Oh,With that pretty, pink text box you typed in the first phrase that came to your head: Riko. You didn’t want to sign your name on this pile of trash for the eighteenth time. You press enter and your eyes open. You’re met with a plain, beige-colored ceiling within your virtual house fromgame yet again: “Doki Doki Literature Club.” In the latter months of 2017, this game was the talk of year. It was something everyone was fawning over because of all the surprises the game once had. The entire Internet was making content for it: fanart, music covers, cosplays, Undertale AU’s, Minecraft videos, etc. Even you joined in with the bandwagon, otherwise, you wouldn’t have the game in the first place.Now that you came back to it, you have all the reasons to remove this game from your Steam Library. It’s a software that was taking up valuable space you could use for other games. It’s just that garbage creepypasta “Sonic.EXE” for losers and hentai artists to unilaterally have an orgasm over. It’s a one-trick pony that won’t be receiving more publicity on BBC News any time soon. The only reason why masses clicked to download this program was because of the plethora of let’s players on YouTube capitalizing on the game’s popularity and jump scares. All of that has diminished at this point. A sequel could garner some more attention, but it’s much too late now for that to happen; the developer of this project isn’t Scott Cawthon. But despite all the reasons to stand against another playthrough, you start up the new game and drag on.At first, you stay in bed, spacing out to think of the myriad of other things that could harbor interest. Maybe you should’ve jumped off your computer and get your jittering hands on agame like “Super Smash Brothers Ultimate.” You can even play it with seven other physical, real-life people and create lasting friendships from there. You might even obtain the love of your life from that. Instead, you decide to continue playing this so-called “game” of girls that only exist inside your virtual delusions.You sigh, crawling out of your bed to begin your quote-on-quote “first day” again. As you continue your playthrough, you’re met upon the same lines of dialogue, the same cutesy characters, the same poem minigame that affects which route you went through. You still questioned why you’re playing this game again. After all, you already went through all the possible routes and actions you could take. You even snooped through the game files to see all the metagame content the visual novel had to offer. At the end of the day, it’s all pointless. That crazy crackhead Monika is the only ending you'll ever get.You finish up your first day and went on to the next, expecting the same events from your last playthroughs. However, as you were going through your second day at the literature club, your eyes dart at something slightly different from the norm. As opposed to the purple bobby pin Yuri usually has on the side of her hair, you see that she has two bobby pins. They were snapped onto her hair at opposing sides of her head, one being red while the other was blue.…Strange, perhaps this was a slight change in character design that Dan Salvato decided and placed in recently? Could it be just a little easter egg for Matthew Patrick to make a 20 minute “theory” video on? Does Dan even update his visual novel? All these trivial questions culminated inside your head. Yet, this was simply a design change and it was something a normal person would look over. Anyone, men especially, can simply comment on how nice her chest is. It’s the first thing they see, not hair accessories. But you still glare at the two, new bobby pins. Bobby pins won’t affect how any route goes in this game, right?You finish up your second day at the literature club, taking note of the small change on Yuri’s hair. Could there be other updates installed into this game? As you reflect, you’re taken to a new scene you haven’t seen before: the school yard. The yard was something you would expect from any visual novel, anime, or manga; a contemporary school with flora lined up neatly along the pavement that students would walk on. It was a pleasant sight to look at, especially since it was new.