Visual Novels as Games
Some games have little gameplay, such as the ‘walking simulators’ and visual novels which usually take the form of ‘dating simulators’. They are two different kinds of visual novels and are very popular. Let’s take a look at them in kind.
The ‘walking simulators’ are games where you mainly spend your time walking around, exploring and solving some light puzzles to get the story bit by bit. They are particularly effective for horror experiences or at least unsettling experiences. They can set up for good twist endings or a properly scary experience.
A game in this vein I really enjoyed is called Gone Home where a young woman returns to her family home and finds the place empty. She must explore the house and piece together what happened and where her family members are. It’s non linear, but you must find certain things to unlock new areas to explore. I won’t spoil the ending but it’s worth your time.
Other games in this vein include Firewatch, What Remains of Edith Finch and the Stanley Parable (which is a humorous take on these kinds of games).
Dating Simulators
Dating simulators and visual novels usually are formatted as static artwork with an overlay where conversations happen and the player makes choices about what to say or who to spend time with. Not all of them are dating simulators. Games like Ace Attorney being an adventure centered around investigations and courtroom trials.
These kinds of games are especially popular in Japan and many of them feature anime style artwork. They often have a few different endings, usually based on the choice of which character to date and form a relationship with. They range from the sweet and benign to the outright bizarre like Panzermadels. This is one where the girls you can date are actually tanks. Yeah. Really.
Unsurprisingly there are a bunch of these which are firmly in the NSFW category. Which is fair enough if that’s what you’re into. Some of them include some other kind of game mechanics as well. They have branching story paths, again for the replayability value of the games. They range in quality as well, with some of them being really good and others less so.
Horror Visual Novels
They can be effective for a horror experience too. They do lend themselves well to that kind of atmosphere. One I came across randomly is called Cooking Companions. It is very strange and makes good use of sounds and visuals to give you goosebumps. It’s not the best story I’ve ever come across. That said, it definitely gets under your skin and is very uncomfortable at times.
One of the best in this category, however, is Doki Doki Literature Club. This game doesn’t appear to be a horror experience at first. However, if you play through it, it will get under your skin. It’s a lot, and it does involve some very heavy subject matters. So heed the warnings if you chose to play it. If you like horror, you’ll enjoy it.
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