Games Like School Days

[Lucius]

Because it's pretty much the only CYOA game that actually has meaningful choices. Telltale Games, Life Is Strange, Mass Effect, etc. They all either lead to a single or very few endings based on a single main plot because they are limited by the restrains of the main plot. They are forced to focus on the main plot, thus leaving little room for true choices that alter the story itself.

While School Days has a story hardly comparable to those other games' compelling tales, don't misunderstand what I'm seeking here. I'm not looking for a story similar to School Days, I'm looking for a game with a gameplay similar to School Days. Games with choices that actually have meaningful choices that impact the story.

For example, School Days have choices that lead up to two main plots. Two. Not just a single linear plot the game force you to go on. And furthermore, those two plots lead up to a multitude of variations and differences. The choices actually matter! And it has twenty different endings because of those differences! Twenty!

Just take a look at the route map:
https://kamihunters.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/schooldays_walkthrough1.png

That's something never before achieved by any video game I've known. There were probably older games in the past like Chrono Trigger which accomplished similar traits, but modern CYOA games just seem limited. And it's such a shame, too, considering that they have such great stories to tell, yet they don't bother to have a truly non-linear world where you can explore the different possibilities of that universe. The only game I could think of that truly plays with this is Fallout: New Vegas. Other than that, not so much.

So yeah, there you go. I'm looking for a PC game with multiple endings and multiple choices like School Days. No text games, please, as I find them kinda boring (School Days, despite labeled as a visual novel, has full-length cinematic cutscenes). I was kinda disappointed by Life Is Strange because the different choices led to the same result, with the most significant choice at the end of episode three being unavoidable because the writers were forced to progress the main plot. That's not really non-linear to me. I probably won't be able to get any good suggestions, but I might as well put this up, see what I can fish out.

Thanks for reading.

Oh yeah, by the way, these are the games I've already played, so please don't list them again:

- Detroit: Become Human
- Heavy Rain
- Beyond Two Souls (dropped midway)
- Until Dawn
- The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan
- Undertale
- Fable
- All three BioShock games and DLCs
- Fallout 3 and New Vegas
- GTA V (unplayable due to bug crash during the mission, "Derailed")
- GTA IV
- Hitman: Contracts
- Hitman: Blood Money
- Hitman: Absolution
- Mass Effect 1-3
- Telltale's The Walking Dead, Wolf Among Us, Tales From the Borderlands, etc.
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution
- Alpha Protocol
- Silent Hill 2
- Jade Empire
- Far Cry 3
- Chrono Trigger
- Spec Ops: The Line
- Clannad
- Kanon
- Little Busters!
- Ever17
- Shuffle!
- Da Capo
- Katawa Shoujo
- Kana: Little Sister
- Fate/Stay Night
- Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
- 428: Shibuya Scramble
- Steins;Gate and Steins;Gate Zero

I'll think of more as I remember them.

[wuddih]

nearly every visual novel?
http://store.steampowered.com/search/?sort_by=_ASC&tags=3799&page=1

[Lucius]

wuddih eredeti hozzászólása:

nearly every visual novel?
http://store.steampowered.com/search/?sort_by=_ASC&tags=3799&page=1

Well, as I've pointed out, I would rather not play a text game. School Days doesn't have heavy reading like a book. If I want to read a book, I go read a book.

On a side note, most visual novels have very simplistic routes compared to School Days. You simply choose the route with the girl you want to pork, then you choose one of two choices that would lead to a good or bad ending. That's it. School Days, on the other hand, have choices that could lead to three to four endings just for one single route. It even has choices that leads you to another route altogether, instead of 'locking' you onto a single route after you choose the girl you want to pork (like you are still able to get the Sekai ending even if you choose to befriend Kotonoha).

For example:
Choose Dialogue A if you want to pork girl A. Avoid choosing Dialogue A if you don't want to.

Next dialogue option. Choose Dialogue B if you want to pork girl B. Avoid choosing Dialogue B if you don't want to. Rinse and repeat till the final girl, whom you won't be able to avoid and the game is locked onto that girl's route.

Look at the walkthrough for most visual novels if you don't believe me. It's always the same simplistic system that involves romancing a girl or whatever. I don't want just another love simulator. I want Telltale Games with School Days' branching system.

Most importantly, unlike most visual novels, you don't need to go through all the routes in School Days to get some stupid 'true ending'. There's no freedom there in most visual novels.

