In reality, these games are interesting precisely because that isn't what happens. Doki Doki, which got an enhanced re-release and console versions this year, was meant as a form of satire of the harem-like nature of visual novels where every character is immediately into the protagonist. Visual novels with dating as their main component, called otome games when the protagonist is a woman, are a lot more than Doki Doki Literature Club wants you to believe. I don't know if visual novels are a direct influence on the dating aspects in games like Dragon Age, but people like to choose characters to date, with the romance adding another facet to their interactive experience, just as romance is part of many stories in other media. Many visual novels are dating games and it feels to me like there's an increasing interest in such games among Western developers and players, judging by the reception of this year's Boyfriend Dungeon, the game where you date a bunch of sexy sometimes-weapons.
In it, a group of contestants of a pop idol show get trapped in a studio, only to find out that this, as well as their potential death at the hands of a stranger, is all part of the show. It suffers from sub-par English translation, which unfortunately is a common problem, but it takes an interesting stab at social media culture and the hunt for fame. Buried Stars.īuried Stars, a Korean visual novel, is the better choice if you're looking for a death game with a stronger narrative focus - I haven't really played anything that compares to it since the golden age of Danganronpa/Zero Escape a good decade ago. Because you're talking to a bunch of computer-controlled people, this is a bit of a hard sell narratively, but the different roles you can inhabit and number of questions you can ask leads to so many different outcomes I would pay developer Petit Depotto good money to take a peek at their branching cause and effect models.
#Best visual novels in english Pc#
Gnosia, which came out in the West on Switch this year and is to receive a PC port, is a game where a group of people try to find out via discussion if one or more people in their midst (I say people, one of them is a dolphin in a spacesuit) is out to murder them. Two games exemplified both the sheer narrative and technical work that goes into crafting unforeseen consequences. Visual novels are a great way of studying branching decision-making in games and work particularly well with anything that asks players for a hard choice. Visual novels can encompass all genres - the wide range of experiences I've had this year alone also attest to how many stories fit a choice-driven format.
But there is the expectation of interactivity with games, and to many, visual novels aren't interactive enough - not even games like Ace Attorney, which according to the original definition of a visual novel, is technically an adventure game. I'm not saying the people who shy away from visual novels don't like to read in general.
The twist is this - I did all of this in visual novels.Įven if you get past the misconception of all visual novels being the weirdly horny games you sometimes come across on Steam's Popular Up and Coming lists, visual novels can be difficult to talk about. I defended the innocent in court, tried to stay alive in a death game, fought with street gangs in a cyberpunk society and found the impostor among us. This year I saved a sleepy village from a monster, I tried to unite a divided caste society, and I started a band. Hello! Over the next few days we're going to be going back over some of our favourite games and moments and themes and whatnot from this very strange year.
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