Doki-Doki Universe Reviews

Doki-Doki Universe is ranked in the 30th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
5 / 10.0
Aug 7, 2015

Doki-Doki Universe is a fun and happy game to play, but I got bored of it very quickly. After a while the quests became more of a chore. If you have the object you summon it, if you don’t you go to the next world to do whatever quests you can and just keep looping around. This isn’t really exciting to begin with and since it is the foundation of the game you don’t have anything else to keep you interested. While Doki-Doki Universe might not be a fun game for adults to play it is definitely a game that children can enjoy. It’s simple, light hearted and relatively long. There are plenty of worlds to visit and plenty of quests to keep a child occupied for a long time. The game is well made with sharp visuals and a fun story. If you are looking a game to keep a kid occupied, Doki-Doki Universe will be a good choice.

Read full review

64%
May 27, 2016

really wanted to love Doki-Doki, and maybe I did for a while, but I'm glad that it's over. It was different — a good kind of different even — but I'd be lying if I said it didn't bore me every step of the way.

Read full review

Dec 12, 2013

A whimsical, living sketchbook of self-realisation and a quirky look at what it means to be human, Doki-Doki Universe guides players along its absurdist, surreal journey with a cast of weird and wonderful characters, warm storytelling, and offbeat humour. You won't find challenges to beat or puzzles to really solve here, and the game perhaps doesn't do enough to break up the repetition at its core, but Doki-Doki Universe is a strangely uplifting game, one that might just put a smile on your face even as you ponder the definition of love while hurtling through the stars on a flying poo.

Read full review

Unscored
Dec 11, 2013

Doki-Doki Universe wants to be a Pixar film. You know: artful, sentimental, tapping into a core of childlike earnestness that was buried beneath years of front-page tragedies and daily grind. But it wants to play it safe; it avoids getting too weird and abstract, as Noby Noby Boy, another storybook toy-game, did. No, Doki-Doki Universe is a Dreamworks film. It teeters between juvenilia for the kids and knowing winks for the adults, never committing to, or satisfying, either.

Read full review

Unscored
Dec 19, 2013

Doki Doki Universe isn't going to appeal to everyone, it isn't a game that pushes the limits of what is possible, but it is a nice family friendly game that you can go back to time and time again. A game that allows you and your closest to share an experience in a medium that can often be exclusive to outsiders.

Read full review

7 / 10.0
Mar 5, 2014

In the end, Doki-Doki Universe is a fun and unusual romp. It feels like a children's title that also appeals to older gamers thanks to the art style and strange method of conveying its morals to the audience. The game feels like it should only be played in short bursts, due to the monotony that sets in after long sessions of performing the same tasks over and over. The technical glitches on all platforms can be annoying, especially when you play on the presumably weaker hardware. While it isn't for everyone, Doki-Doki Universe is worth checking out if you want something different from the norm.

Read full review

GameGrin
Top Critic
5 / 10.0
Jan 7, 2014

Doki-Doki Universe isn't a game in the traditional sense and, whilst there's some enjoyment to be had in it, the entertainment value was lacking.

Read full review

Unscored
Jan 9, 2014

Few games involve this much personal reflection, both in and out of playtime. Doki-Doki Universe may start as a story about cartoon wackiness, but it ends as a story about you.

Read full review

8 / 10.0
Jan 19, 2014

Doki-Doki Universe isn't a game for everyone. As much as I enjoyed playing through it, I highly recommend checking out some gameplay videos of the game before committing. For those that want to take a cute journey of self-discovery, I can't think of a game that does it better.

Read full review

5 / 10.0
Dec 27, 2013

Say what you want about Sony, but their ability to dig through the randomness of third-party content and produce the odd anomaly is almost unrivalled. And really, 'anomaly' is a great way to describe the latest uncovering, HumaNature Studios' Doki-Doki Universe. Ambitiously releasing on PS Vita, PS3 and PS4 at the same time Doki-Doki Universe is a tale about humanity, about self-realisation, about magicing items out of a non-existent hat. It's also about flying poo, but more about that later. Hold on to your (hopefully real) hats, this is about to get crazy. Again.

Read full review

5.5 / 10.0
Dec 9, 2013

On the presentation side, the game is a bucket full of colors, with every world being vibrant and bright. It is a very appealing and cute look that works well with the equally childish look of the characters and planets. As with the presentation side of things, the audio is a mix of 8 bit quirkiness that really shines during the levels. Though the game has some rather annoying sound effects throughout, like the random fart noises that seem to play every time to go to summon an item or way too often when you are talking with people. Outside of that, most of the noises found in the game just work and really expand the experience.

Read full review

6.5 / 10.0
Jan 23, 2014

Doki Doki Universe is enjoyable for the first hour. After that, it becomes unbearably repetitive

Read full review

Dec 19, 2013

The game treats its themes with such absurdity and reductive PSA qualities that there might as well be a planet named Glee.

Read full review

6 / 10.0
Dec 9, 2013

Doki-Doki Universe is a cute and interesting timesink, but some uninspiring stories and mechanic issues keep the game from shining and replayability low.

Read full review

6 / 10
Feb 9, 2014

Doki-Doki Universe is a unique and quirky timewaster that unfortunately runs out of steam due to a lack of challenge and variety in its gameplay. While the colourful characters and brilliant art style keep it off the scrap heap, those craving a more involved experience would be better off summoning a different title to add to their collection.

Read full review

Drew Leachman
Top Critic
7.8 / 10.0
Dec 9, 2013

Originally, I wasn't too thrilled with the game, but after giving it some time and exploring multiple planets, I can see the appeal and I actually enjoyed most of what I played. Just don't expect much action out of the experience and you'll be fine.

Read full review

7.4 / 10.0
Dec 9, 2013

From the creator of ToeJam & Earl comes a game about a robot searching for humanity. Doki-Doki Universe has players flying through twenty different planets, all in hopes of finding what makes humans tick. Meet more than a hundred characters and solve missions in this quirk, though terribly shallow, adventure game for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and PS Vita!

Read full review

7 / 10.0
Dec 9, 2013

Doki-Doki Universe is a very odd, very cute, and very simple game. There isn't a whole lot to it, so don't go in expecting a deep and rewarding adventure title. So long as you don't mind spending an afternoon helping a tiny snowman bond with his father, Doki-Doki will be more than adequate.

Read full review

8.5 / 10.0
Dec 11, 2013

Doki-Doki universe is a gleeful game of self-reflection

Read full review

7 / 10
Dec 9, 2013

Doki-Doki Universe is a simple game that uses humor and eccentricity to carry its warmhearted message.

Read full review