With nine people being trapped on a sinking ship, you have to solve various puzzles to try to escape, while also figuring out exactly why these characters were kidnapped in the first place. It’s not a game for the faint of heart, but if you’re looking for a visual novel that breaks boundaries, this is worth a look.ĩ99: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors – As the first entry to the marvelous Zero Escape trilogy by Kotaro Uchikoshi, 999 tells a killer story mixed with fun escape room puzzle gameplay. Developed by Team Salvato, this game turns the cutesy visual novel trope on its head by exploring darker themes and subject matter like self-harm and depression. Higurashi feels a lot more dated in terms of art design and voice acting, but if you’re a fan of the fantasy crime vibes you got from Umineko, you’ll feel right at home with this one.ĭoki Doki Literature Club – Doki Doki Literature Club made serious waves when it released near the tail-end of 2017, and for good reason too. Higurashi (When They Cry) – Higurashi is a predecessor of sorts to Umineko, and while its story is just as gripping, we don’t recommend starting with this one unless you enjoyed what you saw of Umineko. Despite the sluggish start to the first three episodes, things pick up dramatically once the creepy stuff kicks in, and Umineko stands tall as one of the most intriguing and engaging visual novel stories we’ve ever played. Meaning there’s no gameplay to speak of at all the entire ‘game’ is just a matter of clicking through copious amounts of text and watching as the story unfold. Umineko (When They Cry) – Umineko is a visual novel in the truest sense of the term.

Here are the best visual novels of all time, available for you to download on PC and steam. Here they are, hand-picked by us for you. But there’s no denying that the best visual novels can be found on PC and – more specifically – Steam. While they’ve largely kept to PC, they do sometimes dive into the console world. Visual Novels are one of the oldest genres around for gaming.

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