Visual Novel
Ongoing coverage on Visual Novel.
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XBOX @ Tokyo Game Show 2026: All the Announcements, Including an Appearance by Hideo Kojima
Xbox showcased a variety of upcoming titles and updates at Tokyo Game Show 2026, including new trailers for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 and Fallout 76, world premieres for Faraday Blues and Bloomwalker, and the reveal of Japan as a playable location in Crazy Taxi: World Tour. The event also featured Hideo Kojima making a surprise appearance to discuss his upcoming projects, OD – KNOCK and PHYSINT, with Bill Skarsgård confirmed to voice the lead in PHYSINT.
Faraday Blues: Rewrite Your Family’s Fate Across Three Shattered Realities
Faraday Blues, a surreal sci-fi adventure game, is set to launch on Xbox Series X|S and PC in 2027 with Xbox Cloud Gaming support. Developed by Serenity Forge, the game allows players to rewrite tragic choices across three interconnected visual novels by manipulating relationships and memories using character cards. The narrative features 64 reality-altering endings and is a personal project for Game Director Zhenghua Yang, co-creator Satchely, and narrative director Kevin Ye.
Dressmaker Review – Sew delightful
Dressmaker is a delightful game that blends job simulator and visual novel elements, allowing players to design and create custom dresses. Developed by Cozy Lives and published by Free Lives, the game was inspired by the personal story of developers Jonathan Hau-Yoon and Sabrina Becker. It offers extensive creative freedom with realistic dressmaking mechanics and a charming cast of characters, though the music can become repetitive and the 'off the rack' dress feature lacks depth.
Fate/Extra Record character trailer introduces Caster
A new character trailer for Fate/Extra Record has been released, showcasing the Servant Caster, voiced by Chiwa Saito. The trailer highlights Caster's unique features, personality, and combat abilities. Fate/Extra Record is an RPG with spectacular visuals and a strategic battle system, set to release on Nintendo Switch on January 28, 2027.
The JRPG Players Guide to Handheld Game Consoles, Part 2: The Old Toys
This guide explores older handheld consoles like the PlayStation Vita and Nintendo 3DS as viable options for JRPG players, especially those interested in retro gaming. It highlights their extensive libraries, including classic PS1 and PSP titles for the Vita, and a broad range of Nintendo games and Shin Megami Tensei titles for the 3DS, emphasizing the value of original hardware for specific game series.
Alone With You Is This Week’s Free Mobile Game on the Epic Games Store
Alone With You, a story-heavy sci-fi point-and-click adventure visual novel, is available for free on Android via the Epic Games Store until September 17th, 2026. Developed and published by BancyCo, the game puts players in the role of the last survivor on a doomed planet, tasked with uncovering the fate of colonists and escaping before implosion.
Fate/Extra Record character trailer introduces Saber
A new character trailer for Fate/Extra Record has been released, showcasing Saber, voiced by Sakura Tange. The trailer highlights Saber's personality and combat abilities within the context of the Moon Holy Grail War. Fate/Extra Record is set to launch on January 28, 2027, for the Nintendo Switch.
"You can never see outside of yourself": The House Before is a body horror game in which you are a house tunnelling through its own soul
The House Before is an upcoming body horror game from Gabriel Helfenstein and Fantasia Malware, described as a journey through architectural guts. It combines visual novel and text adventure elements with various minigames, including first-person maze and virtual pet mechanics. The game features a vaporwave-inspired aesthetic and is set to release in November on Steam and Itch.io.
After the Wane Is a Poetic Mix of Contemporary Dance and Urban Occultism
Nova-box has announced a November 10th, 2026 release date for their visual novel "After the Wane" on PC, Mac, and Linux, with a Nintendo Switch version planned for early 2027. The game blends contemporary dance, urban occultism, family mysteries, and romance, featuring over 2,000 hand-drawn animation frames and a dynamic orchestral soundtrack.
Review – The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero / Trails to Azure (PlayStation 5)
This review covers the PlayStation 5 versions of The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero and The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure, which are remasters of PSP titles. The games are praised for their engaging narratives, charming characters, and excellent music, though the graphics are noted as simplistic due to their origins. The combat system is tactical, and features like high-speed mode and Master Quartz are highlighted. While Trails to Azure is a direct sequel to Trails from Zero, both are recommended for their deep worldbuilding and storytelling.
