Interactive novels. visual novels
And there is Kojima too.
In the "Best in Genre" section, we have already talked about, and. In the new collection we have collected the best visual novels, which are worth getting acquainted with for those who are completely unfamiliar with such a specific genre or have just begun to master it.
Policenauts
The first game in the selection could be Hideo Kojima's Snatcher, but we already detail it in a separate article, so we will focus on another project of the master - Policenauts. The genre of Snatcher is difficult to define: Kojima cleverly mixed elements of a quest, a visual novel, an interactive movie, and a shooting gallery.
Although Policenauts borrows mechanics from there, it is perceived more as a cool sci-fi anime and visual novel than a traditional pixel hunting quest. The emphasis is on dialogues and animation scenes created by the Japanese studio AIC.
The story starts in an alternate year of 2013. A massive Beyond Coast colony has just been built in Earth orbit. For the security of the colony, a special detachment of space police officers was created - "Polysnauts" (from Police and Astronauts), which just consists of main character, John Ingram.
John's happy life ends when an unexpected breakdown occurs while testing the latest space suit, and Ingram is thrown into outer space. The life support system puts him into cryogenic sleep for 25 long years.
The world has changed a lot since then. The polysnauts were disbanded, life has been in full swing in the colony for a long time, and John's acquaintances have become very old. Ingram returns to Earth in Los Angeles, where he opens his own detective agency.
One day, John's ex-wife comes to John's office. After the disappearance of Ingram, she remarried, and is now looking for her husband, who also disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Little does John know that an ordinary kidnapping case will lead him to the Beyond Coast colony, entangle him in crime and bring him together with his old partner Ed Brown.
Policenauts is outdated graphics and gameplay, but it's worth reading the novel for the sake of a fascinating plot. The game has Kojima's traditional maniacal love for little things, unexpected plot twists, regular conspiracies and meticulously written characters. The symbiosis of smart detective and science fiction is extremely rare in video games. - Semyon Kostin
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
In Ace Attorney, the player will take on the role of the talented lawyer Phoenix Wright, who will be involved in five major court cases. Each is conditionally divided into two parts - an investigation and a meeting. In the beginning, Wright examines crime scenes, collects evidence and carefully questions witnesses. When the trial begins, the game makes you think carefully before protesting anything or pointing out important evidence. The case is easy to fail because of the wrong answers in the testimony and the wrong emphasis on the evidence.
The game is linear, besides, the trials are more like a spectacular show than a real court session. Although the latter is more likely to be a plus. After all, in Ace Attorney, it's damn exciting to watch cross-judicial disputes with the exclamation of Objection! During the game, you even get the feeling that you are watching a fascinating detective series.
Based on the first part of Phoenix Wright, it was also shot from the famous Japanese director Takashi Miike. - Semyon Kostin
Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni
When reading “When Cicadas Cry” (as the title of the novel is translated), the old Russian proverb “there are devils in the still waters” is constantly recalled. The events of the novel take place in the early 80s of the last century. Ordinary boy Keichi Maebara moves with his parents to the small village of Hinamizawa. Keichi goes to study in a rural school, where he immediately makes friends with several pretty schoolgirls. The days are measured, the guy has fun with new friends and gradually gets used to the quiet life in the village. Later, Keichi learns that Hinamizawa's past hides terrible secrets, and the good nature of the villagers is just a mask. "Friends" then sewing needle put into a rice ball, then they will seriously try to slaughter.
The series of short stories is divided into 8 chapters - the first four only hint at what is really happening, and the second already answers most of the questions. In each chapter, events are restarted from the very beginning, and the characters who died in the previous chapter are alive again. The cycle begins as a thriller, but over time it transforms into an interesting variation on the theme of "Groundhog Day" with murders, a bunch of mysteries and a pinch of mysticism. Each chapter begins with the bright and cheerful everyday life of the protagonist, gradually slipping into despair and hopelessness.
It's important to note that Cicadas is more of a book than a game because there are no choices or different endings. You can safely turn on the automatic reading function and enjoy the story.
According to the plot of the novel, two anime series, a full-length film and a mini-series with live actors were shot. On Steam, the first four chapters have made a handy toolkit for modifications. - Semyon Kostin
Saya no Uta
After the accident that took the lives of his parents, Fuminori sees the world very differently. The guy's brain is damaged: everything around seems to be shapeless mountains of meat, people look like disgusting monsters. Fuminori is studying to be a doctor, so he quickly understood his problem. In order not to end up in a psychiatric hospital, he hides the disorder from friends and doctors, but this is not easy for him. The brain perverts all signals, even smells and touch. Fuminori is locked in this cage, surrounded by stinking, slimy scraps of meat.
Everything changes when he meets the charming girl Saya. She alone is not seen by the hero as a pile of intestines. She is beautiful, mysterious and full of life. Fuminori undertakes to help Saya in search of her father, and Saya tries to alleviate the suffering of the hero. But the more Fuminori absorbs Sai's beauty, the harder it becomes to endure the disgusting reality around her.
The iconic "Song of Sai" has become for many a ticket to the world of visual novels, and for good reason. This is a short (five-seven hours of reading), unlike any other story at the intersection of romance, psychological thriller, Lovecraftian horror and outright body horror. This is love melancholy and a chilling nightmare. A shocking, uncompromisingly cruel, but sad, full of light sadness love story, for once capable of truly changing the world ... or not. Saya no Uta has three endings that complement each other perfectly. The novella leaves you the right to judge from which side to look at events and what outcome its heroes deserve. And she excels in her main task: Show the world from opposite angles. It is worth accepting its rules, and any outcome of Saya no Uta turns into a piercing, devastating tragedy.
Gen Urobuchi took a story from Osamu Tezuka's children's manga Hi no Tori and rewrote it into a twisted but never vulgar mix of the most seemingly incompatible genres. And the beautiful illustrations of Chuo Higashiguchi and the enchanting music of Zizz Studio make you literally get used to the world of the novel, go all the way to Fuminori and fall in love with Saya as if it were all for real. Not surprisingly, Urobuchi himself fell into depression after Saya no Uta and could not take up new story until Kinoko Nasu asked him to write Fate/Zero. - Artemy Kotov
Kikokugai - The Cyber Slayer
Saya no Uta made Gen Urobuchi famous all over the world. But his other work, "The Cyborg Killer", is undeservedly deprived of attention - despite the English and even Russian translation. However, it is not much inferior to "The Song of Saya" and is also a perfect introduction to the genre. This is a small linear novel in which cyberpunk motifs are closely intertwined with oriental fantasy.
