Preface: Why I’m Doing This
Before I started making a mess in the interactive fiction space, I was writing about Japanese visual novels. It’s been fascinating thinking about the intersections and differences between Japanese visual novels and interactive fiction.
So, I started thinking, “Wouldn’t it be interesting to see more people from each side explore the other side?” As a result, I composed a list of interactive fiction titles for my Japanese visual novel friends. My approach for this wasn’t about highlighting the best IF had to offer but rather the titles that I thought will provoke the most unique discussions. As a small example, I got some friends to play Photopia because it came out around the same time as another influential VN, Kanon, and also had a very similar atmosphere.
I want to do the same with IF people and visual novels. Not all the games are my favorite (though a good chunk is!) and I’m not aiming to be comprehensive, but I think their similarities and differences should be interesting enough to warrant an essay or two from people here. I’d like to read what IF people have to say about visual novels in general.
I’m sectioning my list into themes, and I’m also providing content warnings when appropriate. And the games I’m recommending all have satisfactory English translations or are in English to begin with.
What This Thread Won’t Be About
I will not define what a visual novel is. That debate will never end… I’ll just say that it’s a genre where you read and sometimes click buttons. I’m also not recommending really popular and good titles for the sake of it. I’m interested in recommending visual novels that I think would be interesting for IF developers and players.
Unique Approaches to Interactivity and Structure
- YU-NO - A girl who chants love at the bound of this world (paid) (cw: incest, nonconsensual sexual content: Imagine a “time cave”. Now, imagine that time cave as a flowchart map where you can hop from one node to another. In YU-NO, you are traveling between different timelines with the items you have from one route that could help with this new timeline. This is an epic science fiction game released in 1998, and it still takes my breath away. While not everything aged well, especially in regards to the sexual content, the ambition is still unmatched. There are two versions that largely depend on your preferences of the aesthetic and the translation: the original TLWiki combines the PC98 art and Saturn voice acting, but it has some dated vocabulary including using a slur that was common to that day; the remake with new art and translation is also available on Steam and modern consoles.
- Fullmetal Daemon Muramasa (paid) (cw: gore and noncon: If there’s one visual novel someone should play, this is it: the game imagines a world overrun by powered armor suits and explores Japanese imperialism in a lush alternate historical fiction setting. Written by a practicing kendo martial artist, the game is like a treatise on the nature of violence. It’s long, it’s tedious, but it’s also everything in one package. I laughed and cried so much playing this title. The translation is also one of the best things too. The game was banned on Steam unfortunately, but it is available on the publisher’s website and GOG.
- Tokyo Necro (paid) (cw: gore, noncon: Set in a frozen cyberpunk Tokyo, the game follows two protagonists who don’t hook up with each other but have their own girlfriends. You’ll read them shooting down and chainsawing zombies, but what I also find cool is how the routes are decided. Without spoiling too much, I think the few choices it has are surprisingly impactful and deliver a lot of impact. Of the titles I’m recommending, this is perhaps the title with the most universal appeal.
- Subarashiki Hibi/Wonderful Everyday Down the Rabbit-Hole (paid) (cw: noncon, drugs, suicide, bullying: While I’m not sure if the author intended it, the plural systems I’ve talked to have said the game has captured quite accurately what it means to be see the world in their eyes. Each chapter reinterprets the same event from a different POV. The game tackles some uncomfortable subject matter, and people have said it was too extreme for them, but I think the approach the game has taken is very grounded and surprisingly measured. I have a hard time evaluating this game since it’s one of those life-changing games for me, but I think it’s a genuinely impressive work. The game requires a patch from JAST USA in order to play the content past the first chapter.
- Paranormasight (paid): A horror adventure game directed by an experienced developer whose bread and butter were mystery adventure games on flipphones, the game plays with some interesting adventure game and timeline mechanics that use the supernatural setting really well. I won’t say too much, but it’s a fun ride.
- Fate/Stay Night (paid) (cw: noncon, some gore: This is perhaps the most famous of the visual novels I’ve brought up because it inspired countless spinoffs, but the original visual novel is worth a play. The game is linear, but there are many branches that lead to some fascinating bad ends that explore what-if situations. I also think the story is still relevant and may appeal to the comic book fans in the forum: everyone is embroiled in this battle royale, and they’re fighting each other with characters from history and legends. It’s so cool.
- Witch on the Holy Night (paid): While the game has connections to the above title, it can be played standalone. The title follows two women and one guy in a tranquil setting, and the stories are separated into “books” as volumes and tangents that explore a theme or an aspect of the setting. The presentation is also on another level, with combat sequences looking like they’re storyboards from an anime adaptation that doesn’t exist.