Komorebi Is A Furry Visual Novel About Love, Rebellion And Revolution
Komorebi: A Furry Visual Novel, previously released on Steam, has now launched on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch. The game features a lengthy, fully voiced story with around 18,000 lines of dialogue, focusing on romance, friendship, and social unrest in a dystopian 2041 Toronto.
High Times Review | TheXboxHub
High Times is a cooking simulation and visual novel hybrid that attempts to blend customer-driven puzzle-solving with doughnut-making. While initially engaging, the game's randomized customer visits and a dislikable protagonist lead to a repetitive experience that becomes more of a chore than a joy. The core mechanics of deciphering customer needs and crafting mood-enhancing doughnuts are clever, but the overall execution fails to maintain long-term appeal.
Gamezebo At Gamescom 2026 – Indie Spotlights and Highlights!
This article highlights several promising indie games showcased at Gamescom 2026, including the survival sandbox God Save Birmingham, the atmospheric visual novel Rain98, and the cozy farming sim Delphinium. Other featured titles include the roguelike deckbuilder Reply All, psychological horror Fractured Blooms, bullet hell Deesicks, habitat restoration sim The Regreening, and the poetry experience Oku, all presented by developer Byterockers.
Steam Week in Review: Here are the top 10 most popular genres on Steam
A new report analyzing Steam revenue data reveals that sandbox games have the highest 'hit rate,' meaning the largest percentage of games within the genre earn over $100,000. First-person shooters, RPGs, and simulation games also show strong performance. The study used the Boxleiter method to estimate sales based on review counts.
Puppergeist launch trailer – rhythm and visual novel hybrid on Nintendo Switch
Puppergeist, a rhythm and visual novel hybrid, has launched on Nintendo Switch with a new trailer. Players control Claire, a witch searching for her lost pup in the Doggie Underworld, using rhythm mechanics to interact with spirits and progress the story. The game is published by Serenity Forge.
Print I Love U Is a Psychological Horror Visual Novel About a Game Made for Alice
Print I Love U, a first-person psychological horror visual novel from developer Claudio Moltedo and publisher Red Hog Studio, is now available on Steam. Inspired by Nikita Kryukov's "Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk," the game centers on a player who discovers a romance game made for someone named Alice Print on a second-hand computer. The game features hand-drawn pixel art reminiscent of retro Nintendo handhelds and multiple endings.
An Interview with the Developer of Shop Crush
Bohdan Sydorenko, lead designer at indie studio Bsl Cozy Games, discusses his upcoming visual novel shop sim, Shop Crush. Set in the early 2000s, the game blends cozy shop management with psychological horror elements, where players haggle for stock, manage their store, and uncover the mysterious stories of their customers and products. Sydorenko highlights inspirations from games like Reigns and Papers, Please, and discusses the game's art style and narrative focus.
This week in PC games: Gamescom and GTA 6 fight for our attention, but don't forget Folk Emerging, MGS4 and the horror game about balancing a cake
This week's PC gaming news is dominated by Gamescom and a Grand Theft Auto 6 documentary, alongside a significant number of new game releases. Notable titles include the early access milsim Burned Horizons, horror visual novel Money for Girls: Amortized, and Patrice Désilets' long-troubled 1666: Amsterdam. Other releases span various genres, from bullet hell and platformers to 4X strategy and survival games.
Raise up a mech pilot and make sure she doesn't get Evangelion-level depressed in the sci-fi visual novel Valkyrie Iteration: Mecha Pilot Raising Pocket Simulator
Valkyrie Iteration: Mecha Pilot Raising Pocket Simulator is a sci-fi visual novel where players train Lana, a pilot for a sentient mech called the Valkyrie. Players must manage Lana's schedule, skills, mental health, and bond with her mech to prepare her for missions against alien Phantoms. The game draws inspiration from Neon Genesis Evangelion and is available on PC with a demo on Steam.
With Eyes Of Ice – A Frozen Tale Of Love And Loss
With Eyes Of Ice, a dramatic linear visual novel from developer ebi hime and publisher Ratalaika Games, is now available for £14.99 on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation. The game focuses on Gréta Egilsdóttir's reflections on love, memory, and regret as she faces a desperate situation in the freezing cold, featuring a 120,000-word script that emphasizes storytelling over branching gameplay.
