Riveting Stories, Compelling Characters, and Deep Themes Can All Be Found in These Visual Novels
Main image courtesy of Screen Rant.
Visual novels are an oft underappreciated genre. Big AAA shooters, open-world adventures, and addicting roguelikes all get their time in the sun. It’s time to give visual novels the spotlight.
Today, we’ll be taking a look at 7 of the best visual novels on Steam, compiled based on Steam reviews, popularity, and a little bit of personal preference.
Steam Reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive (26,092)
Originally released for the PSP in 2010, DanganRonpa: Trigger Happy Havoc was the start of a series that would become a staple in the visual novel space.
Set in Hope’s Peak Academy, a school for the most talented high school students in Japan, you play as Makoto Naegi, one of 15 students trapped in the school. Their mysterious jailer, a teddy bear named Monokuma, gives them one task in exchange for their freedom: commit murder and get away with it.
What ensues is a deadly game of murder mystery as the students pick each other off one by one. You’ll have to investigate each killing, talking and forming connections with your fellow classmates. Each murder investigation culminates in a mock trial where you can accuse or acquit suspects before sending the culprit for execution. Let’s hope you choose correctly.
DanganRonpa: Trigger Happy Havoc has spawned two other mainline titles and a bevy of spin off games. The series has also been adapted into multiple seasons of anime. So, whether you want to participate in this death game or watch the chaos from on high, you owe it to yourself to give DanganRonpa a look.
Steam Reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive (199,912)
Doki Doki Literature Club! (DDLC!) took the gaming world by storm when it was released in 2017, becoming the subject of many YouTube videos and online reviews. It plays with some classic visual novel and dating sim tropes to create an unorthodox but engaging experience.
In DDLC!, you play as the newest member of your school’s Literature Club. Prepare for cozy afternoons spent conversing with a charming cast of club members. Who will you spend your time with? The happy Sayori? The assertive Natsuki? The timid Yuri? Or maybe the club’s leader, Monika.
There’s not much more I can say without spoiling the game, but rest assured that there is much more to DDLC! than what’s on the surface. And keep in mind, this game is not for the faint of heart. There’s a reason it’s tagged as a Psychological Horror game…
The original version of DDLC! is free on Steam but if you want to support the devs, check out Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!, a newer version with some extra content.
Steam Reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive (24,988)
In 2001, Capcom released the original Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney for the Game Boy Advance. Now, in 2024, Ace Attorney has become one of the most well-known visual novel series ever made. So it’s a good thing that Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy hit the Steam store in 2019, giving PC gamers access to the much beloved detective game.
Step into the shoes of Phoenix Wright, the titular Ace Attorney, as he defends his clients across three games. You’ll have to conduct a thorough investigation in each of the 14 episodes to prove your client’s innocence. Search for clues in a variety of mini-games, interview suspects, and seek aid from the allies you make along the way before taking your case to the courtroom.
Even if you haven’t played the games before, you’ve probably seen bits and pieces of Ace Attorney out in the wild. It’s courtroom battles, expressive characters, and classic “objection!” sound effect are the subject of many memes in gaming spaces. But memes are a far cry from experiencing the games for yourself.
Finish the Ace Attorney Trilogy and still want more? I’d recommend Apollo Justice and The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles.
Steam Reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive (15,828)
If you're an avid anime watcher, you might already be familiar with Steins; Gate, a show often regarded as one of the best anime ever made. What you might not know is that it was based on a visual novel of equal if not greater quality.
Steins; Gate follows a team of student scientists and techies as they discover a way to alter the past using a souped-up microwave. Testing the limits of this new breakthrough, our cast is thrown into a dangerous conflict with a powerful organization and a supposed time traveler. How will your actions shape the past, present, and future of this world?
Steins; Gate offers a unique visual novel experience with its non-linear approach to storytelling. Venture off into multiple paths when you see fit, changing the story in different ways with each step. You’ll also make use of the “phone trigger” system, a mechanic that takes the story in new directions with every call, text, or email.
Steins; Gate is a must play for any science fiction fan. When you’re done, check out the anime adaptation or check out the sequel game: Steins; Gate 0.
Steam Reviews: Overwhelmingly Positive (11,798)
Out of all the titles on the list, Slay the Princess is the newest and perhaps the most unconventional of the bunch. Its darker aesthetics, mysterious lore, and emphasis on replaying the game to find new paths all make it stand out among a sea of titles in the visual novel genre.
The story, on the face of it, is pretty self-explanatory. You are a brave hero sent deep into the forest to slay a princess. If you don't, the world ends. At least, that’s what the narrator tells you. As you play Slay the Princess, you’ll realize that things aren’t so simple. Much like an RPG, the game lets you choose how to approach almost every situation. Your choices can take the story in wildly different directions. And each ending takes you one step closer to uncovering all the mysteries that the game presents you with.
Like DDLC!, Slay the Princess is a psychological horror game. Its frights (mostly) don’t come from jump scares, but from an unsettling atmosphere that hits the mark thanks to a creepy art style, top tier voice work, and terrifyingly good writing.
In my time playing Slay the Princess, I was struck by how much it reminded me of Disco Elysium, another skillfully written game where you’re allowed to make almost all your own choices and talk with the voices in your head. If you liked Disco Elysium, I think you’d really enjoy Slay the Princess.
Steam Reviews: Very Positive (881)
Developer Zachtronics’ first and only foray into the visual novel genre, Eliza was ahead of its time in how it talked about AI and its potential effects on our lives.
The main character, Evelyn, is starting fresh years after quitting the tech field by becoming a proxy for Eliza, an AI counseling program. Throughout the game, you’ll learn more about Evelyn, people from her past, and most crucially, the Eliza AI. You’ll witness firsthand how it handles counseling people that come to it. And you’ll hear from developers and investors who stand to gain from Eliza’s success. The game asks you to contemplate the efficacy of artificial intelligence in therapy, and by the end Evelyn must choose the road she wants to walk with full knowledge of how Eliza can change people’s lives, for better or worse.
Eliza is a curious example of a game that got better with time. Not due to any updates or intervention from the devs, but because of developments in technology and attitudes toward AI since release. If you didn’t know any better, you might think the previous paragraph was about a game that was released in the past year or two. But Eliza released way back in 2019, 3 years before ChatGPT even launched. Eliza is worth playing if only for its downright eerie verisimilitude to be conversations we’re having about AI today.
Steam Reviews: Very Positive (5,305)
Holding the distinction of the world's first and only bird dating simulator, Hatoful Boyfriend seems like a joke or meme game at first glance. However, there is a top-notch visual novel underneath the absurd premise.
Welcome to St. PigeoNation Institute, a school for relented birds. Against all odds, you, a human, have been admitted. Along with getting some of the best education in the avian world, you have a chance to find love among your feathery peers. Chat with your classmates and find a bird who’s flight matches your fancy. But beware, there is mystery and intrigue afoot that puts the fate of the very world at risk. Can you juggle school, romance, and the fate of the world?
Hatoful Boyfriend knows exactly how ridiculous it sounds and makes no apologies for it. You’ll definitely get some laughs out of its presentation alone. But it also manages to tackle some darker themes that you wouldn’t expect from a game of its kind.
And that’s the end of our list. Hopefully these seven titles were enough to scratch your visual novel itch. Let us know down in the comments if you give any of these games a try. Or recommend some of your favorite visual novels that we missed.
One thing that all these games have in common is that they all know how to tell a good story. If that’s something you’re looking for, have a look at our picks for the best story-based games on Steam.
