Best sim dating/visual novel games?

[Saido77]

Hey guys! My interest has sparked a little bit in terms of playing anime games. Specifically, visual novels. Could you guys recommend me any great games worth playing? I mean there's some like Sakura Spirit. It does not have to necessarily be a sexual game just have an overall good story-telling and development of the characters. Thanks!

[Lily]

Here's a list, sorted by popularity (which I know, isn't the best sorting system, but at least it sifts out the crap and, excepting a few outliers like MGQ, the porn): https://vndb.org/v/all?q=;fil=tagspoil-0;rfil=;o=d;s=pop

Clannad and Fruit of Grisaia are on Steam, if that's a requirement.

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

I can strongly recommend a few VNs, but they are not dating sims. Two of them are kinetic novels -- i.e. only one ending, and the focus is on telling the story. All of them are clean (no NSFW content).

fault milestone one is a fantasy kinetic novel with elements of steampunk, sci-fi, politics, philosophical touches, and more, and it's very well-written -- both intellectually interesting and emotionally touching. It is the first episode of the fault series (a.k.a. fault milestone series). fault milestone two side:above is currently available; I have it but I have not read it.

Dysfunctional Systems: Learning to Manage Chaos is a sci-fi VN with political elements in the setting. It is relatively short but I think it works very effectively for its length. Was supposed to have more episodes but unfortunately the devteam fell apart and no longer exists. (Note: some of the extras images you can see after finishing the game are sexually suggestive. The story itself has none of that though, thankfully.)

narcissu is a pair of kinetic novels that are about people with terminal illness. Generally well-regarded and known for their emotional storytelling. Best of all, they're free.

(NOTE: by "political" I do NOT mean that the work espouses any particular viewpoint. Rather, I mean that political conflicts are an important part of the setting/premise of the story.)

I also have World End Economica, which seems like it might be nice, but I haven't finished reading it yet. It's got an economics theme to it, and it is written by the author of Spice & Wolf.

I also have Aselia the Eternal, which I think is a combination of VN/dating sim and JRPG or strategy RPG. I haven't gotten much into it at all yet though so I can't say much. It's also not on Steam (yet?).

That's all the ones that I know are great or I think will be great.

There are a couple other ones that I've messed with, but I don't think they're as good.

[CinthyaBunny]

Huniepop, just... It's all over YouTube, you'll know it when you see it.

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

Oh guess what:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=593221036

[Saido77]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Quint el Pizote Estacionamiento:

I can strongly recommend a few VNs, but they are not dating sims. Two of them are kinetic novels -- i.e. only one ending, and the focus is on telling the story. All of them are clean (no NSFW content).

fault milestone one is a fantasy kinetic novel with elements of steampunk, sci-fi, politics, philosophical touches, and more, and it's very well-written -- both intellectually interesting and emotionally touching. It is the first episode of the fault series (a.k.a. fault milestone series). fault milestone two side:above is currently available; I have it but I have not read it.

Dysfunctional Systems: Learning to Manage Chaos is a sci-fi VN with political elements in the setting. It is relatively short but I think it works very effectively for its length. Was supposed to have more episodes but unfortunately the devteam fell apart and no longer exists. (Note: some of the extras images you can see after finishing the game are sexually suggestive. The story itself has none of that though, thankfully.)

narcissu is a pair of kinetic novels that are about people with terminal illness. Generally well-regarded and known for their emotional storytelling. Best of all, they're free.

(NOTE: by "political" I do NOT mean that the work espouses any particular viewpoint. Rather, I mean that political conflicts are an important part of the setting/premise of the story.)

I also have World End Economica, which seems like it might be nice, but I haven't finished reading it yet. It's got an economics theme to it, and it is written by the author of Spice & Wolf.

I also have Aselia the Eternal, which I think is a combination of VN/dating sim and JRPG or strategy RPG. I haven't gotten much into it at all yet though so I can't say much. It's also not on Steam (yet?).

That's all the ones that I know are great or I think will be great.

There are a couple other ones that I've messed with, but I don't think they're as good.

Very informative. Thank you for the detailed descriptions you offered me for each genre. I should be able to further research other VN games thanks to you. May you have a good day, sir.

[Saido77]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Gustave5436:

Here's a list, sorted by popularity (which I know, isn't the best sorting system, but at least it sifts out the crap and, excepting a few outliers like MGQ, the porn): https://vndb.org/v/all?q=;fil=tagspoil-0;rfil=;o=d;s=pop

Clannad and Fruit of Grisaia are on Steam, if that's a requirement.

There's so many VN on that site! Thank you :D

[Saido77]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από The Red Angel:

Huniepop, just... It's all over YouTube, you'll know it when you see it.

Oh yes... I have a certain amount of knowledge regarding that game... If you know what I mean ;)

[Saido77]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από Quint el Pizote Estacionamiento:

Oh guess what:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=593221036

Even though that's not the type of game I asked for, it presents to be interesting. So thank you for the recommendation!

[HidekoYamamoto94]

- Doki Doki Literature Club
- Clannad
- Crystaline (i just played the demo)
- Cinderella Phenomenon

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

Since the last time I posted here, Dysfunctional Systems's devteam got back together, and released episode 0. Last I heard they were working on episodes 2 and 3.

[M00NSICKNESS]

I'm looking for some as well, but having trouble. I've played Doki Doki Literature Club already and also am looking for a novel with no NSFW.

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από MsSleepyKiller:

I'm looking for some as well, but having trouble. I've played Doki Doki Literature Club already and also am looking for a novel with no NSFW.

The three recs I mentioned in my post are still available -- Dysfunctional Systems now has an "episode 0", fault milestone one now has a couple more installments (fault milestone two side:above and Mhakna Gramura and Fairy Bell) with a couple more on the way (fault milestone two side:below and fault: Silence the Pedant are coming soon, last I checked), and Narcissu now has a Narcissu 10th Anniversary Anthology, which isn't free like the first game but has more stories.

And as far as I know, the version of Aselia that's sold on Steam (and presumably also the one sold on JAST USA) is considered all-ages according to vndb[vndb.org] as it contains the 2010 expansion's content except H-scenes[vndb.org].

I have lately been reading a VN called "Adventure of a Lifetime", which I think is natively all-ages (as confirmed by people on its forum who have noted that there's no sexual content to censor anyway, and as suggested by vndb[vndb.org]). (For full disclosure, I did get it for free since I help run the group J-Indie Arcade, a curator that serves to list Japanese indie games, and this VN got offered to us through Curator Connect. However, I can't actually tell you whether/how much I like it yet, because I haven't actually finished reading even a single route of it...)

There's probably a few others I've run across such as Invisible Apartment Zero.

You may be interested in this tag: https://vndb.org/g235 "No Sexual Content"
However, that list is rather huge.

Also, you may be interested in this curator: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/24430697-Family-Friendly-Visual-Novel-Fan/?appid=370280