Decent visual novels?

dscross

Elite Member
Legacy
May 14, 2013
1,282
27
53
Country
United Kingdom
I did Doki Doki Literature Club recently and was surprised that I enjoyed it - until the end anyway. Are there any other good visual novels knocking around? I own a MacBook, PS4 and 3DS so those systems only please.

I have already done the ace attourney series, so not those (I love those). Also, I am not really into professor Layton.
 

Phoenixmgs_v1legacy

Muse of Fate
Sep 1, 2010
4,691
0
0
Well, I completely HATED Danganronpa with a passion, completely one dimensional as fuck characters for pretty much 30 hours for a decently interesting reveal/ending where the villain motivations basically contradict their end goal, but at least something was happening finally.

Anyway, I came in to say Phoenix Wright is good but you already played them. I'm beginning to think visual novels have too much in common with anime in the sense the shit-to-good ratio leans very heavy towards shit. I've seen a bit of Doki Doki and couldn't even stand it for 5 minutes. Then there's a thread in Off Topic about worst plot twists and Zero Escape was mentioned. So yeah, I think visual novels probably aren't worth the time the vast majority of the time when you can watch 2-3 seasons of great TV in the time it takes to play something like Danganronpa.
 

Squilookle

New member
Nov 6, 2008
3,584
0
0
My list starts and ends with Tintin.

I have no time for all that supernatural superhero nonsense.
 

Bobular

New member
Oct 7, 2009
845
0
0
Stiens;Gate is really good, I know its on PC, PSV and PS3 but not sure about the PS4. If it is available then this is my top recommendation.
 

bluegate

Elite Member
Legacy
Dec 28, 2010
2,322
932
118
The Phoenix Wright games are pretty much bumped up visual novels, so you could always look into those.
 

Aeshi

New member
Dec 22, 2009
2,640
0
0
Bobular said:
Stiens;Gate is really good, I know its on PC, PSV and PS3 but not sure about the PS4. If it is available then this is my top recommendation.
I held off commenting because I also don't think it's on any of the platforms OP mentioned, but I'll second this recommendation if it is.
 
Nov 9, 2015
323
80
33
Katawa Shoujo is a common recommendation after playing DDLC. Similar to DDLC it was the visual novel that was all the rage back then and introduced many people to visual novels. It's a game where you transfer to a school for disabled people, and you can date girls with various disabilities. It's free and for Mac.

Also, you can run Windows programs including games on a Mac/Linux with Wine.
https://wiki.winehq.org/MacOS

They also have a list of programs that work and what doesn't, and it includes probably every visual novel that will be recommended.
 

maninahat

New member
Nov 8, 2007
4,397
0
0
Christine Love is an American VN designer, and hers are often good. A couple of her earlier ones, like Digital: A Love Story, are free. Her most recent one, Ladykiller in a Bind is a comedy BDSM lesbian romance satire of visual novels, which is also quite fun.

My Father's Long, Long Legs is a free 10 minute horror game that takes about ten minutes to play (google it). Not technically a visual novel, seeing as how its mostly text based, but I consider that semantics.
 

DeadProxy

New member
Sep 15, 2010
359
0
0
If you like some gameplay with your VN, I give a serious recommendation for Akiba's Trip. You're an otaku nerd who falls into the world of vampire hunting, which is done through forceful removal of peoples clothing. If you get really good at it, you can even steal peoples underwear. Also, notice how I'm saying "people" and not girls, cause it's open season on everyone!
 

Kotaro

Desdinova's Successor
Feb 3, 2009
794
0
0
I'm going to second Steins;Gate, and also recommend the Zero Escape series (especially the first one, 999) and Umineko. And if you liked the Ace Attorney series, Danganronpa has some similarities (just transplant the murder and trial structure into a high school setting).

And it's a bit difficult to track down (even in pirated form) due to its lack of release outside Japan, but if you can find it, Fate/stay night [Realta Nua] (a re-release of the original that added full voice acting and replaced the horrendous sex scenes--which were by far the worst part--with far more well-written alternate scenes) with the fan-translation patch is actually one of my personal favorite works of fiction. It's the work that got me into visual novels to begin with.
 

Jeteye

Member
Escapist +
Feb 7, 2011
43
0
1
Country
United States of America
The Ace Attorney series on the 3DS is pretty good.
 
Jan 19, 2011
65
0
0
Kotaro said:
I'm going to second Steins;Gate, and also recommend the Zero Escape series (especially the first one, 999) and Umineko. And if you liked the Ace Attorney series, Danganronpa has some similarities (just transplant the murder and trial structure into a high school setting).

