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
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
- For whom: for those who love battle royale games
- Year release: 2010
- Publisher: NIS America
- Platforms: PC, PS4, PSP, PSV, XOne, Switch, iOS, Android
Despite the lack of greater talents, the protagonist manages to get to their dream school – one that accepts only exceptional talents. The first day, however, isn't very exciting, because after entering the building, we discover that, apart from us and a handful of other students, no one else is there. All the exits are locked, the windows are boarded up, and in addition, like in a frighteningly cute dream, a little talking teddy bear appears in front of our eyes, claiming to be the headmaster of the school. It then proceeds to present the rules of the game that we are supposed to play from then on – only the person who kills someone else from the group and isn't detected as the perpetrator will be able to get out of the building.
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc is a combination of absurd and grotesque, as well as some really nice criminal cases. The locked up teens are not only in mortal danger; they constantly have to deal with the idea of not being able to leave the building unless they become the murderer. As you can easily guess, the first murders occur quite quickly, and we, as players, participate in the investigations and try to unravel the mystery. In addition to dialogues, conducted in a typical visual-novel way, we can conduct point-and-click investigations, and also (in the first-person perspective) freely move around the entire school. During each trial, we not only have to present evidence, but also complete numerous mini-games integrated into the gameplay.
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc is the first part of a series that includes three games, all based on a similar formula. While each story is excellent in its own right, when learned one by one, they allow you to better understand what's going on around you and why the teenagers have to kill each other.
Fans of the series can delve into this universe even more through numerous manga, anime and book installments, as well as two additional games. Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls is an action adventure game that's a spin-off of the main series – its basic mechanics boil down to shooting, and it's a long from being a visual novel. In turn, Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp is a recently-released game combining elements of visual novel and board games. It is set in an alternative universe in which none of the heroes ever died.
