Looking for new games...

[Trivun]

So, last night, I played a little-known indie game called deIz:

http://gamejolt.com/freeware/games/other/deiz/5995/

I found it from a Cracked article and was sfficiently intrigued by the premise to want to go out and play it. So I did. And it was actually pretty good. Very well written, regardless of the cheesiness of some dialogue, and I enjoyed trying to find the different endings, some repetitiveness aside. But the key thing here is that it's the first time I've played a dating sim before. I've always been slightly reluctant to get into the 'visual novel' genre of gaming, though with Higurashi no Naku Koro ni I did dip my toe in the waters a little.

Nevertheless, I was intrigued enough that I'd kind of like to play some more dating sim type games now. Trouble is, I only have a limited pool of games that I know of, which is where I turn to you guys.

Basically, I want you all to suggest decent visual novels and dating sims that I could have a go at, that would help get me more interested in the genre. Note that I'm looking for games that are well written and have good, interesting characters. Sexual content doesn't bother me, so I don't mind if the game you suggest has hentai content or is simply a 'safe-for-work' story everyone can enjoy. The more suggestions, the better. Oh, and let me know if games you suggest have demos or anything, or are free-to-play - I'm willing to spend some money on anything particularly good, but otherwise my budget is limited, so try to convince me well that a game is worth my time .

I'll also be updating this thread with games I have played or intend to play, as the suggestions come in, so fire away .

Games played so far:

- deIz

Games I plan to play:

- Yume Miru Kusuri: A Drug That Make You Dream
- School Days
- Let's Meow Meow!
- Fate/Stay Night
- Katawa Shoujo
- Symphonic Rain

 

[ChupathingyX]

Kikokugai: The Cyber Slayer

Spoiler: Info

It's a great futuristic cyberpunk story set in China.

The visuals are really nice, the actions scenes are fantastic and very fluid, the setting is interesting and despite first impressions leaving it as a generic revenge story it takes an interesting turn.

And most importantly, the soundtrack is fantastic! Seriously, this has one of the best soundtracks I've ever had the pleasure of hearing in a game.

The characters aren't the greatest I've seen in a visual novel (though i haven't played many) but there are some very interesting character interactions.

Also, it references Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which is awesome to me.

It's very short (shouldn't take you longer than 10 hours) and has good pacing without it ever dragging on.

It's also not a dating sim and actually has no choices involved at all; just a straight, linear story.

However, although you said sexual content doesn't bother you I must warn you the eroge scenes are very awkward and downright creepy.

The Muv-Luv trilogy.

Spoiler: Info

My personal favourite.

This trilogy, to me, was amazing and like nothing I'd ever experienced.

However, there are some details that need to be said:

The first one, Extra, is shit. Okay, so it actually isn't but it is. The developers made it intentionally bad while simultaneously making it great, at least in the way it connects to the other two.

The next two, Unlimited and Alternative, are great, or at least Unlimited is.

There is no word worthy enough to describe just how mind-blowingly epic Alternative is. I could go on for hours explaining how much I loved it but I won't bore you with that.

However, in order to understand the story you have to play the first one or else nothing will make sense to you.

Extra is just your average harem comedy filled to the brim with anime cliches and over the top silliness. Then with Unlimited the story and setting takes a massive turn and becomes something else entirely while still being connected with Extra.

I should also point out that Extra and Unlimited are technically the same game, or at least that they're on the same disc. Unlimited is kind of like a new game plus mode, but not; it's unlocked after finishing the two main paths in Extra.

It can also take up to 100 hours to complete, so keep that in mind.

And you should check out this [http://vndb.org/] website. Click on "visual novels" and sort it by "rating" and/or "popularity" to get some good ideas.

There are others that I like but I wanted to specifically mention those two. I'll add Symphonic Rain as a recommendation based on one of the characters being one of the most morally confusing characters I've met in a game.

I should also point out that I myself am quite new to VN's and there are people here who can offer much more recommendations.

 

[Trivun]

Oh, also, I remembered that a lot of people here will no doubt recommend Katawa Shoujo, given the Escapist's love for that game, so yeah, that's going on the list too .

 

[Trivun]

Kikokugai: The Cyber Slayer

Spoiler: Info

It's a great futuristic cyberpunk story set in China.