This is a world in which martial artists went in two ways: one developed the body, the other developed the spirit. Progress does not stand still, and adherents of the first path happily become cyborgs. But getting rid of body parts, they deprive themselves of the meridian, through which the Qi energy flows. Kong Taolo is not one of those. He is one of the few who still draws strength from his own profound energy. Among other things, this allowed him to learn the technique of thunderbolt: to concentrate a powerful electromagnetic impulse in the palm of his hand. So Kong became the most dangerous killer in the Chinese triad, because not a single cyborg can resist his art.
But once Kong was betrayed and tried to kill by his best friend, and his sister Ruili was killed in the most painful way: with the help of a forbidden operation, her soul was broken into several parts, destroying her brain. Soul shards now exist in the gynoid sex robots used by Kong's former friends: the soul shard makes the robot behave more naturally. But the cyborg killer survived, and now he must destroy the top of the most powerful triad in China in order to find out what made his friends treat him this way. And return his sister: an underground neurosurgeon gave Kong a special gynoid, into which fragments of Ruili's soul can be pumped.
All in the best traditions of Gen Urobuchi. Kikokugai is the ultimate dark, oppressive, brutal tragedy set in a filthy, violent yet nuanced future world. This is a dashing action movie that combines high technology with martial arts, and each fight is unique and reveals the details of the world of the novel. The clouds are constantly thickening, the opponents are getting stronger, and Kong himself is weakening, exhausting himself and turning into a hunted bloodthirsty beast. The story is saturated with despair and grief, but leaves a dim ray of hope, which you want to cling to again and again in a naive belief in a happy outcome.
Cyborg Slayer is the perfect excuse for cyberpunk fans to jump into the visual novel genre. This is a concise, fast-paced, tense, unforgettable story in a non-trivial setting. In addition, Kikokugai has a soundtrack that immerses you in the lyrics. And in 2011, a remake was released, giving the novella voice acting and new, luxurious graphics. - Artemy Kotov
Fate/Stay Night
The visual novel Fate/stay night was created by Type-Moon, which back in 2000 was a small circle of amateurs who sold their creations at themed festivals. Fame came to Type-Moon after the release of the dark novel "Moon Princess" (Tsukihime). Although the novella has become widespread (its remake is being developed now), Fate / Stay Night has become the most ambitious and recognizable work. For 13 years, the franchise has released a full-fledged sequel and prequel, several fighting games and a role-playing game. The Fate series brings a steady income every year, so various branches are constantly released in the franchise. Recently, the mobile role-playing game Fate/Grand Order has received great success.
The main game of the series attracts with its scale and elaboration of the universe. The world of Fate/Stay Night has mages and magic. There is also an association of magicians, hidden from the eyes of the common people. For several centuries, a bloody war periodically arises between magicians for the possession of an artifact - the Holy Grail. According to legend, the Grail can fulfill any wish of the winner. Mages fight with the help of Servants, who are called before the start of the war. Servants are divided into seven classes and represent the reincarnations of both mythical characters (for example, King Arthur or Hercules) and heroes of the past (Alexander the Great, samurai Sasaki Kojiro).
And everything would be fine if a secret war had not started in the small Japanese city of Fuyuki, the birthplace of an ordinary schoolboy Emiya Shiro. The hardened pacifist Shiro not only gets dragged into the war, but also gets his own Saber-class servant. Like it or not, you have to fight.
It will take about 120 hours to complete three giant story arcs. The game has five positive and 40 negative endings. Searching for the latter is especially exciting, because after another death, the player will be shown a funny humorous story in which the characters will give valuable advice and laugh at his stupid deeds. So, for example, choosing to flee during combat can result in both the player's death and a long-awaited rescue. In this novel, it is difficult to determine which choice is correct and which will lead to a bad denouement.
Fate/Stay Night has received a number of re-releases on various platforms (Realta Nua being the best) and several anime adaptations. We recommend that you pay attention to the film adaptation of the novel - a gloomy prequel to the franchise, the plot of which will completely give odds to the original novel. - Semyon Kostin
Clannad
The visual novel Clannad belongs to a specific sub-genre called nakige. A derivative of the verb nakimasu (Jap. to cry) and game. The name of the subgenre hints that when reading the novel, the player will sincerely worry about the characters and is likely to shed a tear. The Clannad franchise is known the world over for its touching and heartbreaking romance anime that still sits at the top of hit lists to this day. For example, on the Russian website World-Art, the second season of Clannad is in sixth place in the top.
High school student Tomoya Okazaki hates his life, city and school. His mother died, and his father drinks heavily. Tomoya believes that nothing will ever change in his life, and therefore he lives one day and does not think about the future at all. Changes begin after Tomoya accidentally meets Nagisa Furukawa, a cute but slightly strange student who dreams of opening a theater club at school. The hero begins to help Nagisa, and soon gets acquainted with other students of the school. Life is slowly getting better.
Even soap opera haters should play Clannad. You constantly come back to the game because of the living characters and the cozy, almost homely atmosphere. It will take more than a hundred hours to complete the game (with all endings). If in the anime, Tomoya chooses Nagisa, then in the novel, you can choose any girl (that's why there are more than 10 endings in the game). Each character has their own personal drama and unsolvable problem, so the novel does not turn into a banal dating sim.
Clannad is a great high school everyday with a good dose of drama and quality romance. latest version games recently on Steam. - Semyon Kostin
Swan Song
A novel sub-genre of utsuge (depressive novel) that sticks to realism and shows the dark side of human nature. "Swan Song" is the story of a group of people who survived a powerful earthquake during the winter frosts. A local post-apocalypse about survival in the midst of devastation, a fierce snowstorm and complete lawlessness.
Swan Song is close in spirit to Golding's Lord of the Flies and many of Stephen King's stories. Fate places people in a closed space, mocks the attempts of sane heroes to maintain order on the verge of death, makes them degenerate and commit monstrous acts. Finally, it awakens in them the inner beast, ready to throw itself at people in the struggle for the right to live at least one more day.
