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Can anyone recommend visual novels that are engaging/interesting from start to finish?*

PickledCucumber

PickledCucumber

Member
Sep 14, 2019
3,028
*Preferably for Switch and Mac.

Hey everyone!

I recently finished Dream Daddy on Switch and I really enjoyed it. I really liked that I was immediately able to date any of the daddies I wanted.

Now I'm looking for more interesting and engaging visual novels to play.

I tried playing Nekopara, but I just couldn't get into it. It felt it was taking too long to get the ball going. It also felt a little grating...

So hopefully I can get some interesting game suggestions.

-

Other visual novels I've played, for reference, are:

- The Zero Escape series

- Ace Attorney series

- Nekojishi

- Planetarian (though the player character is a bit of an ass)

- Full Service (which kind of dragged at times...)

- Corpse Party (for Nintendo 3DS)

-

Please and thank you!
 
Kamion

Kamion

Member
Oct 28, 2017
116
Germany
You probably played it already but since you liked Zero Escape you might also like AI: The Somnium Files.
At least I thoroughly enjoyed it. Uchikoshi's non-sequels are always pretty good.
 
.exe

.exe

Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,219
I would recommend Eliza. Very well written. Great voice acting too.
Not really a VN but involves lots of reading (and relationships!): Disco Elysium. Think about it :>

Etrian Darkness said:
I'd suggest Steins;Gate because you haven't played that.
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kamineko said:
same
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I feel like this doesn't really fit the "interesting from start to finish". It has hours upon hours of textual foreplay before it gets good.

Bradford said:
428: Shibuya Scramble.
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Now this, I like! 428 gets good from the start. It's not on Switch or MacOS though.
 
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ExtremelyBitter

ExtremelyBitter

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,944
Raging Loop was a ton of fun for me, and gets down to business pretty quickly. On Switch and definitely worth it IMO.
 
Curler

Curler

Member
Oct 26, 2017
15,599
TeddieBear said:
I recently finished Dream Daddy on Switch and I really enjoyed it. I really liked that I was immediately able to date any of the daddies I wanted.
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Maybe otome games would work too? Tons on Switch, and plenty more getting ported.
(There's an OT too)
www.resetera.com

Otome Community Thread: A New Era of Beefcakes

Source: Wikipedia. Yo-Jin-Bo: The Bodyguards (PC) Source: VNDB. Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom (PSP) - Also available as Hakuoki (iOS), Hakuoki: Memories of the Shinsengumi (3DS) and Hakuoki: Stories of the Shinsengumi (PS3) Source: GameFAQs. Sweet Fuse: At Your Side (PSP)...
www.resetera.com www.resetera.com
 
Bradford

Bradford

terminus est
Member
Aug 12, 2018
5,423
.exe said:
I would recommend Eliza. Very well written. Great voice acting too.
Not really a VN but involves lots of reading (and relationships!): Disco Elysium. Think about it :>




I feel like this doesn't really fit the "interesting from start to finish". It has hours upon hours of textual foreplay before it gets good.



Now this, I like! 428 gets good from the start. It's not on Switch of MacOS though.
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Oh, for some reason so thought there was a switch port. My bad.

Seconding the suggestion for Raging Loop, which I adored.
 
Fumpster

Fumpster

Member
Nov 4, 2017
1,214
I liked AI: The Somnium Files waaay more than the Zeeo Escape games, so I recommend that one.
 
tiebreaker

tiebreaker

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,122
428: Shibuya Scramble

428-shibuya-scramble_20181204223331.png
 
.exe

.exe

Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,219
Etrian Darkness said:
I mean I was gripped by it. World building and characetr development is important.
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Sure, I get that! But it just felt overlong to me. It was like six hours or something — not a fast reader though so it's subjective to an extent. I fell off once before deciding to power through (and ended up enjoying it plenty).
 
HylianSeven

HylianSeven

Shin Megami TC - Community Resetter
Member
Oct 25, 2017
19,036
I still consider this one a VN, but Ai: The Somnium Files. It's also made by the Zero Escape developers. I honestly rank it below VLR but above ZTD.

