Lesser Known Visual Novels?

[mozelle]

hieeeeee!! ime looking for some lesser known visual novels 2 play ? i'me don't really have much of a genre preference but ime not really in the mood for Utsuge or anythn really sad or depressing w/out a happy ending 

I've had fun with some of the more known novels but I feel like there's so many underappreciated ones out there n I'm wondering if there's any good ones you all know ,,     

[BlazingCobaltX]

Have you played 428: Shibuya Scramble? It's one of my favourites! Some elements of the story may feel dated but the live action visuals are fascinating.

[Bede]

As a certified Visual Novel Fan, here are some of my faves!

I'll get my shameless self-promo out of the way first... "ORGANS" is a very simple visual novel project I completed for a 3-day jam! I created the concept, the art and the writing. It's available for free and in-browser! The ending is bittersweet, though, I will warn you. Check the content warnings! Described as: "A short visual novel where you help your terminally ill childhood friend restore his church's organ."

"BAD END THEATER" is one of my favorite games OF ALL TIME, and I NEVER pass up a chance to recommend it. It's $9.99 USD, and is a visual novel puzzle game. Described as: "Select your protagonist and explore a variety of terrible fates! The decisions you make in one story will affect the others. You can toggle these behaviors to open up new paths! Unfortunately, every path leads to a bad ending... Can you find a way to save this unlucky cast?" (And after you finish it, you can read my writeup about it, lol.)

"Off Day" is a free, short visual novel that is breathtakingly gorgeous and uplifting! Described as: "A point & click visual novel about appreciating the little things in life."

"Slay the Princess" is a horror visual novel MASTERPIECE, available for $19.99. (But, if you can't afford that, the devs DO support you pirating their games...) But don't look up ANYTHING. PLEASE go in blind. That's what I did and I ended up lying on the floor after it was over, staring into space, from the intensity of The Feelings. Described as: "You're on a path in the woods, and at the end of that path is a cabin. And in the basement of that cabin is a Princess. You're here to slay her. If you don't, it will be the end of the world. She will do everything in her power to stop you. She'll charm, and she'll lie, and she'll promise you the world, and if you let her, she'll kill you a dozen times over. You can't let that happen. Don't forget, the fate of the world rests on your shoulders. You're not going to listen to him, are you? We're supposed to save princesses, not slay them..."

[TheDuke_11037]

Uhhh maybe Flowers -Le volume sur hiver, its part of a series of yuri vns. I really like the presentation of it and the story was nice. Another one would probably be Heaven Will Be Mine, a nice short visual novel with funny characters also a yuri lol. 

[tertiaryapocalypse]

butterfly soup is free on itch.io if i remember correctly -- it's a very sweet romance visnov.

reaper's goodbye is another one i've enjoyed but i dont remember if it's free or not-- either way, it might be too gloomy for your tastes? still, it's stuck with me.

i also really liked hikeback, which is a free horror visnov. also on itch.

[tarraxahum]

Oh hell yes we DO have a topic for this! Here goes: last year I played a visual novel called Breathless Winds and goddamn it's so good and I wish more people knew about it. OP, don't know if it'll be up your alley, but I'm gonna leave it here anyway for you and whoever else comes looking.

It's kind of a "choose who you want to romance out of characters introduced and then depending on your pick the plot will unravel accordingly" game, if anyone is into that (I am usually not! and yet!), and all the routes are so distinct and different and well-written. One of them, not spoiling which, even had a whole entire separate location and additional cast drawn specifically for it, which is commitment (the other three routes are happening entirely in one place with the same case so having all that work put into just one character 'cause it wouldn't make sense otherwise instilled a lot of respect for the developers in me).

The official description, which I'm gonna give to avoid spilling spoilers, goes as such: "After recovering from a painful incident, a closeted trans woman finds herself split between four possible paths - returning to sailing, becoming a healer, helping the resident witch, or joining a prince on a mysterious quest."

And it made me feel so many things. Each route tackles some difficult but very relatable subjects - that's besides the heroine's journey, of course, which takes noticeably different ways depending on the route, it's not all one and the same.

The ending, however, is always happy - or at least I've never seen a bad one. Maybe I just played my cards right 

The worldbuilding is solid, I loved the music a lot, and there's something very soothing and magical about the art style for me.

So honestly if all that sounds even remotely interesting to you or someome I can't recommend it enough. It's got criminally little eyes on it, I think (well that may not be such a bad thing, considering the negative attention it could get, but I know this forum is a safe place to share <3)

It's on Steam, not free, but not too expensive either.

[Cobra!]

I’m not sure if this counts, but Raik is a text heavy and story focused game that is in Scots and English. The game basically tells two stories simultaneously, one in each language, and you need to switch them to progress in the game. It does have puzzles though. Scots is similar enough to English that of you try hard enough, you’ll probably get the gist of it.

If that’s not your thing, I just remembered playing through Ripples, which sounds exactly like the kind of VN you’re looking for!