The visuals are really nice, the actions scenes are fantastic and very fluid, the setting is interesting and despite first impressions leaving it as a generic revenge story it takes an interesting turn.

And most importantly, the soundtrack is fantastic! Seriously, this has one of the best soundtracks I've ever had the pleasure of hearing in a game.

The characters aren't the greatest I've seen in a visual novel (though i haven't played many) but there are some very interesting character interactions.

Also, it references Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which is awesome to me.

It's very short (shouldn't take you longer than 10 hours) and has good pacing without it ever dragging on.

It's also not a dating sim and actually has no choices involved at all; just a straight, linear story.

However, although you said sexual content doesn't bother you I must warn you the eroge scenes are very awkward and downright creepy.

The Muv-Luv trilogy.

Spoiler: Info

My personal favourite.

This trilogy, to me, was amazing and like nothing I'd ever experienced.

However, there are some details that need to be said:

The first one, Extra, is shit. Okay, so it actually isn't but it is. The developers made it intentionally bad while simultaneously making it great, at least in the way it connects to the other two.

The next two, Unlimited and Alternative, are great, or at least Unlimited is.

There is no word worthy enough to describe just how mind-blowingly epic Alternative is. I could go on for hours explaining how much I loved it but I won't bore you with that.

However, in order to understand the story you have to play the first one or else nothing will make sense to you.

Extra is just your average harem comedy filled to the brim with anime cliches and over the top silliness. Then with Unlimited the story and setting takes a massive turn and becomes something else entirely while still being connected with Extra.

I should also point out that Extra and Unlimited are technically the same game, or at least that they're on the same disc. Unlimited is kind of like a new game plus mode, but not; it's unlocked after finishing the two main paths in Extra.

It can also take up to 100 hours to complete, so keep that in mind.

And you should check out this [http://vndb.org/] website. Click on "visual novels" and sort it by "rating" and/or "popularity" to get some good ideas.

There are others that I like but I wanted to specifically mention those two. I'll add Symphonic Rain as a recommendation based on one of the characters being one of the most morally confusing characters I've met in a game.

I should also point out that I myself am quite new to VN's and there are people here who can offer much more recommendations.

Thanks for the recommendations, I'll have a look . Also, seems like a decent site to check out, so yeah, I'll see what it's like there

 

[ChupathingyX]

Thanks for the recommendations, I'll have a look . Also, seems like a decent site to check out, so yeah, I'll see what it's like there

I should also point out that there's a visual novel group [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/Visual-Novels] here on the Escapist.

You can get a lot more recommendations and info there from some more well versed people.

 

[Gigano]

Off the top of my head I'd recommend:

Planetarian - the Reverie of a little planet [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.274139-Deskimus-Prime-Reaches-For-The-Stars-and-the-tissues-In-Planetarian]
Corpse Party [http://www.gamespot.com/corpse-party/reviews/corpse-party-review-6346854/] (PSP)
ChäoS;HEAd [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.264914-Deskimus-Prime-Reviews-The-Madness-that-is-ChaoS-HEAd]
Steins;Gate [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.315473-Steins-Gate-PC-Game-Review]
Cross+Channel [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.266586-Deskimus-Prime-Dives-into-Cross-Channel]
Swan Song [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.301706-Visual-Novel-review-Swan-Song]

If you enjoyed Higurashi, then the second series, Umineko no Naku Koro ni [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.349201-Deskimus-P-Frolics-with-the-Sea-Cats-in-Umineko-no-Naku-Koro-ni] is a given too (...I'll get back to you on the newly translated third series game from their writer). I can't imagine there being anything worthwhile about something called "Let's Meow Meow" though, it might have a certain "so-bad-it's-good" thing going for it, but if you want light hearted comedy you're probably better off with this [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/95937-This-Is-the-Best-Trailer-for-a-Japanese-Porn-Game-Ever], which now has an official English release (yesteryear's widget being today's all American product).

 

[Nouw]

Let's Meow Meow xD? Tell me how it goes, please.

