8 Visual Novel Games With the Best Story
Most gamers rely on dynamic, impactful gameplay, and yet the popularity of visual novels still persists. What is it that these "reading games" have in them?
Table of Contents
- 8 Visual Novel Games With the Best Story
- Spirit Hunter: Death Mark
- Clannad
- Steins; Gate
- Doki Doki Literature Club
- Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
- AI: The Somnium Files
- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy
Clannad
- Who is it for: fans of romance
- Year of release: 2004
- Publisher: Visual Arts
- Platforms: PC, PS2, PS3, PS4, PSP, PSV, X360, Switch, Android
Visual novels are often associated with romantic stories, based on a popular shtick – the protagonist is surrounded by a wreath of beautiful, young people. They are all interested in relationships with the player's avatar, and we ultimately have to decide which one we want to bond with. Clannad is exactly about this. Despite the fact that 20 years have passed since the original release, and the graphics do show that, the game is still enjoyable and touching, mainly thanks to great story and realistic character-building.
In Clannad, which consists of two main parts, we play the role of a rebellious high school student. Tomoya contempts the city in which he lives and the society at large; he also has his own family problems on his mind. During the school year, he meets five different girls, and he can develop a closer relationship with each of them to learn their, usually quite dramatic, stories. In the second part, the game choses his wife, and focuses on family life. Unfortunately, this story ends tragically unless we unlock all alternative versions of events in the entire story – in this case, we get the best ending, a closure to the entire plot. Despite simple mechanics – the whole game is dialogues – and outdated graphics, Clannad still impresses with detailed psychological profiles of characters and unobtrusive, accurate observations on coming of age.