Also, many visual novels can be rather linear by nature, sometimes due to the factors I described above. Higurashi, for example, the second game listed in the link you provided, is a completely linear game with no choices whatsoever. So no, not "nearly every visual novel". Quite the opposite, in fact.

Edit:
Bumped.

[enlyre (Alex M)]

Totally with you on this. Seek for this either.

You should play Until Dawn, it totally matches what you're seeking for.

[Lucius]

lyre eredeti hozzászólása:

You should play Until Dawn, it totally matches what you're seeking for.

I would if I own a PS4. :P

[DonZekane]

Too bad School Days isn't on steam. Or if it was I clearly missed it. Also the Anime is from 2007 so... would make sense if the VN got lost in the webs of the net.

[Stevie •]

Detroit: Become human could be something you'd like.

[sfnhltb]

Orius eredeti hozzászólása:

Also, many visual novels can be rather linear by nature, sometimes due to the factors I described above. Higurashi, for example, the second game listed in the link you provided, is a completely linear game with no choices whatsoever. So no, not "nearly every visual novel". Quite the opposite, in fact.

Well, there tends to be a reason for this - Higurashi has a strong plot, so no surprise it is linear, by their nature branching narratives tend to continually weaken the overall plot of a game/visual novel as the number of meaningful choices expands the amount of content needing to be created rises exponentially (unless a lot of the choices are fairly cosmetic and only change a few paragraphs of text here and there later without affecting the storyline).

This gets even worse with graphical and 3D games - if you can choose in the game whether to take a train to plot destination B or hire a taxi to plot destination B that means twice the content needed to achieve the same end - the more the choices affect what happens in the game, the more extra content (graphics, sound, voice acting, whatever) is needed to support those meaningful choices, and an increasingly large amount of that content ends up being skipped by each player unless they replay the game a lot making different decisions each time.

Certainly these extra resources needed more expensive that adding extra text to a VN, so I guess it is no surprise that there tend to be fewer games outside that genre that do it, and the amount of meaningful choices are lower as well, and are often concentrated at the end of the game (with the extreme being say BioShock and Deus Ex where your choices/behaviour only affects which of a few ending cut scenes you see, and nothing before that).

Of course which is better is both subjective and varies from game to game, not all games need strong story lines to work, and sometimes increased player agency can make the game world more immersive, it depends on what else is in the game and the nature of the game play involved.

Getting back to your original request Banner Saga 1-3 might be something you could look into, although I still haven't got around to finishing the 1st episode myself - which was actually somewhat related to the topic, one of the characters I had spent a lot of time levelling/powering up leaves the party of possible characters you can use for plot related reasons, and that left a hole in my team, so I was debating whether to restart the game or continue on and got distracted by other games and haven't yet got back to it.There is a risk with "decisions matter" type games that they become "best played reading spoilers ahead of time" games - especially when the game isn't the sort of thing where you can just back up or skip previous read text in a fraction of a second to make a different choice.

[natshely]

https://store.steampowered.com/tags/en/Multiple%20Endings/?l=english#p=0&tab=TopSellers

[taki]

DonZekane eredeti hozzászólása:

Too bad School Days isn't on steam. <..>

6 years OLD thread.. c'mon guys!! this is ridiculous

Orius eredeti hozzászólása:

Games Like School Days

well.. there are some other stories: School Days HQ (1920x1080 quality), Summer Days / Shiny Summer Days , Cross Days by 0verflow

[Lucius]

DonZekane eredeti hozzászólása:

Too bad School Days isn't on steam. Or if it was I clearly missed it. Also the Anime is from 2007 so... would make sense if the VN got lost in the webs of the net.

You could still buy it from JList:
https://www.jlist.com/jast004?utm_source=jlist.com&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=aff-5

Stevie • eredeti hozzászólása:

Detroit: Become human could be something you'd like.

Already played it. Definitely the ideal CYOA I was talking about in my opening post, the kind with dozens of choices and endings. The quality of the story is up for debate, of course, especially with many criticisms about David Cage's lack of subtlety in his themes, but I've enjoyed it quite a lot.

And speaking of having a great story in a game with lots of choices and endings...

sfnhltb eredeti hozzászólása:

Orius eredeti hozzászólása:

Also, many visual novels can be rather linear by nature, sometimes due to the factors I described above. Higurashi, for example, the second game listed in the link you provided, is a completely linear game with no choices whatsoever. So no, not "nearly every visual novel". Quite the opposite, in fact.

