Visual Novels on Steam, recommendations?

[Dizzard]

I wouldn't say I'm totally new to Visual Novels. Although my favourites tend to have either gameplay elements or choices to make. (or both)

I've played the Ace Attorney games, the Dangan Ronpa games and the Zero Escape games. While I do love those games (they're among my favourite games ever, Ace Attorney is my number one game series) I've been a bit lost when it comes to playing visual novels on my laptop. I've downloaded a few demos of some visual novels but they don't really grab me that well. It seems like the kind of Visual Novels I like might be few and far between.

I should say that I don't really tend to like Anime that's overly cliche (contrived might be a better way of putting it since it's not usually the cliches that bother me but the sense that they're relying on them too much) or filled with fanservice. I'm also not really interested in dating sims. (although some romance is fine, just not the main focus) I also love plenty of twists and suspense. That's probably why the above games appeal to me so much since I find them to be really creative, have really exciting/interesting plotlines and have really likeable characters.

So my question is, are there any visual novels on Steam (or if not on Steam, at least available somewhere in English) that you could recommend that would fall in line with my tastes? (I realize the pool of options is probably really small but I figure this is where the experts are. :p)

[SinaAzad]

Well , Try Little witch on steam , I'm in love with art works done by Oyari ashito , music is nice and it has some game-play. there is also the uncensored version of it available but well , I prefer the Safe one lol It was on steam for like 24 $ if I'm not mistaking !
there is also Steins Gate which I consider one of the best visual novels , it is Long but the story is great.
Some other titles worth mentioning are " If my hear had wings " and "Clannad" I'm sure that I'm missing something here ...

ammm check this website : http://fuwanovel.net/

[SundownKid]

Let me make a shameless plug of my game, Icebound. I am a massive fan of Danganronpa/Ace Attorney myself, and I created it due to the same desire to make a game that wasn't a fanservice/dating sim and more of an adventure and mystery game. It also has puzzle minigames and it's on sale right now for the thanksgiving sale on Steam, so if you are interested you may want to grab it.

My next game, Moonshot, will have a greater emphasis on detective minigames tying directly into the story.

As far as other games go, I heard good things about Steins;Gate, unfortunately it's not on Steam only a (DRM-free I'm assuming) download. It's also on sale right now though.

[YossarianIII]

It's not a traditional VN, but if you like story-heavy games with suspense, The Walking Dead is probably the best option on Steam. (I say this as someone with no familiarity or even really interest in the show/comic.) Although if you're looking for likable characters and humor, Tales from the Borderlands might be an even better option.

Grim Fandango is another great story-rich game that isn't a VN, but is very similar to Phoenix Wright. The puzzles can be a little obtuse, but the writing is hilarious -- some of the best in any game.

I actually haven't come across anymany big-budget, traditional VNs that interested me yet... so I'd be curious to see what other people in the thread recommend.

[Dizzard]

It's not a traditional VN, but if you like story-heavy games with suspense, The Walking Dead is probably the best option on Steam. (I say this as someone with no familiarity or even really interest in the show/comic.) Although if you're looking for likable characters and humor, Tales from the Borderlands might be an even better option.

Grim Fandango is another great story-rich game that isn't a VN, but is very similar to Phoenix Wright. The puzzles can be a little obtuse, but the writing is hilarious -- some of the best in any game.

I actually haven't come across any big-budget, traditional VNs that interested me yet... so I'd be curious to see what other people in the thread recommend.

I've played most of the games you suggested. Although I've only played the first season of The Walking Dead it didn't really grab me enough to make me want to play the second season. I haven't even finished Wolf Among Us yet for a similar reason. On the other hand Life Is Strange really drew me in and I'm excited that they announced a second season of it.

By the way I played your game Beretta Mondatta and really enjoyed it.

(Steins;Gate is one visual novel I do plan to pick up at some point, I watched the anime of it a while back and loved it.)

[Sysen]

if you like ace atorney or dangan ronpa
you maybe like Innocent Grey games such as
Kara no shoujo 1,2 and cartagra
The game considered mature (h-scene and much blood and gore)
so it won't come to steam, but you can get the game from mangagamer instead
http://www.mangagamer.com/detail.php?go ... t_code=153
or umineko if you can stand the graphics (or play the ps3 version)

for steam VN, i can't recommend much, but i really you recommend to pick Grisaia no Kajitsu, it's great, funny VN with rollercoaster twists that make the story gets really dark and heavy as it progress, and it got really good reviews (plus it's currently on 50% sale)

[ludeshka]

Two recommendations:

(Neither of these is romance heavy or anime cliche-y, but also neither of them is a traditional vn.)