And it's a bit difficult to track down (even in pirated form) due to its lack of release outside Japan, but if you can find it, Fate/stay night [Realta Nua] (a re-release of the original that added full voice acting and replaced the horrendous sex scenes--which were by far the worst part--with far more well-written alternate scenes) with the fan-translation patch is actually one of my personal favorite works of fiction. It's the work that got me into visual novels to begin with.
I'd like to back up about what Kotaro said about 999. A remastered version of the game is included (along with Virtues Last Reward) in the Nonary Games, which is available on PS4 and Steam. It is one of the best games I have ever played. However, the game has puzzle/adventure/thriller elements, and is therefore not a pure VN like DDLC or Stein's Gate.
 

09philj

Elite Member
Legacy
Mar 31, 2015
2,154
947
118
Katawa Shoujo is three fifths good and two fifths brilliant. If you like romance stories at all, give it a shot. It's also free, so no need to worry about that.
 

TilMorrow

Diabolical Party Member
Jul 7, 2010
3,246
0
0
To echo a bunch here:
Katawa Shoujo is really good romance and feels story (stories would be more appropriate as you have to play through all the girls paths to fully experience it) for a project that created by a group of dedicated 4channers off a single page of concept art. It follows the main character having to unexpectedly exchange to a school specifically catered to kids with disabilities and how he handles the sudden change and his relationship with the students there. Expect some meme worthy writing though in amongst the serious exposition and relationship development. Also some parts are nsfw if that's a issue but there is an option to toggle off the content but lose some pretty important scenes along the way. - PC but there may be a Mac version for it and Free.

The Zero Escape Series: 999, Virtue's Last Reward and Zero Time Dilemma are fantastic games with a mix of puzzles and story and I unfortunately I can't explain much about what the series is about without getting too spoilery. The basic premise is that Nine people are trapped against their own volition and are "encouraged" to engage in a game if they hope to escape. They're a little like the Ace Attorney Games in that figuring out who the mastermind is and why certain things happen are a constant logic puzzle you face but otherwise most of the gameplay is done through escape the room point and click style. - Wikipedia says it's available for PS4 and the whole series is on Steam. Make sure to play either 999 or VLR first as they can be played in any order and ZTD last or after VLR as it's extremely dependent on that game.

Steins;Gate is a fantastic story about time travel and it's effects but it's very devoid of gameplay and is more like DDLC than Ace Attorney. It's great if you want a story exploring a character and their relationship with their friends and how time travel critically changes their life and starts to affect their world view. Another play through all the paths to get the full experience. - Wiki says it's on PS4 and it's also on Steam. Also there's a sequel "Zero" but I haven't played it so can't comment on it.

The Danganronpa Series: Trigger Happy Havoc, Goodbye Despair, Another Episode, V3 Killing Harmony. It seems to be a very if you love it you love it or if you hate it you hate it series, there's no guarantee someone will enjoy, personally I did. Essentially it's a similar concept to Zero Escape: Group of people trapped at a local and have to engage in a game in order to escape (or will they?). In this case they are encouraged to engage in a killing game (basically Cluedo/Clue) where the killer will be let free if they manage to successfully kill someone and get off scot free after undergoing a trial (similar to Ace Attorney). The main draw is figuring out the mystery behind the killing game (why is it happening, who is the mastermind, etc) as well as the relationships between the characters and how they develop. Also the cases of course and the series pretty good musical score. Though you can miss out Another Episode as it's this 3rd person action shooter which isn't as great story or execution as the rest or really that interesting. Also if you want to get the full story of the first two games you'd have to watch the Despair (Prologue) and Hope (Ending) Anime of Danganronpa 3 (not to be confused with Killing Harmony). - On PS4 and Steam.

Psycho Pass is pretty Meh, wouldn't recommend it.

VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action less visual novel, more bar fly simulator but still is pretty good. Haven't finished it yet but the characters and story is pretty interesting so far. Barely any gameplay though. - On Steam

If My Heart Had Wings is apparently pretty good but I've yet to play it.

Clannad is gut wrenching but amazing according to some but I can't say from experience.

Analogue: A Hate Story is pretty decent and interesting experience (bit like DDLC). - On Steam

And that's all I can think to recommend off the top of my head. Also if you're thinking of playing any of the Sakura "VN"s I don't really recommend it. There's a reason they're know for scantily clad characters and not much else.
 

Cold Shiny

New member
May 10, 2015
297
0
0
Doki Doki Literature Club.

Its free on steam.

Do not look up anything about it, just play it.

Takes an hour to get going but then it never stops.