In Swan Song, mysticism and even religious themes are felt, but it is alien to any fantasy. This is a devastating tragedy about fighting the inevitable, about agony and finding solace. - Artemy Kotov
Kara no Shoujo
Post-war Japan, 1956 Private detective Tokisaka Reiji undertakes to help an old friend in investigating a series of brutal murders of girls. The handwriting is reminiscent of a series of murders six years ago, when Reiji's fiancée was one of the victims. As the investigation progresses, the detective meets a strange girl, Kuchiki Toko, who asks him to help her find her "true" self. Reiji has a very difficult, complicated case ahead of him, and the further he goes on the trail, the more obvious the connection between the killer and Toko's mysterious past becomes.
"Shell Girl" is a very creepy, frank, bordering on horror detective. It is full of vivid images and cultural references, but for the most part it is perceived as a Western thriller, so it is easy to recommend it for review. Close to realism, a beautifully drawn and elaborated story that knows how to keep intrigue, surprise and makes you think with your head.
Kara no Shoujo has elements of a detective quest: you inspect crime scenes, study corpses, build logical chains and come to your own conclusions. At first, the game does not let you make a mistake, but in the later stages do not expect any help: you will unravel the case only if you yourself put the puzzle together into a single picture.
Moreover, the novella is very branched. There are several main and more than a dozen "bad" endings, depending on the decisions you constantly make in the dialogues. Kara no Shoujo even has a dating sim element, but it's also very unique. If you spend time romantically with some girl and achieve an erotic climax, you will surely miss the necessary clues, and the investigation will turn into a bloody tragedy.
On the other hand, the heroes and heroines have a lot to tell you, and the full picture of Kara no Shoujo's plot can only be made by seeing all the options. This somewhat brightens up the frustration, because the consequences of your decisions are not always logical, but always inexorable: getting the most correct ending without a guide is another task. But the story is worth it. It is interesting to unravel the tangle of vivid images and complex relationships between the characters until the very end.
Kara no Shoujo is a spin-off of Cartagra, an earlier work by Innocent Grey. In a good way, it’s worth starting with Cartagra, but this is not necessary: it is inferior to its successor in all respects. Kara no Shoujo itself has already received an excellent sequel (Kara no Shoujo - The Second Episode), published in English the year before last, and now the third part is in development. - Artemy Kotov
Steins; gate
There are few large-scale stories about time travel at all, but as changeable and complex as Steins; Gate - you almost don't remember. A young student Okabe Rintaro, who imagines himself a mad scientist, accidentally invented a time machine. This did not require plutonium and DeLorean, because the main character created it using an ordinary microwave and a mobile phone. Okabe himself does not physically travel in time, but his messages sent from his cell phone to a converted microwave do.
"Stein's Gate" will satisfy the tastes of almost any player. Interesting science fiction about a time machine mixed with Groundhog Day, comedy and thriller. All these genres coexist perfectly with each other. The plot takes place in different timelines, and the messages sent entirely determine which one the player will fall into (there are seven endings in the game).
Whether you like anime romance or bloody thrillers, there's a visual novel for you.
Visual novels are full of clichés, but the scope of the genre is not limited to the hot romance or everyday life of Japanese students. Over the past few years, more and more really talented Developers have been creating experimental short novel-like games and clever reimaginings of typical anime tropes, and that's when it all started. Now visual novels are super cool.
However, choosing where to start can be difficult. For those who have sat in a tank up to this point and now want to understand what's what, we have compiled a list of the best visual novels on PC - from traditional Japanese games that launched the genre, to ambitious and unique experiments with the format.
Undeniably, this is a complete list, and every visual novel deserves your attention. We heartily recommend trawling itch.io looking for hidden indie gems under the "visual novel" hashtag. But, if you want to get started, this list contains the best options.
In the west, Clannad only came out a couple of years ago, but in that time it has become one of the most popular visual novels ever released. Here and anime, and cinema, and manga, even an audio drama. The novel tells the story of Tomoya Okazaki, a "delinquent" (this is a quotation, these are not my words) who is trying to cope with an existential crisis. He meets Nagiza Furukawa, another "delinquent" with whom he has a lot in common, and they start working together to restart the school's drama club, inviting students to join along the way.
Clannad is the game you need if you like visual novel stereotypes. It was released back in 2004, and therefore shows the first shoots of the genre, even if it may seem familiar to someone in this regard. What really stands out about visual novels is the quality of the writing, the interesting characters, and the point of view that you can't help but draw in. Even without the minutiae of modern games, Clannad does the job admirably.
This is a story about a young man who learns to create his own happiness. Tomoya's story can be seen as analogous to depression, without falling into the wide traps of sexy girls, but with a search for something marked with a tragic label. It may sound cliché, but it's not because the idea is unoriginal, it's just that people have been copying Clannad for the last ten years.
If you like to get your hands dirty with puzzles, the Zero Escape series might the best choice For you. There are three games in the series: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors; Virtue's Last Reward and Zero Time Dilemma. The first two were only translated to PC in 2017 (with overhauled visuals and new voice acting) in a package called "The Nonary Games". Zero Time Dilemma was released as a standalone game.
In each game, nine people are trapped in some place by a mysterious man named Zero. Each of them has wrist watch with some number on the screen, and everyone is given the opportunity to escape after solving puzzles on 9 doors. Everything becomes like "Saw" when people start to die very terribly - for example, standing under an acid shower or because of a bomb implanted in the stomach.
However, you are not only reading all the time. Point-and-click pieces make you solve puzzles to get through each door. Some of them become more difficult as you continue: for example, you will have to decipher an unknown language made up of characters. They never seem to be easily passable, and rarely is there something as simple as, for example, the Tower of Hanoi put together in an unlimited amount of time.
Zero Escape is dark, but the story is eerily entertaining and well told. The choices you make are reflected in the different endings, and the puzzles fit in like no other visual set. The way you as the player (as opposed to you as the character) know something the characters don't is played with dark irony when thinking about different timelines and endings.