One! Long Live The Queen. It definitely counts as "having gameplay elements" as it's a lot like a Princess Maker game, where you have to raise the stats of your character (in LLQ's case, for her to not meet an untimely end). It's a huuuuge game, with lots of endings and a bazillion of choices.

Two! Choice of Robots It doesn't have "gameplay elements"... and it doesn't have graphics either. It's interactive fiction, but it has some of the strongest writing I've seen on the genre. Your choices (there are a LOT of choices) really matter, and can lead you to unexpected places. I seriously reccomend this one. (There are several games from choiceofgames.com that are free to play. You could play any of them and see if you like the system before committing to actually spending money on them)

[Dreamgazer]

Hello, Dizzard!

Regeria Hope is a visual novel modeled after the Ace Attorney games. Win the Game is based off Battle Royale, which may or may not be reminiscent of the Dangan Ronpa games.

As for big names...Fate/Stay Night is super popular. It has a shounen feel, and if you rather not pay for it, you can always just read through this let's play, which is what I did. In fact, it's the very first visual novel that I read. Other than that, Saya no Uta has a dark story that I find positively absorbing. It doesn't have all that many choices, but it makes up for it with psychological elements and twists. (And if you rather not pay for it either, you can always find a let's play of it on Youtube.)

If you so happen to be a Legend of Zelda fan, there's Lost Heroes. There's romance, but I wouldn't say it's the sole focus. Defeating Ganondorf is just as important, if not more so.

Let me know if any of my suggestions hit the mark.

[reignrevonica]

Nameless: The One Thing You Must Recall is a great one. Although the price is somewhat expensive for a VN, you won't regret buying it. It's rather long for a visual novel, but you won't get bored. It has romance in it, though not too much romance (I'm not a very big fan of romance VNs really either) so it's just in the middle. (Here's a nice ref as to what it's about in detail: http://steamcommunity.com/id/thegraveth ... ed/337930/)

[YonYonYon]

If you don't mind not-actually-VN story-rich games, I'd recommend Read Only Memories. It's a pretty neat game, made in retro-style with beautiful pixel graphics and awesome music.

Also, from Games of Choice, A Study in Steampunk: Choise by Gaslight is pretty well-written so far.

If you don't mind kinetic novels, you can try Higurashi When They Cry and Over the Hills and Far Away. Also, there's To the Moon made in RPG Maker.

Brilliant Shadows is a pretty solid game though I wasn't satisfied by the ending.

Roommates was pretty light and fun.\

Cinders is a beautiful and well-written piece of art.

Also, it seems that you've already played Undertale.

Dreamfall Chapters has similar gameplay as Life is Strange and Telltale games. Apparently it's the latest game in the series, but you can play it without playing the first games. You may miss some details, but the story is understandable.

[juunishi master]

I will recommend 2 games from the same creator:

Analogue: A Hate Story

Hate Plus

The Hateful Days Pair (Analogue, Hate Plus, and both OST) bundle is currently discounted for 50%. I, personally, like the OST, so the bundle is worth it.

The third game from her will be coming soon. Maybe early on 2016. It's NSFW, so be careful when you play the demo. Here's the official website for the game: http://ladykillerinabind.com/

And one of my friend lately got hype about An Octave Higher.

[Nephalos]

Roommates was pretty light and fun.

As far as slice-of-life college dating-sim-esque VNs go, this one is pretty solid. I enjoyed everything about it. The stat system and schedule add another aspect to the story besides the dialogue choices.

[NeaParorou]

Get the Hatoful Boyfriend games. Yes, the pigeon datesim ones. Do NOT google them before you play them or all the jokes and stuff will be ruined for you.
While they have beautiful remastered versions on Steam, you can always buy the first versions from DLSite for just 4 dollars each, if you don't mind a few spelling errors here and there.

And I second Juunishi, try Analogue: a Hate story + Hate Plus. I don't know if Love's older game Digital: A Love Story is on Steam, but it's also good so try it out (and old-ish, so it must be cheap by now).

-