- Kindred Spirits on the Roof (paid): An anthology of lesbian relationship stories set in the same school, the main mode of interactivity is through a calendar. It’s a nice read if you want something cute. As an aside, this game is important to English-language visual novels developers because it showed there was a market for lesbian romance games.
- Cyanotype Daydream (paid): When you start the game, you’re randomly launched into one of three main stories of a game. After you’re done with one chapter of said story, you go into an intermission in the “real world” and learn about the world before going into the next story. So, you can say it’s a linked story with an interesting framing device.
- Raging Loop (paid) (cw: mentions of gore, scenes may be read as ableist): A fascinating take on the werewolf party game, you are trying to suss out who’s manipulating the loop by figuring out the right (and perhaps wrong) choices. It’s also a nice meditation on Japanese folklore religions too.
Subversive Storytelling and Aesthetics
- SeaBed (paid): A mundane lesbian romance travelogue at first glance, the game explores what it means to move onto a new life. I often found myself in a daze playing this game. It’s hard to explain. All I can say it’s the work that means to me the most, and I want to see more people talk about it.
- Connect the Dots (free): Told entirely in storyboards, this fanfic of a rather obscure anime is this meditation on what it means to tell a story.
- Sona-nyl of the Violet Shadows (paid) (cw: dubcon: A love letter to 1920s American culture, this linear visual novel uses the trappings of magical girls and Lovecraftian mythos to explore nostalgia and what American literature means to the Japanese writer. It’s very cute and poignant.
- Chaos;Child (paid) (cw: gore: For better or for worse, the game’s approach to media literacy will never stop being relevant. The protagonists are interested in unveiling a conspiracy that ends up entangling them. It feels like a critique of what happens in the true crime genre at times. Another favorite of mine, though unfortunately the game requires a patch to translate some important parts of the game.
- Himawari: The Sunflower (paid) (cw: abuse: I’ve always felt this visual novel would have more of an impact on me if I played it growing up. It’s a coming-of-age story that tackles the adulation we have on our role models. This idolizing ignores the bad parts of the people we admire. It’s like what Harper Lee intended to do with Go Set a Watchman but more refined.
- Flesh and Pressure (free) (cw: gore, transphobia): A deeply funny game that plays on the trans experience and what it means to hook up with other people. The self-deprecation hits too close to home at times. Love it.
- Ten Metre Tide (free) (cw: age gap): A declining island town, a love triangle, and mixed media art. Somber and lovely.
- slime feet (free) (cw: gore, sex): I’m a huge fan of Nadia Nova’s games, and I think this game encapsulates what I find fascinating about her titles. It’s funny, fetishistic, and also tragic. You have no idea what to expect from title like Slime Feet, but I can assure you that you’ll definitely feel something.
- Ghostpia: Season One (paid): This visual novel feels like it came out from a picture book. Fantastical setting, interesting relationships. If you want something that is very different from anything I’ve recommended, this is worth looking into.
Notable Mentions
There are games I wish I played because they would be obvious inclusions onto the list. Rather than ignoring them, I’m putting them in this section. I’m also putting stuff that’s a bit troublesome to include on the main list.
- Slay the Princess: I have the game on my backlog. This is probably the biggest omission.
- YOU and ME and HER: A Love Story (paid): Another big omission on my end. This is a meta visual novel that plays on how people interact with visual novels.
- Kikokugai (paid): I actually played the game, and I think it would be interesting to see people tackle how the game critiques the hero’s journey. Indeed, I would’ve put this edgy cyberpunk linear visual novel on the main list if the game was actually accessible… I think you can only get the game through piracy and used copies.
- Kimi ga Nozomu Eien (paid): Haven’t played it, but the massive time cave structure is apparently impressive.
- Ever17 ~ the out of infinity (paid): This is an important visual novel that launched several creators’ careers, including Uchikoshi Kotaro (now famous for 999 and AI: The Somnium Files). It does some funky stuff with visual novel mechanics and structure that could be fascinating for IF people. The problem is that the official translation is based on a later version that isn’t written by him and his team. A fan translation of the original game exists at least.
- MYTH (paid): Is this game good? Who’s to say, the abrasive storytelling doesn’t win many fans. But it’s gotten some fans since people enjoy speculating aspects of the lore. Perhaps, someone might find this title interesting.
- The Shell: Part One (paid) (cw: gore, body horror): May be of interest to people who are interested in mystery games because its approach to adventure game design is eclectic at best. There are two translations of the same game, both decent but the newer one I linked completes the trilogy.
- 428: Shibuya Scramble (paid): Haven’t played it, but I know it’s a game that connects many perspectives into one story. Notably, the game uses photographic backgrounds with live actors.
- Gnosia (paid): A werewolf game from my understanding. I have this game for ages, but I keep forgetting to play it.