The full title is: "My twin brother made me switch clothes with him, and now I have to deal with Geeky Stalker and Pretty Dominant who want to tie me up!!" But try not to think about it. As something that could be called a visual novel in a classic style, Ladykiller in a Bind is all about the social manipulation of a group of horny teenagers. The setting is what rich kids call a school trip, and what the rest of us call something that happens only once in a lifetime, on a cruise. You are The Beast, a lesbian who is not shy about flirting or luring you into your bedroom. For mysterious reasons, her twin brother, a manipulative jerk, forced her to pretend to be him on a cruise, and she really wants to "walk around", but keeping her appearance so as not to arouse suspicion.
Social manipulation - main point games. You need to choose the right words and phrases in the middle of conversations to keep up the illusion that you are your twin brother while trying to connect with every woman on the cruise. This mixture of social manipulation and the role of a jerk (the heroine herself is very overacting) is executed just fine, and if you're lucky, it will lead to more than a few hot scenes with other students.
Without a doubt, Ladykiller in a Bind is a game for adults. While the sex scenes can be turned off and the nudity hidden, you'll get to know the characters much more closely than any well-written sex scene - though it doesn't have the calf tenderness you'd find in an aunt's library.
Steins;Gate is a time travel story that explores the intricate connection between cause and effect. Rintar Okabe, the mad scientist who plays the role of the protagonist, has created a time machine that can send messages to the past. Using it, he and others begin to work to improve the future by influencing actions in the past.
Unexpected, branching lines are a must-have for the genre - Zero Escape does a great job of showing how this can be used to great effect - but Steins;Gate takes the time travel theme to the extreme in a wild way. Cause and effect become confusing, future actions affect the past and place the characters in completely unpredictable circumstances. All major events can change even if you pick up the phone.
However, the storyline never confuses so much, which is very cool. Each ending of Steins;Gate gives meaning to each ending - even the ones where you royally screwed up. Therefore, you can see characters from different points vision - from best to worst. After that, they seem so complete that you understand: otherwise it would not have been possible to achieve this.
Perhaps Danganronpa is responsible for making visual novels more popular outside of Japan. At least partially. Like Zero Escape, it combines visual novel and puzzle elements, and follows a group of students who realize that the most prestigious private school Japan is actually a bloody arena.
To survive, a student must kill another and go through a trial arranged by their peers. When other students start killing each other, it's your job as protagonist Matoko Naegi to collect evidence, interrogate suspects, present a case, and find the culprits.
Court sessions are not just a series of dialogues, but real monologues. You, armed with bullets of truth, each representing a piece of evidence found, you can defend or question other students' claims. For example, if you found a murder weapon, you can argue with someone who says it wasn't there by clicking on the text as it appears on the screen. You need to be attentive to inconsistencies in the testimony, and understand well what evidence proves your case.
Both the script and the character design are very funny, in contrast to the gloomy atmosphere of the game about students who kill each other out of hopelessness, and the mysterious and antagonistic Monobead goads them more and more violently. The characters are surprisingly absurd, but next to such a dark setting, it is obvious that they are wonderfully written.
The visual novel genre isn't as limited as it might seem, and Simulacra is one of the best proofs that it doesn't have to fit the style you expect. The game is described as a "found phone", a genre that has recently gained popularity in games like Bury Me, My Love and A Normal Lost Phone.
You find a mobile phone on your doorstep. Very soon you realize that it belonged to a woman named Anna and she is missing. Short video, filmed shortly before her disappearance, tells that evil is coming, and interruptions and noise in the video leave you bewildered. Every video and every image has one. From the interface to the selfie video, the attention to detail is amazing.
After some time, you are already writing to her friends, studying accounts in in social networks, even talking to people she's flirted with through a dating app. It's terribly frustrating. Simulacra will push you endlessly into the abyss of voyeurism, making you wonder how deep you can go to make it possible - only possible! - save her life.
The story is only a few hours long and there are multiple endings that vary depending on how successfully you achieve your goals. You can pretend to be Anna, ask questions of her friends, trying to portray her character, or be honest, open-minded, and look for her. Turn off the lights and your phone and immerse yourself in the voyeuristic work of an aspiring detective for one night, because the atmosphere is definitely worth it.
Although this place could be filled by a couple of other games from Hanako, Long Live The Queen remains their most successful in every sense of the word so far. You are given the right to manage the princess, who will soon be crowned and become queen. Oh yeah, she's still quite a baby.
It sounds very nice, but the throne is also needed by other people who are ready to do anything to win it - including killing a 14-year-old girl. Her coronation is only 40 weeks away, and it's up to you to spend every day with her to make sure she survives.
As part of the game, you will have to learn with her and control aspects of her life, turning the princess into a queen, giving her the skills to rule with splendor and courage. Like Crusader Kings 2 or Dwarf Fortress, Love Live the Queen is a great game for creating jokes as you control something that will definitely lead to a scary but funny ending.
It is not necessary to survive these 40 weeks - it is enough to fill in the absence of subtext with your own imagination. There is also depth here. Life or death is not as simple as a die roll, and as the weeks go by there are different stats to keep an eye on.
VA-11 Hall-A is told from a bartender's point of view in a utopian future and gives you a unique perspective on life, from which you see people at their best and worst, their ups and downs.
VA-11 Hall-A has a well defined world (and later well explored in 2064: Read Only Memories, a phenomenal point-and-click game from another Developer, but in the same world), but its main point- precisely in stories from various buyers. In Glitch City, corporations and the White Knights enforce the law through nano-machines and brutality, and constant surveillance shows that the mythical independence of the virtual future is long gone.
Of course, as a bartender, you hear people talking when they're not under surveillance. Rumors, personal stories, fears and dreams of every person. Where Simulacra is voyeuristic, VA-11 Hall-A makes you feel privileged as these people open up to you over a cocktail you've made from cyberpunk alcohol.
Because of this somewhat dispassionate approach to storytelling, VA-11 Hall-A is not a single story, but a series of vignettes from the lives of grim denizens. However, this trek is fickle, as each visit can always be tainted by the possibility that they will never return.
Sometimes half a genre fits a genre and the other half doesn't. The Yawhg is just one of those. It's a pick-your-path game for up to 4 local players, each playing as a character living in a town that will be destroyed by Yawhg in 6 weeks.
