Steam doesn't age rate their games? That's really bad.
Inb4 people claim its all fearmongering, a quote from first article;
"Some reports, including from The Daily Mail, have linked this to an incident of teenage suicide. In the scrum, there is a degree of misinformation and plenty of alarming quotes from schools, police and Manchester's coroner's office.
Some have reported that the game sends messages to your mobile phone, which according to my research isn't the case. Others have stated it is an online game, when in fact it's played locally.
To enable parents to make an informed choice about the game, and be aware of risks, I?ve created a short video with everything they need to know and steps to mitigate risks.
What About PEGI Rating?
Identifying how old children should be to play the game is made more challenging because UK law doesn't require games sold online to have an age rating. If Doki Doki Literature Club! was sold on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo or Android online stores it would get a PEGI rating because those platforms voluntarily enforce the rating. If it was on the App Store it would have an Apple age rating.
Because the game includes the work "F*ck", this means on the basis of swearing alone (even with out the Mature or Violent themes) it would get at least a PEGI 16 rating if it was released on these platforms or sold in physical form.
But because the game is on Steam it doesn't have to be rated. On the game page it is worth noting that it is listed as Psychological Horror, Visual Novel, Dark, Gore, Violent and Sexual Content. The game page also states that "This game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed". When you start the game this is restated and you are required to confirm you are aged 13 or older. This is helpful but as a parent I'm keen to see Steam adopt a similar approach to consoles and voluntarily require PEGI ratings for all of its games."