game blind you'll probably be caught off guard from the POV of the experience, but after the broadcast of an unknown signal that effects both the psychological and digital the simple reply of "I don't know." from a computer is pretty damn chilling.

[Tregrenos]

Forgot to mention Ever Forward.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1220370/Ever_Forward/
If you're more into puzzle games than horror then this would be another I suggest if you enjoyed DDLC. I can't quite explain this as the premises are so different, but there's just something about how the digital and spiritual nature of this puzzle game seems to fit well when compared to DDLC. I suppose the closest similarity is that the more I learned about the story the more I cared about the character. It's by no means an easy puzzle game, at least not for me, as it really ramps up the difficulty later in the game.

[Stigma]

That's true. It's a combination of two completely different genres that really has no business being combined. The horror aspect is what makes the game. if it had simly been just another dating sim VN, it would have been quite quickly forgotten

[Mita]

Not sure about it... Not every horror games able to get popular even tho non-horror can able to be more popular than horror games itself tho.

[george.d.cowley]

Why do you want to feel those things?

[Tregrenos]

Originally posted by george.d.cowley:

Why do you want to feel those things?

You may as well ask someone why they watch "The Walking Dead" or "Game of Thrones". People always want to see their favorite character beat the odds and survive, but without a presented peril this survival seems hallow and the characters have the assumed plot armor of a Saturday morning Cartoon. I could go on about "suspense", but you get what I'm saying, right?

[george.d.cowley]

I was hoping for a deeper answer, but thank you for giving a response.

[Urkel]

Originally posted by george.d.cowley:

I was hoping for a deeper answer, but thank you for giving a response.

I enjoy pain. No but all jokes aside, I like horror stuff.

[kwil]

The popularity can be attributed to the "gotcha" aspect of hiding its genre from the player. Whatever else you enjoy beyond that is incidental.

[Dusk_Army]

Originally posted by george.d.cowley:

Why do you want to feel those things?

I can kinda give you an answer for that. Individual preferences aside, people seek out fiction to give them controlled doses of feelings. We have a drive (as a species, more or less) to use our whole spectrum of emotions, even the negative ones like fear and sadness. But we also don't want to actually put in a situation where we need to use our fight or flight response. Enter the horror genre: all the emotional satisfaction of being afraid, with none of the consequences.

I'm kind of cutting it down to the bare minimum here, but maybe that's part of the deeper answer you seek?

[Stigma]

Originally posted by kwil:

The popularity can be attributed to the "gotcha" aspect of hiding its genre from the player. Whatever else you enjoy beyond that is incidental.

Yes, but.. The game doesn't really achieve the "gotcha moment", for two reasons;

On the store page, the game is tagged with psychological horror.
The opening menu has a warning about how disturbing it is.

The only way to really get surprised by the horror aspect here is going in 110% blind, meaning someone else has to boot up the game for you while you look away long enough to miss the warning. This was actually my introduction, but even then I could clearly see Sayori's sayonara moment coming from a mile away as the game wasn't actually subtle regarding this. I simply paused right before that scene and said out loud "She's hanged herself, right?" and was met with awkward silence, which just confirmed my suspicions.
I'm not saying it's bad, but it doesn't really seem to try to hide the genre mixing too much.

[kwil]

Originally posted by Stigma:

Originally posted by kwil:

The popularity can be attributed to the "gotcha" aspect of hiding its genre from the player. Whatever else you enjoy beyond that is incidental.