The townspeople and your characters don't know that Yawhg is coming, but you, the player, do. Will you live day after day as if nothing had happened? Or will you start telling everyone about it, calling on people, fulfilling the role of the prophet? Each decision can lead to dramatically different consequences.
The Yawhg gets around habitual rules visual novel, but still has a bit of soulful storytelling in it - which is why it's here. You are given scenes that are more like improvisation than paragraphs of text, and are supported by great art and an incredible soundtrack.
This makes The Yawhg unique, as other games offer you to play as an already created character. Here you can create your own. In total, there are 50 endings, and none of them can be called "correct". They vary depending on the choices you or your friends make. The situations created by the game are interesting, unexpected, and leave just as much leeway as needed to add your own perspective to things. The Yawhg is a prime example of how a visual novel can create something completely wild, and perhaps the perfect representation of a tabletop RPG.
In this section, we have collected the best visual novels with varying degrees of interactivity on PC and other platforms. The selection includes not only anime novels that fans of the genre have long been accustomed to, but also projects that are strikingly different from everything that we have seen before.
2. The Walking Dead
One can argue about the genre of this game, like the previous one, however, The Walking Dead has everything that should be in a good visual novel - a tense and intriguing plot, high-quality drawing, the consequences of decisions made. The first episode of The Walking Dead Telltale Games released a year before the release of The Wolf Among Us, the game received many accolades and awards.
Playing as Lee, we will find out how the zombie apocalypse began and get closer to understanding what really happened. Lee will meet other survivors, such as Clementine, a little girl who will turn his worldview upside down. Yes, you have to kill here, but you don’t feel any joy from this.
“When Cicadas Cry” is a story filled with mysticism and a growing sense of hopelessness. Keichi is an ordinary guy who moved to the quiet village of Hinamizawa. But, as they say, in a quiet pool... It seems that life goes on as usual, but it turns out that strange murders are taking place in the village.
And what will be the surprise of the player when he finds that each chapter begins the same way, and the characters who seem to have died are somehow alive again. And everything repeats from the beginning. With some differences, of course. The first half of the chapters only slowly lead to a solution, and only the second begins to give at least some intelligible answers.
4. Doki Doki Literature Club!
At first it seems that we have a completely classic visual novel that tells about all sorts of school and school affairs, introduces several interesting characters and makes us rush between friendly and romantic feelings. But behind this bright and harmless picture lies something more and much more serious.
After the hero accepts his girlfriend's offer to join the literary club, the life of the protagonist will change. The first half is well characterized by the phrase “nothing foreshadowed trouble”, but from the second one you can get depressed and earn a nervous tick.
Considering what download Doki Doki Literature Club! you can get acquainted with this work for free, it’s definitely worth getting acquainted with this novel - this short story perfectly combines “serious” for sophisticated connoisseurs of the genre and “frivolous” for those who are not yet in the subject.
5. Clannad
At first glance, Clannad is an ordinary soap opera based on the anime series of the same name, full of the suffering of unfortunate schoolchildren. However, this visual novel still captures the soul with its cozy atmosphere of everyday life, filled with various experiences, joys and sorrows.
The protagonist, a teenager named Tomoya, constantly suffers due to the death of his mother and his father's alcoholism, he hates his life and does not believe that he has a future. But his bleak everyday life is transformed after meeting Nagisa, a strange girl who wants to open a drama club at school.
6. Steins;Gate
Steins;Gate tells the story of Okabe Rintaro, a young but undoubtedly talented scientist who invented a time machine completely by accident. Moreover, it consists of things that almost everyone has - a microwave and a telephone (just don't try to repeat this at home).
The inventor himself does not move in time, his consciousness is able to travel. The action takes place in different times, and the messages left can change the entire course of the game, because we know that jokes are bad over time.
7. VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action
8 Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Danganronpa is almost pure paranoia. The Japanese are very fond of making schoolchildren kill each other, and in this visual novel this addiction is revealed in a new way - in the end we get something between Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale and Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians.
This time, a bear-like creature named Monokuma locked the students in the school walls and began to dictate their terms. One of the captives must commit the murder of another, so much so that no one sees anything. After the others discover the body, a joint investigation will begin. Everything depends on its outcome: if the criminal is exposed, Monokuma will deal with him himself, but if the investigation reaches a dead end, the killer will go free.
9 Simulacra
Simulacra is a game that stands out from the general list of visual novels. The developers have chosen an interesting setting - a smartphone that you find by chance. It seems to be not good to dig into someone else's phone, but there is no way out. In addition, soon, thanks to one of the video files, it turns out that the girl to whom it belongs needs help.
Studying photo and video galleries, saved memes, call logs, contact list, chats, recovering deleted and damaged files, you will gradually get closer to the solution. For greater credibility, all cutscenes were filmed with the participation of real actors.
10 Everlasting Summer
"Endless Summer" is a visual novel of domestic production. Naturally, unlike the rest of the games on our list, it was released in Russian earlier than in English. This is the story of a young freelancer Semyon, who, having gone to a reunion of graduates, falls asleep in and suddenly finds himself at the gates of the Owlet pioneer camp, and finds that the 80s are in the yard again, and he is 17 years old.
In addition to the fact that Semyon needs to figure out what happened to him (what if this is a chance to start a new, different life?), He can build a relationship with one of the girls in the camp. The character and history of each of them is well developed, it remains only to choose whose sympathy to try to win. The ending of the game depends on this (some heroines do not even have one). In addition, in the camp "Sovenok" you can meet Shurik from the comedies Gaidai and Electronics.
The story in a computer game is at least as important as the gameplay and graphics. And if the gameplay and graphics are almost not given attention, the story takes on absolute importance. It is for the sake of it that people look for and buy visual novels, or visual novels - products of the gaming industry, which are called games only conditionally. Some of them also have elements, so visual novels are perhaps closest to quests. But if in a classic quest the plot is centered on a riddle, a mystery, then in a visual novel it is only a background, and most importantly, the characters and their relationships. Well, the main engine of the story is, of course, choice.
1. Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni
Often popular anime series are overgrown not only with spin-offs, but also with visual novels. Here are just "When the cicadas cry" from those that are remembered for a long time and cause very contradictory, but strong feelings.
