So, right now I'm on a general search for story-driven games, deciding what to play next. During that search, a thought popped up into my head: "Maybe I should give VNs a second chance? They can't all be bad, can they?". First I asked around reddit, but all I ended up with was one useful suggestion, and a metric ton of edgy teenagers telling me to go fuck myself because I apparently didn't take feelings of random people who might've liked the VN I hated into account. So, here I am, in probably the most reasonable, not giving a damn about anything gaming community I've ever come across. I hope local VN fans can help me out. But first, some closure.
The first and only VN I've "played" back to back was Saya no Uta. It was last year, when I got it recommended. People said it was a perfect match for my criteria and I'll like it for sure because apparently it was "one of the most mature and well-written VNs around". Boy were they full of shit and boy was I disappointed when I finished it.
The concept itself was great - a horror story about a guy who sees the world as a giant pile of flesh, and all human beings as disgusting Eldtrich creatures, all while trying to hide it from everybody else, with only one little girl at his side, keeping him from going insane. An awesome concept imo, with tons of potential for great storytelling focused on psychological horror. All of that potential wasted. About halfway through the story fell apart and slowly became more of an excuse for more and more out-of-place, awkward-to-watch sex scenes involving the aforementioned little girl, with a predictable ending to boot. After finishing it I came to a conclusion that since "one of the best written and most mature VNs out there" turned out to be such garbage, the genre is not worth exploring further.
A year later, here I am, willing to give it a second shot. With much less entusiasm than the last time, but still willing. Can you recommend some VNs meeting those criteria?
1. Dark, mature, preferably relatable story, not afraid to tackle heavy topics and break taboos. Bonus points for focus on psychology.
2. Well-developed, believable characters. I'm tired of "walking stereotypes". Preferably also adults - anime teens tend to be much more stereotypical.
3. Little to no sexual content. I'm no prude, but since VN writers seem unable to portray sexual content in a non-porn way, I'd prefer not to have it at all. Unless you can find me a VN that portrays this type of content in a non-erotic way - in that case, I'm down for that.
4. No romance. At all. Not my type of thing.
5. If your recommendation contains adventure game elements, like puzzles, make sure they're relatively easy. I don't mind some thinking, but don't really want puzzles to hinder my progress.
6. It has to be as far from anime tropes and cliched themes as possible. I want originality, not cookie-cutter, stereotypical anime personalities and events.
7. No voice acting, or at least an option to turn the voices off. I can't stand hearing those high-pitched anime voices. They make me cringe.
Accepted genres: Drama, Thriller, and Horror.
Platforms: PC
Preferred length: 3-9 hours. Can be a bit more, but don't overdo it. I can read JRPG dialogue boxes only for so long without going insane.
Language: English. I don't know Japanese.
If you have any questions, then feel free to ask. I hope everything is clear by now, though. Thanks in advance for the recommendations.
The first and only VN I've "played" back to back was Saya no Uta. It was last year, when I got it recommended. People said it was a perfect match for my criteria and I'll like it for sure because apparently it was "one of the most mature and well-written VNs around". Boy were they full of shit and boy was I disappointed when I finished it.
The concept itself was great - a horror story about a guy who sees the world as a giant pile of flesh, and all human beings as disgusting Eldtrich creatures, all while trying to hide it from everybody else, with only one little girl at his side, keeping him from going insane. An awesome concept imo, with tons of potential for great storytelling focused on psychological horror. All of that potential wasted. About halfway through the story fell apart and slowly became more of an excuse for more and more out-of-place, awkward-to-watch sex scenes involving the aforementioned little girl, with a predictable ending to boot. After finishing it I came to a conclusion that since "one of the best written and most mature VNs out there" turned out to be such garbage, the genre is not worth exploring further.
A year later, here I am, willing to give it a second shot. With much less entusiasm than the last time, but still willing. Can you recommend some VNs meeting those criteria?
1. Dark, mature, preferably relatable story, not afraid to tackle heavy topics and break taboos. Bonus points for focus on psychology.
2. Well-developed, believable characters. I'm tired of "walking stereotypes". Preferably also adults - anime teens tend to be much more stereotypical.
3. Little to no sexual content. I'm no prude, but since VN writers seem unable to portray sexual content in a non-porn way, I'd prefer not to have it at all. Unless you can find me a VN that portrays this type of content in a non-erotic way - in that case, I'm down for that.
4. No romance. At all. Not my type of thing.
5. If your recommendation contains adventure game elements, like puzzles, make sure they're relatively easy. I don't mind some thinking, but don't really want puzzles to hinder my progress.
6. It has to be as far from anime tropes and cliched themes as possible. I want originality, not cookie-cutter, stereotypical anime personalities and events.
7. No voice acting, or at least an option to turn the voices off. I can't stand hearing those high-pitched anime voices. They make me cringe.
Accepted genres: Drama, Thriller, and Horror.
Platforms: PC
Preferred length: 3-9 hours. Can be a bit more, but don't overdo it. I can read JRPG dialogue boxes only for so long without going insane.
Language: English. I don't know Japanese.
If you have any questions, then feel free to ask. I hope everything is clear by now, though. Thanks in advance for the recommendations.