…Interesting, not only did that supposed “update” you questioned about moments ago came with a slight change to Yuri’s design, but it also gave you this new area. It intrigued you, but it wasn’t enough to impress. It’s probably just a place to add more irrelevant details. If Monika is still in the game, any detail won’t change the inevitable end.Taking a closer look, you spot Yuri standing in the distance somewhere on the right side of your screen. The game gave you the choice to either approach Yuri or simply walk back home. You clicked on the choice to approach her out of bored curiosity, just to greet her. You wonder what small details or other irrelevant things this unexpected update could offer. You thought of the idea of a different ending where it’s not “Just Monika.” Remembering how things went in your last playthroughs, you chuckled at the thought.Suddenly, your eyes widen as you gaze upon… a new person! Your screen showcased Yuri standing right beside someone you never saw in any of your playthroughs. You’re surprised by this addition to the cast. A new character is one of the last things you would ever predict to be in this update. Like all the other people you interact with in this game, it was a girl with the same school uniform that all the others had but it was buttoned up just like Yuri’s. She was a few centimeters taller than Yuri and her face gave the impression that she was a serious, no-nonsense person. Her white, shoulder-length hair radiated her probable elegance. You pondered on what sort of route this girl would lead you through. What was Monika going to do to her?“Hey, Yuri!” You said, attempting to catch her attention as you head towards her.Yuri faced away as predicted, shyly greeting you back. “Oh… H-Hello…”The new girl, which question marks were taking the place of her name in her dialogue box, would turn her eyes towards you and raised a brow. “Huh? Who might this be?” she asked. You were about to ask the same for her.“Ah! Right.” Yuri faces you again, smiling. “Yuka, this is Riko. We’re both new members to the school’s literature club.”Yuka… such a pretty name. It fits in perfectly with the elegant approach her character design was going for.Yuka had chuckled at Yuri revealing which club she signed up for. Her name now appeared in the dialogue box. “I knew you would go for a club like that, Yuri.” She then turned her attention to you and did a little bow. “It’s nice to meet you, Riko. I’m Yuka, Yuri’s friend. We’ve both been so since first grade.”“That’s quite a long time.” You point out.“Yes, it has. It’s sweet that our friendship has stood against the test of time.” Yuri poetically said.Yuka replied, “Indeed.”You take note of the decorum and mannerisms that Yuka took. She seemed to be a teenager with a well-rounded attitude. It gave you the feeling that she was raised within a mansion or a rich family. It made the perfect conditions for a stable, lengthened bond between Yuri and the new character.The conversation between you and the girls directs to small talk. “Ah, Yuri. As I was going to tell, I’ve noticed that there are missing knives from my father’s antique knife collection.” Yuka stated. “You haven’t been taking any, have you?” No… it can’t be. Not this early in the game. You squint at them.“Knives?” Yuri was caught off guard. “A-Ah! I apologize. I’ll turn them back in to you as soon as possible.”“Later today is preferable, thank you.” Yuka said, smiling.Knives!? Mentionedearly in your playthrough!? Yuri stabbing herself isn’t supposed to happened until after Sayori hangs herself! And now knives are brought up only on the second day!? You are immediately caught up by this route. This became an all-kinds-of interesting. You have so many questions. This Yuka girl has you trying to find options to even ask about this “knife collection” to click on. Maybe this route could give you an ending much different from the usual Monika if “knives” are managed to be mentioned early. Sadly, you never got the chance to asked. The girls had to say their goodbyes and the scene ended. So quick, you thought. The day ended with you walking home with Sayori. New dialogue had appeared from her now that you met with the new girl, Yuka.“So, Riko! I see you had a conversation with Yuri and that other girl. Who’s the girl with Yuri?” Sayori asked curiously.“Oh, her? That’s Yuka. Apparently, she was Yuri’s friend since elementary school.” You replied.“A friend… for that long!? That’s so sweet!” An idea came to Sayori. “You should invite Yuka to the literature club!”“Wait… why?” You asked. Yuka didn’t even know enough about you.“I think Yuri will be happy if a friend she knew so long is there.” Sayori smiled. “And maybe she’ll become our friend too, Riko!”The choice of saying yes or no was given. You clicked on yes, just as motivated as Sayori was to become Yuka’s friend.“You’re right. Besides, I think the club could use a few more members than just five.” You said.Sayori smiled. “I’m glad you made that choice.”You went back to your home after a conversation with Sayori. The poem minigame was still what it was, aside from the new bobby pins the chibi Yuri sprite has now. Encouraged by Yuri’s friend, you decided on all the words for a poem that Yuri would prefer. With Yuka, you wanted to see what was going to happen. You wanted to see where she takes you, even if it could lead you to the same disappointing ending of Just Monika. You now had a reason to play through this visual novel again.