Starting to play, it's hard to imagine that behind this sweet and childishly naive story is blood, fear and real madness, growing with each new plot twist. Moreover, it will not be possible to figure out what is actually happening here right away - at first it may even seem that all these events are meaningless.
And they unfold in the village of Hinamizawa, where the main character moves with his parents. Gradually, not only the terrible secrets of the village will be revealed to him, but also the dark sides of new friends.
2. Mhakna Gramura and Fairy Bell
Makna Gramura and Fairy Bell is a touching story about childhood, growing up and fantastic adventures. Makna is a little girl who lives in an orphanage. It seems that the only goal of the head of this orphanage is to poison the lives of his pupils, so the main character has a hard time. But she has a faithful friend Sebiarno, together they easily endure even the most difficult moments, and, despite all the hardships and hardships, manage to enjoy every new day.
But Makna will soon be 10 years old, and this joyful event may become the most terrible in her life. The fact is that the shelter has a rule: only children under 10 years old can live in it, and if they don’t find a family for them, they will turn them into animals and sell them.
Macna is afraid that this is her future, but suddenly the girl meets the fairy Bell, who came to save her and take her to a fairy-tale land. But with one condition.
3 Cateau
Cateau is a relaxing visual novel with pleasant and stylish art that invites you to take a leisurely stroll through the streets of Paris and take a fresh look at friendship.
And it all starts with the fact that one fine day you notice that your roommate is sad, it seems sick, as if the spark of life has disappeared in her. As a true friend, you must find a way to help her, and you should start with one of her main interests -.
Take to the charming streets of Paris, meet truly different characters, interact with cats, but remember that every choice you make has consequences and can drastically change the outcome of this small but such an important adventure.
4 Grisaia: Phantom Trigger
Grisaia: Phantom Trigger is a visual novel series set in the world of the famous Grisaia franchise, featuring a brand new storyline and cast of characters.
The novel tells the story of students studying at Mihama Academy. Each of them has developed different fighting talents - someone shoots cool, someone is born, and someone is just crazy and loves destruction. Each character has its own story and its own complex character.
These young daredevils work for an agency called SORD. Armed to the teeth, they embark on dangerous and sometimes even suicidal operations. But all this, of course, in the name of the common good.
5. VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action
VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action is a cyber-noir novel with an overwhelming level of atmosphere. The action takes place in an unknown city and at an unknown time, presumably in the second half of the 21st century. Naturally, the world has changed a lot, but how much have people changed?
This is what you have to find out while working at the Valhalla bar. The main character is a bartender named Jill. Every day she comes to work, pours drinks for visitors and listens to them, and the latter is not at all tedious, but very interesting, because a variety of characters visit the bar. In your free time, together with Jill, you will equip her apartment, read all sorts of blogs and surf the Internet, learning more and more about the world of the future.
6. Angels with Scaly Wings
Angels with Scaly Wings is a mixture of visual novel, date sim, and fantasy with . The idea to create something like this seems a little crazy, but in the end it turned out very original and interesting.
Humanity has suffered a global catastrophe that claimed many lives and left the survivors with virtually no means of subsistence. As often happens, instead of uniting, overcoming difficulties together and restoring civilization, people divided into separate groups and began to quarrel with each other.
You have to fulfill the duties of an ambassador who was sent through a portal to a world inhabited by intelligent dragons, because only they have the technology that can save humanity from extinction.
7.Crystalline
Cute visual novel Crystalline narrates an adventure young man, who accidentally got into a fantasy world. It is inhabited by fantastic creatures, people with superpowers, and the feeling that something important is about to happen is in the air.
Our hero will have to become a part of this world and, together with its inhabitants, embark on adventures. Of course, it will not do without romance and good humor.
8 Nightshade
This novel will send the player back in time - to the Sengoku era, when power was decentralized, and individual provinces were at war with each other (Japanese game developers love this period of their history very much).
The main character is a shinobi girl who, together with her "colleagues", starts the first task. Of course, everything did not go according to plan, our heroine understands that friends can actually turn out to be enemies, and enemies can be potential allies. Now she will have to find out what is really going on, while also adjusting her personal life.
9. CLANNAD
With this game, a galaxy of classic visual novels begins - tragedies or dramas that happen to ordinary Japanese schoolchildren / schoolgirls in anime style. The first game on this list is CLANNAD's visual novel about troubled teenagers and their relationship with the violent world around them.
This visual novel could have gone higher, but one thing prevents this - a clearly inflated price. The developers justified this by the fact that they have, firstly, one of the most interesting stories, and secondly, improved graphic performance. As you might guess, both points are at least subjective, if not controversial. The plots in other visual novels are on par with CLANNAD in terms of emotional impact, and the incredible graphics... not really what a visual novel needs, is it? This is, in fact, interactive, in which the drawing itself and its content are important, and not the resolution of the drawing.
10 SIMULACRA
This game has a rather unusual concept that could have given it sixth or even fifth place, but it's too short for that. SIMULACRA is a visual novel designed entirely in the . In the story, you find the phone of a certain girl who urgently needs help. Even if your mom taught you not to pry into someone else's life, you will have to carefully delve into the phone to find out the secret and complete the game.
If you've watched Black Mirror, then SIMULACRA will give you a similar experience. You will have access to the most intimate: call logs, correspondence in chats and on dating sites, photo and video collections, as well as a gallery of memes. For greater realism, the cutscenes were filmed in real locations with live actors.
11 Fatal Twelve
The main character of Fatal Twelve is an ordinary girl named Shishimai Rinka, who inherited a coffee shop from her grandmother. Everything in her life went on as usual, until one day the irreparable happened - when Rinka was traveling on a train with her friend, an explosion occurred. The brave girl shielded her friend with her own body, and this noble act was the last in her life. Or not?
The gods gave Shishimai another chance. To be saved, she must figure out the true causes of her death, finish unfinished business and figure out herself. In addition to our heroine, 11 more people participate in the “Divine Selection”, among which was the same friend of Shishimai. Would this girl do the same for Rinka? What can participants do to save their lives?