 

[Trivun]

I can't imagine there being anything worthwhile about something called "Let's Meow Meow" though, it might have a certain "so-bad-it's-good" thing going for it, but if you want light hearted comedy you're probably better off with this [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/95937-This-Is-the-Best-Trailer-for-a-Japanese-Porn-Game-Ever], which now has an official English release (yesteryear's widget being today's all American product).

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll take a look, and Corpse Party was on my list except I don't have a PSP . As for 'Let's Meow Meow', I basically saw it on the same Cracked article where I found deIz, and thought it looked so appallingly weird (as eroge go) that I had to play it just for the hell of it. Interestingly enough, My Girlfriend Is The President was on that same Cracked list, so I might take a look at that too . Certainly an interesting premise, even if it is balls-flappingly mental...

Let's Meow Meow xD? Tell me how it goes, please.

Will do ;D.

 

[Evilsanta]

Aw, Man so many have already brought up alot of the good ones. Though I do have some that has not been mentioned.

Ever17. As for why? Well I will let on our VN groups member review tell you that: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.263601-Deskimus-Prime-Presents-Ever-17-ything-You-Ever-17-Wanted-To-Know-About-Ever17

TWEESTS everywhere!


The Sharin no Kuni games and G-Senjou no Maou.

If you want some the cute, moe stuff then Hoshizora No Memoria should interest you.

Look em up.

 

[Deskimus Prime]

The thing about that Cracked article is, not only did they not really pick very good ones, they also didn't even pick the weirdest. Then again, there's some really weird shit out there.

But I'm assuming that's not what you're looking for. Here's some you might be into:

I can't recommend Symphonic Rain enough, it's absolutely phenomenal. Don't be put off by the artstyle, they knew perfectly well what they were doing when they decided to go with that. Plus it's got some great music and a fun rhythm minigame.

Fate/Stay Night is a good place to start for some fantasy action, it starts off a little slow but once it gets going it really gets going.

Steins;Gate is another very good one, this one's a great take on time travel with some amazingly memorable characters and a cool artstyle.

And then there's Planetarian which is probably the perfect into to visual novels: short, well-written and a colossal emotional punch in the dick.

Best of luck, and feel free to drop by the group sometime which ChupathinyX already linked.

 

[Marik2]

So, last night, I played a little-known indie game called deIz:

http://gamejolt.com/freeware/games/other/deiz/5995/

I found it from a Cracked article and was sfficiently intrigued by the premise to want to go out and play it. So I did. And it was actually pretty good. Very well written, regardless of the cheesiness of some dialogue, and I enjoyed trying to find the different endings, some repetitiveness aside. But the key thing here is that it's the first time I've played a dating sim before. I've always been slightly reluctant to get into the 'visual novel' genre of gaming, though with Higurashi no Naku Koro ni I did dip my toe in the waters a little.

Nevertheless, I was intrigued enough that I'd kind of like to play some more dating sim type games now. Trouble is, I only have a limited pool of games that I know of, which is where I turn to you guys.

Basically, I want you all to suggest decent visual novels and dating sims that I could have a go at, that would help get me more interested in the genre. Note that I'm looking for games that are well written and have good, interesting characters. Sexual content doesn't bother me, so I don't mind if the game you suggest has hentai content or is simply a 'safe-for-work' story everyone can enjoy. The more suggestions, the better. Oh, and let me know if games you suggest have demos or anything, or are free-to-play - I'm willing to spend some money on anything particularly good, but otherwise my budget is limited, so try to convince me well that a game is worth my time .

I'll also be updating this thread with games I have played or intend to play, as the suggestions come in, so fire away .

Games played so far:

- deIz

Games I plan to play:

- Yume Miru Kusuri: A Drug That Make You Dream
- School Days
- Let's Meow Meow!
- Fate/Stay Night
- Katawa Shoujo
- Symphonic Rain

You should totatlly play Kamidori because its a VN/RPG hybrid with lots of colorful characters and an interesting setting


Heres some cool screenshots from the game

Spoiler

 

[Gigano]

...
Thanks for the suggestions, I'll take a look, and Corpse Party was on my list except I don't have a PSP . As for 'Let's Meow Meow', I basically saw it on the same Cracked article where I found deIz, and thought it looked so appallingly weird (as eroge go) that I had to play it just for the hell of it. Interestingly enough, My Girlfriend Is The President was on that same Cracked list, so I might take a look at that too . Certainly an interesting premise, even if it is balls-flappingly mental...

