DDLC+ offers a few improvements over the free game so I'll go over each one individually:
Side Stories: These bonus episodes are interesting in theory and have some moments but ultimately seem very cheap and short. The idea behind them is to take the player out of the story and flesh out each girl beyond a simple anime archetype, yet some characters like sayori feel under developed vs what was in DDLC and in general everything seems like its trying too hard. Every character talks like they are in therapy and they all respond with the most perfect, clinical advice you could expect. I get the stories are trying to teach a lesson by how does someone who is very autistic and uncomfortable about social ques like Yuri act perfectly calm and collected during someone's panic attack? Again it seems like a missed opportunity to give Yuri some more character (maybe she had personal experience with panic attacks). There are a few more environments here but no new characters which really hurts some of the stories. Its hard to buy Natsuki's toxic friend when we barely see them and I think the story ends up telling the wrong message about them. Natsuki seemingly cuts off all contact with them due to the fear they'll make fun of her for her vulnerability. The stories may be compelling to those who really like a certain character but I found them overly clinical. Like someone was going down a checklist and reading off all their mental health symptoms rather then actually having normal conversation.
HD art: the updated art looks very nice and fits full screen well. 0 complaints there.
The VM: its a concession made to make the game work on console and it works well enough here. i could see some people being more comfortable with the set up here compared to actually digging through your own files. There is also some lore stuff but the meta lore is pretty boring. I do wish there were some more bells and whistles to it.
The Achievements: minus the rng on some events I do think the achievements do a good job showing you all the game has to offer while also being optional. Due to the RNG involved I would only recommend this to chevo hunters of diehard fans.
Conclusion: I don't think the new content here is good enough to justify the 15$ price tag to those who have played the free version or have access to it but for die hard fans who want more time the characters or those who want to support the team I think its a fine package.
Side Stories: These bonus episodes are interesting in theory and have some moments but ultimately seem very cheap and short. The idea behind them is to take the player out of the story and flesh out each girl beyond a simple anime archetype, yet some characters like sayori feel under developed vs what was in DDLC and in general everything seems like its trying too hard. Every character talks like they are in therapy and they all respond with the most perfect, clinical advice you could expect. I get the stories are trying to teach a lesson by how does someone who is very autistic and uncomfortable about social ques like Yuri act perfectly calm and collected during someone's panic attack? Again it seems like a missed opportunity to give Yuri some more character (maybe she had personal experience with panic attacks). There are a few more environments here but no new characters which really hurts some of the stories. Its hard to buy Natsuki's toxic friend when we barely see them and I think the story ends up telling the wrong message about them. Natsuki seemingly cuts off all contact with them due to the fear they'll make fun of her for her vulnerability. The stories may be compelling to those who really like a certain character but I found them overly clinical. Like someone was going down a checklist and reading off all their mental health symptoms rather then actually having normal conversation.
HD art: the updated art looks very nice and fits full screen well. 0 complaints there.
The VM: its a concession made to make the game work on console and it works well enough here. i could see some people being more comfortable with the set up here compared to actually digging through your own files. There is also some lore stuff but the meta lore is pretty boring. I do wish there were some more bells and whistles to it.
The Achievements: minus the rng on some events I do think the achievements do a good job showing you all the game has to offer while also being optional. Due to the RNG involved I would only recommend this to chevo hunters of diehard fans.
Conclusion: I don't think the new content here is good enough to justify the 15$ price tag to those who have played the free version or have access to it but for die hard fans who want more time the characters or those who want to support the team I think its a fine package.