It was all the way back in 2017 that we first discussed Doki Doki Literature Club, a visual novel that looks like a cute romance on the surface but is actually horror.
I was surprised to look back and see how… sparse… my review is. I really didn’t want to spoil anything.
(After all this time, it’s become so well-known that most people have probably encountered the biggest spoilers in passing even if they haven’t played, but I still won’t spoil any specific details.)
Doki Doki Literature Club also got expanded release in 2021 as Doki Doki Literature Club Plus, which I reviewed for MonsterVine, and then just this past December, it got a mobile port that made the main game available for free with the Plus content purchasable as DLC.
…Except now, four months later, Google decided it isn’t fine after all and removed it from the Google Play Store.
According to the official statement from the developer, it was deemed to violate Google Play’s content guidelines for its “depiction of sensitive themes.”
If you know the game’s content, it’s pretty easy to guess what that might be.
It’s a shame, especially since other storefronts have been putting forth stricter content guidelines for various topics as well, from Steam to itch.io to the Nintendo eShop (although DDLC has only run into trouble with Google). It feels like a common trend nowadays, and not a good one.
Anyway, it remains to be seen if they’ll be able to get Doki Doki Literature Club reinstated on the Play Store or not. (I assume they had already warned about its content like on its other store pages, so I can’t see how it would return if the content itself is the issue, though.) How do you feel about this situation?
On Monday, when we discussed the Level-5 showcase announced for today, I asked if we were excited.
The answer for me turned out to be no, as I completely forgot about it.
In fact, someone had to send me a message asking if I was watching the Level-5 stream for me to even remember that it was today. It had completely slipped my mind.
Considering Level-5 was one of my favorite developers, I guess that settles how much recent developments have influenced me.
But the showcase was this morning, so let’s take a look at what they showed, and be sure to check out the full stream for yourself if you want.
The theme for this showcase was “craftsmanship,” and they began by talking about how the advent of AI has them reflecting on what human craftsmanship is, which would be an encouraging way to start out if not for how much they’ve emphasized using generative AI as part of the process.
Leaving that aside for now, the first game they announced was a mobile puzzle game called Pufflings: Journey Through a Fantasy World that’s also going to have tie-in animated films and merchandise. Next up was an expansion for the mobile game Yokai Watch: Wibble Wobble (which was originally imagined as a new Yokai Watch game before being revamped for Wibble Wobble, so that’s painful, too). Fantasy Life i is also coming to mobile.
Snack World is getting a remake, Snack World: Reloaded for PS5, Switch 2, and PC.
Tiny teasers were shown for the Inazuma Eleven remake and Decapolice, which doesn’t even have a release window now, just “in development.” Holy Horror Mansion also got a new trailer with no release window in sight.
After that, they showed an Inazuma Eleven mobile game and a Switch 2 port of Victory Road, and then it was time for Professor Layton and the New World of Steam.
It looks good, and I really want to be excited. (I had to laugh a little at the trailer calling it “the 7th installment in the Professor Layton series,” though. We’re just not counting Layton’s Mystery Journey at all now.) It’s also now coming to the PS5 and PC in addition to the Switch and Switch 2 versions, with a release window set for later this year.
Professor Layton and the New World of Steam got a large chunk of time compared to the other games in the showcase, so it seems like it will be the next major game they focus on now that Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road and Fantasy Life i are out.
This should be a time of great excitement for someone who loves the Professor Layton series as much as I do, but I’d like some reassurance that they didn’t use generative AI in its development before I can feel properly enthusiastic again. Right now, I just find it difficult to muster up excitement.
How do you feel about the games shown in today’s Level-5 showcase?

