A while back I found this site called vndb (visual novel database). What fascinates me about sites like this is that they curate user reviews over a large period of time so you can find a decently reliable consensus of what is considered remarkable by the users. In the same vein as something like rateyourmusic. It isn’t a perfect indicator by any means but a good starting off point.

Unfortunately a lot of games listed there are a big no no for me because of the sexual content. I browsed the top rated list and skimmed through what I would like. The first I played was a game called “The House in Fata Morgana”. I thought it was pretty good. It is like a gothic horror romance story and the art style was unique despite being anime adjacent. I wished it was less heavy on the romance aspect but the romance was a core aspect of the story so I can’t complain too much.

The biggest downside was that it was incredibly long and left me visual novel hungover for a really long time. Recently I started looking for a new one to play because they are super chill to play on the Steam Deck before going to bed.

I found one called “Fate/Stay Night”. From the synopsis the it looked super interesting. Upon playing the game though, while it is not awful by any means, there are some parts of it that I find objectionable. It is too heavy on the romance bit which I think is undermines the larger premise. The love interest is an undying girl who didn’t physically grow over the age of 13 because of a magic ritual but is emotionally and intellectually immature which I find uncomfortable. I am gonna finish it because of sunk cost but it doesn’t jive much with me.

Are there any VN games that you folks have played and liked? I reckon there might be a handful decent games in this genre. Or is it doomed?