Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!

Writing poems for your crush is a pretty gentle thing to do while you’re pedaling, right up until the game starts making you wonder why you agreed to spend time with these people. I’d save it for an easy workout, because this one asks more from your attention than your hands.

Gameplay

The poem writing is a clever little excuse to get you attached to the characters, and I think it works better than it has any right to. You choose words that appeal to someone, then get to see how they react, so there’s a small decision to make without turning every minute into a strategy meeting. I’d probably enjoy that part at a low pace. It’s still a lot of reading.

And then the tone starts to shift. I won’t get into the details, because the game is better when you don’t know what’s coming, but the horror isn’t just a spooky scene dropped between the dating sim parts. It messes with the kind of story you think you’re playing, which is a good idea and also makes me feel a little silly for getting comfortable with a fictional school club.

The slow pace is the point, and that’s where the game loses me as a workout companion. You spend a lot of time reading dialogue and waiting for the next thing to happen, so it doesn’t keep your mind busy in the way a game with more frequent decisions would. I don’t know that I’d call the poem choices enough to carry a whole run, especially once you’ve got the rhythm of them down. You could read a page of a book instead, though the book probably won’t start acting strange.

The Plus version also has side stories and extra material to unlock, which gives you more time with the characters outside the main story. That’s nice if you want more of the world and the people in it, but I wouldn’t count on that material changing the basic workout fit. It’s still mostly sitting with the text and letting the story unfold. I like that it gives you more to explore, but I’d be more excited about it on the couch.

Category Score: 1 out of 3

Treadmill and Bike Compatibility

A treadmill can turn a quiet story into a small reading challenge, and I think that’s the part you’ll want to decide on before you start. You can move at a slow walk and follow the dialogue, but if you’re running hard, I’d expect your eyes to keep leaving the belt and your brain to miss a line or two. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want the dramatic reveal to be something I have to reconstruct from the last three dialogue boxes.

The controls are simple, and the game waits for you instead of demanding quick reactions, so you can pause whenever you need to look down or catch your breath. Controller play is a sensible way to handle it, and there isn’t precision aiming or fast movement to fight while you’re moving. The problem is less your thumbs and more that reading while bouncing around is a weird little job.

On a bike, I think this is easier to manage, especially at a relaxed pace where you can keep your eyes on the screen without negotiating with every step. That doesn’t mean you have to turn the workout into a literature class, because you can stop between sections and pick it back up later. I’d probably avoid trying to read during a hard interval, then return to it when the bike’s doing less of the talking.

You can also give the side stories a separate workout slot if you want the extra character time without mixing it into the main plot. I’d skip this for a run where you need the game to pull your attention away from your legs, since long stretches of dialogue can leave you alone with your own pacing. Which is fine, if that’s what you came for.

Category Score: 3 out of 3

Computer Requirements

This should run on a modest computer, and integrated graphics are enough according to the minimum requirements. I’d check that your system can run a 64 bit version of Windows and has a little storage free, then stop worrying about the graphics card.

Category Score: 3 out of 3

Conclusion and Score

Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! is a good fit for an easy bike ride or a slow walk if you want a strange story and don’t mind reading while you exercise. I wouldn’t choose it for a run where I need the game to keep me moving, but the people who want a quiet workout with a horror story gradually getting under their skin should give it a try.

Overall Score: 2.33 out of 3