AI_The_Somnium_Files.png
 
Ailanthium

Ailanthium

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,270
If you like Ace Attorney and Zero Escape, Danganronpa is the most obvious option. AI: The Somnium Files is also a great choice, if you like Uchikoshi's writing. The House in Fata Morgana is the best visual novel I've played and the pacing is fantastic, gripping from start to finish, so that's also an easy recommendation.
 
Protoman200X

Protoman200X

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
8,553
N. Vancouver, BC, Canada
Arcade Spirits is a personal favourite, and it's available for all the major game platforms (PS4, XBO, Switch, & PC).

Synopsis:

What if the 1983 video game marketing crash never happened? Set in 20XX, Arcade Spirits is a visual novel romantic comedy with a different history, where arcades still reign supreme as the ultimate place to play. After a period of turbulent employment, your character starts an exciting new job at the Funplex: a popular local arcade with a team of staff that are as eccentric as the customers.

From fierce pro-gamers and dedicated high-score chasers, to creative cosplayers and tinkering programmers, the neon lights and buzzing atmosphere of the Funplex is a welcome home to many. But where will this new-found employment opportunity take you? Who will you meet along the way? And will you finally find the romance you've been seeking?
 
MeepMerp

MeepMerp

Alt Account
Member
May 2, 2020
541
Higurashi When they Cry
Umineko When they Cry
Dies Irae

If you want some more lewd stuff, Grisaia is always good. Same with Majikoi.

Muv Luv if you want to cry.
 
JoeyJungle

JoeyJungle

Member
Oct 27, 2017
560
Code: Realize − Guardian of Rebirth is great, it's the only otome game I really got into but boy is it a wonderful ride. If you're coming off of Dream Daddy and want another romance game with a darker tone more similar to Zero Escape, that's the perfect game imo. It's got romance, dark mysteries, action, and heists/capers.

There's also two fandiscs but I've never played them, so there's:
Guardian of Rebirth (original game)
Future Blessings (fandisc 1)
Wintertide Miracles (fandisc 2) (currently only on PSN, JPN switch port just came out and english release is likely late this year/early next year)

On PSN, Guardian of Rebirth and Future Blessings are bundled together for PS4 as:
Code: Realize ~Bouquet of Rainbows~
 
ExtremelyBitter

ExtremelyBitter

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,944
MeepMerp said:
Muv Luv if you want to cry.
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Honestly this one is currently failing the 'engaging from start' one for me--I know the second and third games are supposed to be amazing, but the first one is rough. I've seen some people saying it's an intentionally stereotypically bad harem game, but I am struggling to get through it.
 
jonjonaug

jonjonaug

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,670
Nthing 428: Shibuya Scramble, it's fantastic.

Planetarian is a very short VN that gets going right away and is over almost as fast.

Raging Loop doesn't take very long to get to the good stuff.

If you're OK with low to moderate amounts of porn I'd also recommend the following three titles.

Saya no Uta hits the ground sprinting and never lets up (like seriously it has one of my favorite opening scenes in anything ever). CW for intense violence, rape, some other stuff. The Steam version takes out about 4% of the total script and some artwork but you still generally know what's going on in those scenes. One of the main characters is visibly underage. If you're fine with reading something that has all that though, definitely check this one out.

Hanachirasu, a revenge story where the main character is also the villain. CW for one brief rape scene that can be skipped without impacting the story. All characters are firmly in the "adult" category.

No, Thank You! is a BL visual novel where the protagonist and the love interests take on a drug ring. Has a very entertaining protagonist, some good mysteries that take multiple routes to solve (partly because the game only shows you some scenes and dialog on repeat playthroughs), and actually well written sex scenes that further the development of the characters involved. All characters firmly in the "adult" category.

I would not recommend Higurashi, Umineko, or Steins;Gate for something that is "engaging from the start", as Higurashi and Umineko have long buildups in every individual "chapter" in their first halves before anything really happens, and Steins;Gate takes about 10 hours after the opening sequence before it really starts to build the suspense.