Well, there tends to be a reason for this - Higurashi has a strong plot, so no surprise it is linear, by their nature branching narratives tend to continually weaken the overall plot of a game/visual novel as the number of meaningful choices expands the amount of content needing to be created rises exponentially (unless a lot of the choices are fairly cosmetic and only change a few paragraphs of text here and there later without affecting the storyline).

This gets even worse with graphical and 3D games - if you can choose in the game whether to take a train to plot destination B or hire a taxi to plot destination B that means twice the content needed to achieve the same end - the more the choices affect what happens in the game, the more extra content (graphics, sound, voice acting, whatever) is needed to support those meaningful choices, and an increasingly large amount of that content ends up being skipped by each player unless they replay the game a lot making different decisions each time.

Certainly these extra resources needed more expensive that adding extra text to a VN, so I guess it is no surprise that there tend to be fewer games outside that genre that do it, and the amount of meaningful choices are lower as well, and are often concentrated at the end of the game (with the extreme being say BioShock and Deus Ex where your choices/behaviour only affects which of a few ending cut scenes you see, and nothing before that).

It makes sense, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't strive for perfection. Hence why when the truly innovative game or VN comes along, one that's ambitious enough to have a blend of player agency and a decent narrative - like "Detroit: Become Human" or even "Steins;Gate: Zero" - I think it's important to recognize them and call them out as the hallmarks of gaming ingenuity, especially when games like Tellgame Games come along and lie to the player about how "your choices matter," which is HILARIOUS compared to the kind of player impact Detroit: Become Human, Fallout: New Vegas, Alpha Protocol or even Steins;Gate: Zero have.

Steins;Gate: Zero in particular shows that it IS possible to have a NON-ROMANCE/DATING-SIM VN where your choices can result in a totally different ending/route while still having a great narrative. I wish more VNs could learn from that.

Most VNs, by their nature, fall into two categories: 1) They are dating sims where different paths lead to different romances choices, which is infuriating for someone as uninterested in romance stories as me. 2) Mysteries where failing to solve the mystery results in a "bad end," or worse, a lackluster "game over/YOU LOSE!" screen. Kara no Shoujo is one of such VNs. I prefer VNs that offer player agency in choosing how the story should go rather than punish you with bad ends because you suck at solving mysteries.

sfnhltb eredeti hozzászólása:

Getting back to your original request Banner Saga 1-3 might be something you could look into, although I still haven't got around to finishing the 1st episode myself - which was actually somewhat related to the topic, one of the characters I had spent a lot of time levelling/powering up leaves the party of possible characters you can use for plot related reasons, and that left a hole in my team, so I was debating whether to restart the game or continue on and got distracted by other games and haven't yet got back to it. There is a risk with "decisions matter" type games that they become "best played reading spoilers ahead of time" games - especially when the game isn't the sort of thing where you can just back up or skip previous read text in a fraction of a second to make a different choice.

Yeah, I don't really enjoy that kind of "risk" to be honest because it punishes the player for the "wrong decision." In my ideal game, almost every decision can be morally right or wrong, just leading to a different outcome (again, see "Detroit: Become Human"). In fact, much like Steins;Gate: Zero, I don't mind having a "bad ending" as long as the bad ending is well-written and engaging, rather than just a 2-minute "you lose because you chose poorly" ending.

A good game where choices matter should reflect extensively on the good and bad endings, not just focus on only a single good ending and call it a day. Doing so would destroy replayability, because if there's only one true end, I might as well just follow a walkthrough and make the "correct" decisions and call it a day. Why bother choosing at all if my other decisions are considered "wrong" by the game creators? I have no agency. The decision to choose whether if an action is wrong or not still lies with the creators, not me.

Banner Saga looks okay, but the isometric/top-down interface put me off, so I gave up five minutes in. lol Guess I'll give it another look... someday.

滝 eredeti hozzászólása:

Orius eredeti hozzászólása:

Games Like School Days

well.. there are some other stories: School Days HQ (1920x1080 quality), Summer Days / Shiny Summer Days , Cross Days by 0verflow

Yeah, but Shiny Days kinda sucks. It's like a tamer School Days without the violence and mayhem. Cross Days isn't translated yet, in spite of returning to the same level of fun violence School Days had.

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

From what I've heard, Undertale is chock full of features that actually make your choices matter in the game and there are a variety of different endings that result from how you play.

