I have watched gameplays of the side stories and played till Act 1 on DDLC but I cry very easily and cried at the end of Act 1. I am also triggered easily and DDLC is a horror game. How do I play it without getting triggered or anything? :(
It’s a pretty gentle horror game, if you can’t cope then maybe horror games aren’t for you
Why do you want to get into a horror game in the first place, if you don’t handle horror games well? I don’t see how that could work, as shocking and horrifying the player is kind of the whole point of the game.
shocking and horrifying the player is kind of the whole point of the game
I disagree on the “shocking” part here. DDLC is psychological horror. It does have shocking moments, like the end of Act 1, but this is not the main point. It is way more about relationships than about shock moments. Sadly discussing that part of the game (the later acts…) is massive spoiler territory, so I’ll stop here.
The fact remains though, that it is a horror game, and if the end of Act 1 is already too much, then sorry, but it is only going to get worse. A lot worse. (Or, if you enjoy psychological horror: Better. A lot better.)
You don’t.
The game may not be for you, and that’s okay.
Have you played other visual novels? Spending some time in those may help you recognize the tropes of the genre, and then when you see them in DDLC, you’ll know what not to expect since that game is specifically subverting expectations.
As other people have said though, DDLC is very intentionally somewhat upsetting, and there’s nothing wrong with looking up a short synopsis to understand what to expect before deciding for yourself.
If you’re triggered easily, I’m not sure if the game is a good fit for you as it does delve into some deeper, more serious topics.
The only other thing I could think of to try and resolve this issue would be to purposely spoil the plot of the game for yourself by reading summaries in advance and then make the judgement call on whether or not you believe you can handle the subject matter?
One thing I recommend for horror games is to play with a friend (i.e. in the same room). You can even figure out a way to do old-school controller-swapping (for a VN, maybe each chapter, or after a fixed time interval e.g. every 10 minutes). My partner is a huge horror buff, but also has a hard time with the longer periods of stress that horror games impart vs movies, so we play games this way.
I’ve tried to play it through twice and haven’t really been able to get much past Act 1. Only saw hope it ended a bit though a Let’s Play stream.