12. fault
Selphine is the princess of the country of Rusenheid, leading a life quite normal for girls of royal blood. Naturally, it would not be so interesting to watch her if everything had not suddenly turned upside down. The kingdom was attacked and destroyed, but Selphina managed to escape, and the Royal Guard of Ryton helped her in this.
The girls ended up in a completely unfamiliar place, even the plants around were like out of this world. The heroines do not understand what happened to their homeland, where they ended up, but they feel that something is wrong with this place. Together with them, you will have to find out what happened to Rusenheid and whether Selfina and Ritona will be able to return home.
13. Doki Doki Literature Club
If we had nominations in our selections, this game would have received the titles of “youngest” and “most sensational”. Doki Doki Literature Club is a visual novel that has captured even streamers who usually prefer action games. And people are watching, despite the fact that pictures with text just change in front of them ...
The secret is how exactly they change and what kind of texts they are. Doki Doki Literature Club is a game that knows how to surprise. From the description, this is a second-rate visual novel about a schoolboy who seeks the attention of several girls. At first, the game seems to be exactly like this, but then something begins ... Games with the mind and vision, breaking through the "fourth wall", existential provocations are just a small part of what DDLC blows up the minds of unprepared players. Plus, it's also free! It seems that for the developer, the destroyed nerve cells serve as a reward for his work. Doki Doki Literature Club is a game that plays on you.
14.ACE Academy
15. Lucy -The Eternity She Wished For-
This visual novel is one of the best explorations of the human-robot relationship. To be more precise, a humanoid robot. To be more precise, a robot indistinguishable from a human named Lucy. At least, this removes aesthetic issues, but all other dilemmas are proposed to be resolved by the players themselves. Judging by the name, the main problem of the situation is that Lucy, as an artificially created apparatus, is short-lived ...
Visual novel Lucy -The Eternity She Wished For- touched hundreds of players, and thousands - at least a little touched. Of course, there is an opinion that especially impressionable people are drawn to visual novels, but this does not negate the fact that the force of the emotional impact of this plot is great. The only thing that confuses some players is the straightforwardness of the story ... which is felt even with multiple endings.
16. Everlasting Summer
Domestic works beautifully frame our top visual novels on PC - one from the end, the other from the beginning. Well, almost from the beginning: we cannot put Endless Summer in the first place with all our desire, since it is occupied by a truly phenomenal game of this genre. Still, second place is a great indicator of the game's quality and reverence. Everlasting Summer is a sharp lead in terms of reviews compared to previous candidates... although it is just as sharply behind the top spot.
Perhaps, apart from some little-known amateur novels, Everlasting Summer is the only one that takes place in a Soviet pioneer camp. Of course, the summer camp is not such a unique phenomenon, it is found everywhere, but still, it is precisely the Soviet pioneer camp that has its own unique flavor. The main character gets there suddenly - this is his past life, where he strangely moved from the real one. But who said that the last one was worse? New youth, new memories and sensations, and all around are beauties-athletes-Komsomol members in red ties! Do you want to return to the dull gray world?
17. STEINS;GATE
Of course, the theme of time travel could not pass by the developers of visual novels. This is a real storehouse of plots and scope for numerous and radically different endings! Especially when there are several main characters, and each of them is a personality with its own strengths, weaknesses and ambitions. Of course, interference in the course of time and the resulting conflicts exacerbate their relationship with each other and with people from different eras.
Two factors prevent this visual novel from being ranked higher. Firstly, this is the price, because the short stories of the same or even best quality can be purchased much cheaper. The market, of course, is the market, everyone comes up with those numbers that seem fair to him, but it's worth looking back at the players and other projects. Secondly, the game is not localized into Russian, which, of course, is not an objective minus, but still makes it difficult to get acquainted with it. In 9 cases out of 10 it is still more pleasant to see a visual novel in Russian.
18. A Light in the Dark
If you are already tired of the typical stories about the love experiences of Japanese schoolchildren, then A Light in the Dark will please you with an unusual and gloomy story. It all starts in the best traditions of the detective genre - the main character, that is, you, is kidnapped by unknown people. Naturally, they did this not just for fun, but to get a solid ransom from your rich parents.
The kidnappers turn out to be two pretty girls, but that doesn't make it any easier. What to do? Try to lull their vigilance and escape? Maybe it's better not to anger them once again and try to calmly wait until your parents pay for your release? Or still try to establish contact with the kidnappers and find out why they did this?
19. Amnesia: Memories
Imagine: you woke up in an incomprehensible place, you don’t remember who you are and where you are from, and then some guy with a strange name Orion appears and declares that he is a spirit from another world. This is how Amnesia: Memories begins.
The main character will have to use the help of a mysterious alien to restore her memory bit by bit. First, she goes to the house where she lived, and then makes an appointment with the guy who was part of her former life. It turns out that there are five such guys, and the heroine has a difficult relationship with each of them, so you will also have to figure out love affairs.
20. Danganronpa
The action of many visual novels takes place in whole or in part, but only in Danganronpa the school becomes a prison in which students are forced to kill each other, but not in the manner of "", but secretly, because this is the only way to gain freedom from the oppressor. The oppressor is not a terrorist or even a lunatic, but a sinister Monokuma bear cub... and this is much worse than a mad terrorist.
It would be very interesting to play as a character who is also trying to commit murder and get away with it (and school), but, alas, you get a positive hero. You have to challenge Monokuma and find out who is trying to get their freedom in an inhumane way ... and whether there is even a humane solution to this situation. It's a bit unfortunate that such an interesting setting is set off by simple art, although this may be a deliberate creative decision. Well, and the Russian language, again, no.
21. Zero Escape
If your favorite pastime is quest room trips, then the Zero Escape series of novels is a good way to pass a couple of evenings. But if you do not find a way out in real life, nothing bad will happen, but here you can lose your own life.
Some crazy person kidnapped several people and locked them in the same room. Now they will have to look for a way out together, solve puzzles, use all their knowledge and abilities to survive. But you should not unconditionally trust each of the abducted, because you do not know who they really are.
22. Monster Prom
School years for many were the most fun and carefree, but surviving adolescence is another test. You, too, probably often experienced self-doubt. Now imagine that you have a graduation soon, which you definitely need to come with a couple, otherwise your classmates will laugh. And also you! Although it's normal, everyone at your school is like that.