ExtremelyBitter said:
Honestly this one is currently failing the 'engaging from start' one for me--I know the second and third games are supposed to be amazing, but the first one is rough. I've seen some people saying it's an intentionally stereotypically bad harem game, but I am struggling to get through it.
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The second one is also a slow build, and the third game's entire first third is a repeat of the second game.

I've said this about Muv Luv in the past: It will take you two weeks to spend the 50 hours it takes to get through Extra, Unlimited, and the first third of Alternative. It will take you two days to spend the 30 hours it takes to get through the rest.
 
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CannonFodder52

CannonFodder52

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,006
Canada
The Silver Case and 428 are the two best VNs I've played.

As other people mentioned, Eliza is real good. Hotel Dusk is probably better defined as a puzzle adventure game, but that's a tremendous experience as well.
 
Hexa

Hexa

Saw the truth behind the copied door
Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,729
This thread has inspired me to play Raging Loop (currently in the tutorial with Rikako) . I'm going in completely blind. Anything I should know before I begin?
 

Deleted member 3925

User requested account closure
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Oct 25, 2017
5,725
The House in Fata Morgana is paced really well. Also AI: The Somnium Files if you're a Zero Escape fan.
 
OP
OP
PickledCucumber

PickledCucumber

Member
Sep 14, 2019
3,028
Thanks everyone for the recommendations!

So many to choose from!

I totally forgot I already have AI: The Somnium Files on my Switch. I even gave away a physical copy in a raffle 😅

I started the game and completely forgot about it. I guess I don't have to buy any game right this moment, but I'm loving all the recommendations!
 
Kakihara

Kakihara

Member
Nov 10, 2017
308
Quoting myself from a similar thread
Kakihara said:
You are all crazy in here! Where is the love for yu-no? Its the Xenogears of Visual Novels.

There is nothing thematically similar about these games, it is just the grand scale of story telling which makes xenogears special and almost no other game has. But Yu-No got this and thats what makes it so good. Of course you have to get through some spicy eroge stuff (not hardcore of course), but the story is amazing. Merely because it incorporates the usual gameplay stuff of visual novel (multiple paths) so perfectly in its storyline, probably the first vn to do so? (Not sure about that...) And the (long) epilogue alone, just hits you over the head with its change of pace?!? (Dont know how to describe it, without spoiling it)
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ara

ara

Member
Oct 26, 2017
13,001
Fata Morgana starts with a handful of seemingly pretty disconnected short stories so I'm ever so slightly hesitant to call it engaging from the very start in the same way something like Ace Attorney or ZE games are, but it's fucking amazing so I'll also recommend that. Mostly (completely?) devoid of annoying anime tropes, in case you've also started to get frustrated by those more often than not.
 
Korigama

Korigama

Member
Oct 25, 2017
20,483
HeatKnuckle said:
Chaos;Head and Chaos;Child are superb. ;Child is on vita if you have one btw
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I can vouch for Chaos;Head, which I personally prefer over Steins;Gate in respect to the Science Adventure universe, but I've been disappointed by the story in Chaos;Child so far (still working through the paths leading up to the true ending to see if there's any actual payoff to all of its misery and tragedy). The common route in C;C being as long as it was on top of spiraling into what it did didn't help, either.
 
Kaloskatoa

Kaloskatoa

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
352
ExtremelyBitter said:
Honestly this one is currently failing the 'engaging from start' one for me--I know the second and third games are supposed to be amazing, but the first one is rough. I've seen some people saying it's an intentionally stereotypically bad harem game, but I am struggling to get through it.
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the magic of muv luv is how I actually miss how boring the first game was. All I want is the boring normal life after finishing alternative.
 
FZed

FZed

Member
Dec 30, 2019
117
This made me remember I am still waiting for the switch port of "The House in Fata Morgana"

There is a lot of really good suggestions here but I rarely found a good VN that get things fast, character building is important but I agree it is often too long (I loved and cryed Stein gate but it really took a while to reach that point)
 
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