Yes, but.. The game doesn't really achieve the "gotcha moment", for two reasons;
On the store page, the game is tagged with psychological horror.
The opening menu has a warning about how disturbing it is.
The only way to really get surprised by the horror aspect here is going in 110% blind, meaning someone else has to boot up the game for you while you look away long enough to miss the warning. This was actually my introduction, but even then I could clearly see Sayori's sayonara moment coming from a mile away as the game wasn't actually subtle regarding this. I simply paused right before that scene and said out loud "She's hanged herself, right?" and was met with awkward silence

But it's still the way that it'll snag 90% of the playerbase. They watch a Let's Play, not knowing what they're going into, they get to the end of Act 1, then they decide to play it themselves to see if there's anything they could do differently. That's the story I've heard all the time around here. Personally, I just found it while browsing my recommended feed and definitely did figure out what I could expect. Slice of life transitioning to horror isn't anything new really, But most don't have the memeability that DDLC has, aren't free, and aren't short enough to get normies to try it. Those are the reasons I'd say it's successful.

[Tregrenos]

Originally posted by kwil:

Originally posted by Stigma:

Yes, but.. The game doesn't really achieve the "gotcha moment", for two reasons;
On the store page, the game is tagged with psychological horror.
The opening menu has a warning about how disturbing it is.
The only way to really get surprised by the horror aspect here is going in 110% blind, meaning someone else has to boot up the game for you while you look away long enough to miss the warning. This was actually my introduction, but even then I could clearly see Sayori's sayonara moment coming from a mile away as the game wasn't actually subtle regarding this. I simply paused right before that scene and said out loud "She's hanged herself, right?" and was met with awkward silence

But it's still the way that it'll snag 90% of the playerbase. They watch a Let's Play, not knowing what they're going into, they get to the end of Act 1, then they decide to play it themselves to see if there's anything they could do differently. That's the story I've heard all the time around here. Personally, I just found it while browsing my recommended feed and definitely did figure out what I could expect. Slice of life transitioning to horror isn't anything new really, But most don't have the memeability that DDLC has, aren't free, and aren't short enough to get normies to try it. Those are the reasons I'd say it's successful.

“Normies” as in neurotypical or as a definition for people who normally don’t play dating sims since they see them as boring, rely way too much on stereotypical cookie-cutter characters and/or expected to be just another hentai plot? I only ask because the game itself is essentially telling you not to play it if you experience any issues generally considered non-neurotypical and calling someone who dislikes dating sims for valid reasons is rather insulting. Seen several Youtubers question if they should even upload the game with concern that it’ll involve porn.

[kwil]

Originally posted by Tregrenos:

Originally posted by kwil:

But it's still the way that it'll snag 90% of the playerbase. They watch a Let's Play, not knowing what they're going into, they get to the end of Act 1, then they decide to play it themselves to see if there's anything they could do differently. That's the story I've heard all the time around here. Personally, I just found it while browsing my recommended feed and definitely did figure out what I could expect. Slice of life transitioning to horror isn't anything new really, But most don't have the memeability that DDLC has, aren't free, and aren't short enough to get normies to try it. Those are the reasons I'd say it's successful.

“Normies” as in neurotypical or as a definition for people who normally don’t play dating sims since they see them as boring, rely way too much on stereotypical cookie-cutter characters and/or expected to be just another hentai plot? I only ask because the game itself is essentially telling you not to play it if you experience any issues generally considered non-neurotypical and calling someone who dislikes dating sims for valid reasons is rather insulting. Seen several Youtubers question if they should even upload the game with concern that it’ll involve porn.

I'm pretty sure you've gotten your idea of what a visual novel is from shovelware and western parodies.

And normie is a term weebs use to refer to nonweebs. Or any group that's not "normal" will refer to the general population not in such group. Not something to take offense to. Just convenient language.

[george.d.cowley]

Originally posted by Dusk_Army:

Originally posted by george.d.cowley:

Why do you want to feel those things?

I can kinda give you an answer for that. Individual preferences aside, people seek out fiction to give them controlled doses of feelings. We have a drive (as a species, more or less) to use our whole spectrum of emotions, even the negative ones like fear and sadness. But we also don't want to actually put in a situation where we need to use our fight or flight response. Enter the horror genre: all the emotional satisfaction of being afraid, with none of the consequences.

I'm kind of cutting it down to the bare minimum here, but maybe that's part of the deeper answer you seek?

Thanks.