Monster Prom is an original and funny date sim that you can play with your friends. You will be able to compete with three other players in popularity, and if you share your romantic feelings, be prepared for the fact that someone will try to take your potential couple to prom just for fun.
23. Cinders
It is not a secret for anyone that many of the European fairy tales that we heard in childhood and which are based on are actually adapted versions of rather gloomy stories. In the modern entertainment industry, this topic has long been exploited: for example, the series Grimm and Penny Dreadful draw their plots from there. However, there are not very many such games among games; The most prominent representative can be called The Wolf Among Us.
There was such a story among the visual novels. Cinders is a dark, grown-up retelling of the Cinderella tale. Of course, the fairy, the carriage, the slipper and the prince will not go anywhere, but the price of magic will be higher, and people will be more selfish. However, Cinderella herself is not easy, she does not need simple female happiness for nothing, but she needs to take revenge on her enemies and fulfill herself. Whether or not she succeeds depends on your choices... a few hundred choices, to be exact.
24. The Yawgh
If you had six weeks before an unknown monster invades, what would you do? Certainly not the same as adventure characters in the form of the visual novel The Yawgh. Uncomplicated but stylish graphics frame a fairly simple but replayable story in which you need to make many choices. Yes, these are simple choices from two alternatives, and if you run through them without looking, then the game can be completed in just half an hour. And it's even funny, because then the ending is guaranteed to be unexpected.
However, if you give importance to each decision, then each playthrough will be exciting and unique, and there are more such playthroughs than it might seem at first glance. True, the passage in all possible configurations is at best like collecting, and at worst - like a nerd.
25. Sixtieth Kilometer
The visual novel genre originated in Japan, so it is not surprising that 70 percent of visual novels are made in anime style. By the way, 70 percent of the gaming industry in Japan itself - guess what. There are quite a few visual novels in any other style in percentage terms, but in absolute terms there are enough of them, and some of them made it to our selection. They may not be up to the quality of the best classic representatives, but if the eye gets tired of big-eyed and thin-faced anime guys and girls, then you can always turn to more realistic European novels.
In tenth place is not just a European, but a domestic visual novel Sixtieth Kilometer, which has an unusually high popularity in. Most likely due to the price being so low that it can be considered free (cheaper than a pie with potatoes). But this does not mean at all that we belittle its other virtues. More precisely, the main advantage is the plot, which is very interesting, and also carries the Russian cultural code. The graphics, although of secondary importance, are still too modest.
If in ordinary computer games the characters interact with each other only in between action scenes, then in visual novels they interact CONSTANTLY. Seriously, there is no way you can avoid it, you are literally forced to listen, respond and make choices. And thousands of players love it!
Visual novels are a rather peculiar phenomenon, which is a kind of synthesis of manga and computer games. From anime and manga, they inherited a characteristic graphic style, and from games - the interactivity of the story. Today, the variety of genres and themes of visual novel narration allows everyone to find what they like, but in this rating we will try to highlight the top ten most successful and beloved by the players works.
10
Lost among the dark streets of the city of the future stands the Bar, where only dark personalities enter. The heroine of the novel, Jill, meets them at the counter in order to mix a cocktail according to her own recipe, find out other people's secrets or otherwise influence the behavior of the characters. Everything happens in a stylish cyberpunk environment, the main goal of the player is to interact with visitors.
9
The heroine, who has lost her memory, travels through parallel worlds in search of her memories. Talking with different characters, she gradually restores fragments of the lost past, but each new meeting at any moment can destroy the whole picture that has already taken shape. An exciting quest is complemented by an excellent visual component - the study of all the characters at their best.
8
Hope's Peak Academy became a prison for fifteen students. An ominous creature, appearing in the form of a teddy bear, will allow only those schoolchildren who can secretly kill one of their comrades to leave the walls of the institution. But this is not enough - the crime must not be solved, otherwise the murderer will face trial and retribution for what he has done. The plot of the novel is built on the principle of a sealed detective story.
7
The small town of Joga lurks in the mountains, and teenager Hiroshi Kuzumi moves here. At first, the place does not seem strange to him, but very soon the representative of the school committee opaquely hints to the boy that it is better to stay away from the streets of the old settlement and in no case appear there after sunset. Hiroshi is intrigued, gradually he becomes aware that in the town they once made sacrifices to terrible wolf gods.
6
An extraordinary survival game, an exciting thriller that keeps you in suspense from start to finish. Zero - the antagonist of the story - is a crazy genius. He plays with the lives of people, locking them in a room, the exit from which is not so easy to find. All of them must take part in a cruel roulette, in which the stake is life. Unpredictable plot twists, exciting climaxes set the novel apart from similar games.
5
This popular visual novel is based on the classic Chinese novel The Three Kingdoms, only here not harsh men, but beautiful sexy beauties stand up to defend the homeland. The warrior maiden Kanu, along with her fighting friends, participates in various adventures, fights, gets into trouble. Much attention is paid to the interaction of characters.
4
In the world of "Cyborg Killer", martial arts developed through nurturing the body or nurturing the spirit. With the advent of future technologies, those who rely only on their own flesh to fight are willing to replace parts of it with cybernetic prostheses. But in this way they weaken their spiritual energy. Kong Taolo developed his fortitude to the limit, which allowed him to become the most dangerous killer in the world, able to cope even with cyborgs.
3
In a world where magic reigns, a small group of wizards have been fighting for centuries for the right to wield the Holy Grail. There is a belief that an artifact can bring to life absolutely any desire of its owner. Battles are fought through the use of summoned servants - famous characters from the myths of the peoples of the world, as well as historical heroes such as Alexander the Great.
2
A dark and dark visual novel reveals the basest side of human nature. The story of a group of people who survived a devastating earthquake in the midst of a harsh winter. Stuck in the middle of the ruins, freezing, deprived of hope of salvation, the heroes of history gradually lose their human appearance, more and more plunging into the abyss of madness.
1
The cult visual novel Song of Sai tells the tragic story of a young medical student, Fuminori. After the death of his parents, he slowly descends into madness: the world turns into a nightmare due to terrible hallucinations. The appearance of the charming girl Saya becomes a ray of light for the hero. He undertakes to help her in search of her father, but Fuminori's condition is getting worse...