Someone once mapped out all the choices and it was some really complicated diagram akin to the one you've linked to.

Seems like no one's yet mentioned it, so yeah.

[☆ƧQυiяяєL♫]

The Longest Journey

[taki]

try this game:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1126320/Being_a_DIK__Season_1/

This game will blow your mind It has everything, and when I say everything, I mean everything: cute girls, xxx artwork, funny moments, mini games and a great soundtrack

there are more episodes, but Steam has only season 1

to be honest, i loved those games: many CGs, there "xxx content", great story, really great VNs games:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1161190/Natsu_no_Iro_no_Nostalgia/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/983150/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/749520/

if we are talking about steins;gate:

I like Steins;Gate 0, flaws and all. Steins;Gate 0 took everything I loved about Steins;Gate and expanded on it. Well the execution can sometimes be a little iffy the game's main theme of success being achieved through countless failure is delivered wonderfully.

Steins;Gate: Elite is a great game, every part is animated, which is nice. Many scenes have completely different music and honestly it all fits better. I think it is the best version of Steins;Gate

Steins;Gate Linear Bounded Phenogram: the characters, art style, music, and story we love are all here. Really really great game!! I can recommend this to the true Steins;Gate fans who are hungry for more!!!

[Lucius]

Quint the Alligator Snapper eredeti hozzászólása:

From what I've heard, Undertale is chock full of features that actually make your choices matter in the game and there are a variety of different endings that result from how you play.

Someone once mapped out all the choices and it was some really complicated diagram akin to the one you've linked to.

Seems like no one's yet mentioned it, so yeah.

Yeah, Undertale's one of the greats too. I've played it. Definitely remarkable in the way that everyone kept comparing every other indie game to Undertale. lmao Few games could match its replayability and player agency.

☆ƧQυiяяєL♫ eredeti hozzászólása:

:teddy_talk: The Longest Journey

I thought that was a linear game with only one ending.

滝 eredeti hozzászólása:

try this game:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1126320/Being_a_DIK__Season_1/

This game will blow your mind :reexcited: It has everything, and when I say everything, I mean everything: cute girls, xxx artwork, funny moments, mini games and a great soundtrack :reexcited:

there are more episodes, but Steam has only season 1 :reexcited:

Yeah, but it relies on non-animated pictures to tell the story. Kinda boring. And I'm not really interested in an xxx game like that; I'd much rather jack off to a porno if I want that kind of thing. I don't see the appeal in these games. You have a bunch of stiff pictures that don't move and you have to use your imagination. What's the sexual appeal of that? I'd rather watch real life people acting it out in a porno.

滝 eredeti hozzászólása:

to be honest, i loved those games: many CGs, there "xxx content", great story, really great VNs games:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1161190/Natsu_no_Iro_no_Nostalgia/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/983150/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/749520/

Not really a fan of romance stories tbh. School Days is an exception because it's more of a drama thriller mixed with yandere murder than full-romance.

[taki]

Orius eredeti hozzászólása:

You have a bunch of stiff pictures that don't move and you have to use your imagination. What's the sexual appeal of that? I'd rather watch real life people acting it out in a porno.

cha cha ;D well, you can skip those "xxx scenes", there are many choices and the story is great

Orius eredeti hozzászólása:

---
Not really a fan of romance stories tbh. School Days is an exception because it's more of a drama thriller mixed with yandere murder than full-romance.

those 3 games are not about "romance" there are many horror elements here and really really looong story, many choices, many cgs ;D

well, it's hard to find a great vn on steam. which would have well-written story / attractive characters, great quality of CGs, nice looking sprites / backgrounds and music / beautiful voice acting..

i can write this, 2 games which i've played many many times and every time they make me smile. every player has a different taste, so:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/979600/Kaori_After_Story/

The voice acting is surprisingly good and I really enjoyed playing it. Many times. And the fact that it's fully animated is also a big plus!

and

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1069760

Risa Nakahara one of the most cutest character with the most attractive voice I've ever seen in VN games and I've played a lot. The fact that it's fully animated too is also very exciting and is the biggest plus here! The voice acting were surprisingly good. I love Megan Shipman

that's it, have a nice day!

and about school days anime, there is "Moozzi2" release (if you know) it has a great high 1920x1080 quality, the old anime had a terrible quality, and there are school days new remastered game too, it has more scenes, but available only in Asia, you need to change something on your pc to play it.