Sometimes we all just need a break from the West.
Sometimes we all just need a break from the West.
Anime! Over the last couple decades, this animation style originating in Japan has really taken over the West. At this point, you practically can’t throw a brick without crashing through the window of a JoJos Bizarre Adventure fan (please don’t throw bricks, that was just an example). While anime is primarily used to define television, it really just refers to the art style, so anything that invokes that idea of something developed from a manga can accurately be described as “anime.” It can also include media like films like the works of Studio Ghibli or music videos like Nijigen Dream Fever.
Video games can also fall into this category. There are tons of games out there that seek to emulate that classic 2D (or similar-looking 3D) art style. Games that invoke that are generally referred to as anime games. So many Steam games fall into the category, so let’s look at a few of the best.
Oh, yes, the visual novel to end all visual novels. Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, the first game in the lauded series, was so fun and unique that it managed to set off an entire subgenre, the death game visual novel. This crazy game of murder mystery and constant plot twist really set the standard for the world of visual novels going forward.
You take the role of Makoto Naegi, a student at Hope’s Peak Academy, a fictional Japanese high school designated exclusively for the most accomplished students in the country. Team up with 14 other child prodigies in fields like coding, swimming, gambling, and fortune telling in order to solve an increasingly more complicated list of murders taking place within the student body.
Plus, if you love the first game, like so many do, you’d be delighted to know there are two sequels and two spinoffs. Each of these adds tons of new lore to the series and, maybe, brings a couple earlier characters back from other Danganronpa games for added intrigue.
Killing fellow students is actively encouraged in this wacky, visual novel of hope and despair. Will Makoto fold under the pressure?
Get Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc here!
Since the early 2000s, Vocaloids have really taken Japan, and to some extent, the rest of the world, by storm. For those who don’t know, a Vocaloid is a fictional character with a somewhat robotic, text-to-speech voice built for the purpose of music. You can feed a Vocaloid program words and notes, and it will deliver you a song, fully performed by one of these recognizable characters. This has created a ton of really creative and unique musicians who are able to write and produce their own music without the need for organizing a band or finding people who are trying to sing, and they’ll have an automatic audience because Vocaloids are pretty popular.
The latest and largest entry in the long-running rhythm game series, Hatsune Miku: Project Diva, is Mega Mix. It features more than 150 songs, and with the DLC it hits 250. In this action packed, highly competitive entry, you can play as six different super popular Vocaloids singing some of the most popular songs. The gameplay is incredibly simple, just involving a few buttons that you hit each time they appear on screen. This simple framework allows for the developers to put more pressure on with each new difficulty level. This game takes a lot of getting used to, but that practice is some of the most fun gaming moments you’ll ever have. Can you match Hatsune Miku's rhythm?
Get Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Mega Mix+ here
Look, dating is hard. Sometimes, we hit those points in our lives when we want validation, and sometimes we’re just bored and need something a little silly to do. If any of that describes you, you might want to check out the Crush Crush franchise.
Consisting of three games, this beloved series of dating sims gives you the ability to form relationships with several cute characters.
The first game of the series, Crush Crush, is an idol game that gives you 60 possible dating candidates to unlock. Idly build up points so that you can have more conversations with the characters you date, take them out to dinner, and do any of the general relationship stuff. You can build up your own skills and hobbies as well, to be more attractive to the dating sim candidates.
Its sequel, Blush Blush, but the whole new spin on the first game. It’s still an idle dating Sim, but now it features a slightly more intricate plot, and all the candidates are guys, so there is a game in the series to suit whatever you fancy. In Blush Blush, all of the guys have been turned into animals in some freak, magical accident. Only your love can make them all human again. Plus, if you still really want to have an animal thing (no judgment here), there’s a huge DLC for this game called the Kitsune bundle that adds three brand-new dating candidates that are more in line with the catboy/dogboy archetype.
Oh, and did I mention, the base games of both Blush, Blush and Crush Crush are completely free?! That’s right, you can get the vast majority of contact for both of these games totally free. They do still have some DLC, but if you just want to date any of these 87 silly characters, you can do so without paying.
There is a third game in the series, Hush Hush, breaks the form of the rest of the games in several ways. It costs $19.99 upfront, only has five dating candidates (six if you count the extra paid DLC), and isn’t an idle game. If that’s the case, then why does it have an overall 94% positive rating on steam?
Hush Hush is a branching narrative visual novel game full of dating sim mechanics and deadly mystery. Your love is the only thing that can save these five characters' lives. Also, the main characters are all some of the most popular candidates from the original Crush Crush. So, if you really like that game, getting more of their story could be a worthwhile investment. It’s up to you to solve the mini mysteries that the ticking clock of Hush Hush presents.
Get Crush Crush here
Get Blush Blush here
Get Hush Hush here
If any of these five games interest you, you should absolutely check them out, especially since two of them are free. All of them, though, are certified fun.