I'm looking forward to having a look at My Girlfriend is the President myself at some point, once more worthy entries are out of the way (it apparently doesn't feature as much political satire as one would hope, though I'll be damned if I won't thoroughly enjoy screwing over Putin anyway).

As for free and officially sanctioned demos, there's one of Higurashi [http://sonozakifutagotachi.blogspot.dk/2008/04/acquiring-our-releases.html] (same one as linked in the Higurashi user group if you've already tried that one) and one of Umineko [http://witch-hunt.com/stage0.html]. The Mangagamer website also have one of AO noir horror thriller title Kara no Shoujo, which is probably their only worthwhile title aside from the When they Cry games.

The thing about that Cracked article is, not only did they not really pick very good ones, they also didn't even pick the weirdest. Then again, there's some really weird shit out there.
...

I suppose the Otome Pigeon game succeeds in being weird even by VN standards, though it's certainly not the most "Oh dear god why does this thing exist"-inducing thing by any stretch of imagination.

 

[wendeego]

Probably the best visual novel I can think of to start with is True Remembrance. It's free, the translation is brilliant and is has absolutely no questionably-written sex, which believe it or not is pretty rare for this genre.

Basically, I'd check out works in this order:

BEGINNER--easily available in the United States, etc.
-True Remembrance
-Katawa Shoujo (also free, surprisingly tasteful)
-999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
-the Phoenix Wright games
-Personas 3 and 4 (take a lot of cues from visual novels)
-Ever17 (might be difficult to acquire, but WORTH IT)
-Umineko no Naku Koro Ni (easy to acquire)-->Higurashi might also be worthwhile, but the translation is TERRIBLE

INTERMEDIATE--harder to find, might contain sexual content or iffy pacing
-Sharin no Kuni/G Senjou no Maou (both by the same author, great in different ways)
-Fate/Stay Night (very long, but when it's good, it's excellent)
-Tsukihime (by the same author as the above)
-Clannad/other Key works (you either love them or hate them)

ADVANCED--challenging, but absolutely phenomenal
-Cross Channel ("insurmountable wall" of the medium)
-Forest (indescribable)
-the Muv Luv series (start with Muv Luv, end with Alternative)
-Saya no Uta (absolutely horrifying, so be warned)

I'd actually say that the games in the ADVANCED list are probably the best visual novels I've ever played, but you need to work up to them or you'll be lost. Feel free to jump between the first two tiers, though. And yeah: all of these have been translated, and check over at the Visual Novel group if you need any other help.

 

[NeutralDrow]

You plan on playing Let's Meow Meow? Well...guess I can't fault curiosity, and I haven't played it myself, so I can't really judge. Also, while I love that Cracked gave some more exposure to A Drug That Makes You Dream, since it's one of my absolute favorites, I do hate how they spoiled one of the endings (sort of; they didn't give any details).

Still, I'm honestly kind of surprised to be the first person to bring up <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.206764-Neutral-Drow-reviews-Kana-Little-Sister>Kana: Little Sister, considering its reputation...its well-deserved reputation. I won't say more that's not in that review, since that reputation often sounds undeservedly hyperbolic, and the game is too good for me to risk that. I don't think there's a demo, but it's one of the cheaper titles I've seen.

Other than that, you or others have already brought up most of the things I'd recommend. I think I'd just throw in another recommendation for <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.128851-TYPE-MOON-reviews-Tsukihime>Tsukihime, and a named one for <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.163769-Neutral-Drow-reviews-Kanon>Kanon. The first one's a fairly lengthy supernatural romance/psychological horror game involving vampires, the second is a fairly cute and occasionally sad mildly supernatural slice-of-life. They're both sort of free, by virtue of being out-of-print but still acquirable (I can help, if needed).

 

[springheeljack]

Alright it is time for me to arrive on the scene and do my thing

Some people have gotten here first and already laid down some of my recommendations for me

But here are some anyway

Galaxy angel
It is really lighthearted sweet and romantic and it is great
Kara no Shoujo
It is a melancholy violent intense tragic horrific brooding extravaganza
It is also really great but be warned it is pretty numbing