Visual Novel
Ongoing coverage on Visual Novel.
Latest coverage
Anime visual novel Expelled from Paradise: The Stellar Angel comes to Nintendo Switch this Fall
Toei Animation has announced that the science-fiction visual novel Expelled from Paradise: The Stellar Angel will be released on Nintendo Switch on November 21, 2026. The game serves as a sequel to the 2014 anime film Expelled from Paradise and features a choice-driven narrative with multiple endings.
Checkpoint’s Queer Game of the Month: August 2026 – Calamity Cait
Calamity Cait, developed by Xavier Bell, is a short visual novel exploring themes of sapphic yearning and workplace crushes. The game features strong writing, player choices that influence dialogue, and a striking black-and-white art style with colorful skies. It is available for free on Steam and Itch.io.
1000xResist will get a Nintendo Switch 2 physical release with the full game on cartridge
The sci-fi adventure game 1000xResist will receive a physical release for the Nintendo Switch 2, scheduled for March 12, 2027. This edition will include the full game on cartridge along with a booklet, art card, and poster. The game features a story set 1000 years in the future where humanity is nearly extinct due to an alien disease.
Behold, "the whole story of Steam's economy in one picture": the top 1% of games earn 84.5% of estimated revenue, and most games barely make anything
A new analysis of 99,206 paid games on Steam reveals that the top 1% of games earn 84.5% of the estimated revenue, with half of all paid games earning less than $4,000 lifetime. The report, which excludes free-to-play titles, highlights extreme revenue disparities and a rapidly growing Steam catalog that outpaces revenue growth.
With Eyes of Ice incoming for Nintendo Switch
Ratalaika Games announced that the visual novel With Eyes of Ice will be released on Nintendo Switch this Friday, August 21. Originally developed by Ebi-hime, the game is an otome-esque title set in 1800s Iceland and features a dramatic linear story with over 120,000 words.
This week in PC games: survival horror in a waterlogged city, kaiju chaos in a destructible city, and old school GTA vibes in an isometric insurgency simulator
This week's PC game releases include survival horror titles like Feed it. and The Sinking City 2, a multiplayer shooter with kaiju battles called Beastlink, and an isometric insurgency simulator Brigador Killers. Other notable releases span genres from city builders and puzzle games to MMORPGs and visual novels.
Review: Steins Gate RE:Boot (PC)
Steins Gate RE:Boot is a visual novel developed by Mages. Inc and published by Spike Chunsoft, featuring a story about accidental time travel discovered by a group of friends in Akihabara. The game includes a Phone Trigger System for player choices, leading to seven possible endings, with six carried over from Steins Gate Elite and one new path. Despite a slow start, the narrative and character interactions become engrossing, offering a well-paced experience with fantastic characters and a great soundtrack.
Review | STEINS;GATE RE:BOOT (PC)
STEINS;GATE RE:BOOT offers an enhanced version of the original visual novel, preserving its core elements. This PC release provides an updated experience for fans of the acclaimed title.
I Played The Beastfolk Barber DEMO… And I Need More!
The demo for Beastfolk Barber offers a charming pixelated visual novel experience where players step into the role of Freddie, a barber who inherited a magical mirror. Much like Coffee Talk, the game focuses on conversations with anthropomorphic animal clients, with dialogue choices and haircutting minigames shaping relationships and influencing the world's future. The demo showcases compelling characters and conflicts, leaving players eager for the full release.
Review – Blue Reflection Quartet (PlayStation 5)
Blue Reflection Quartet compiles four games from the series, including remastered versions of Blue Reflection and Blue Reflection: Second Light, alongside new adaptations of Blue Reflection: Sun and Blue Reflection Ray. While the original two games offer substantial JRPG experiences with turn-based and real-time combat respectively, the latter two are significantly shorter and more niche, serving as bonus content. The collection is recommended as the most inexpensive way to experience the series on PlayStation 5, offering quality-of-life improvements.
Visual Novel Mystery Runt Gives You Five Days to Dig into a Cult and Its Family’s Secrets
The visual novel mystery game Runt, developed by Grimtaste Studios and published by DreadXP, is now available on PC via Steam for $9.99. The game features a rural gothic atmosphere, mixing original photographs with hand-painted art, and tasks players with uncovering secrets within a cult and a family over five days.
Sovereign Tower review
Sovereign Tower is a management game with visual novel and RPG elements, notable for its implementation of time travel. Players manage a magical kingdom, balancing citizen requests, knight quests, and kingdom economy, with the ability to rewind time to alter outcomes. The game is praised for its cohesive systems, engaging writing, and eccentric characters.
Puppergeist announced for Nintendo Switch [update: new release date]
Serenity Forge has announced that the rhythm visual novel Puppergeist will be released on Nintendo Switch on August 20 for $4.99. The game follows Claire, a witch who journeys into the Doggie Underworld to find her lost pup by connecting with dog spirits and engaging in rhythm challenges.
The Best Otome Games To Play That Aren’t Love And Deepspace
This guide highlights several otome games available on PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile platforms that offer alternatives to Love and Deepspace. It features a variety of titles, from real-time texting simulations like Mystic Messenger to darker, mystery-infused narratives such as Collar X Malice and Even If Tempest, as well as visually distinct games like Jack Jeanne.
Crunchyroll Drops Otome Dating Sim Mythic Love: Iberian Legends on Android
Crunchyroll has released the monster romance visual novel Mythic Love: Iberian Legends on Android, originally developed by Platonic Games for PC. The game features five romanceable characters based on Spanish folklore, a branching 300,000-word story with over 30 endings, and an anime-inspired art style. Playback requires a Crunchyroll Mega Fan or Ultimate Fan membership.
Repair sick robots and contemplate the role of healthcare providers in the deeply textured, pixel art, cyberpunk visual novel All Our Broken Parts
All Our Broken Parts is a cyberpunk visual novel featuring detailed pixel art where players take on the role of a robot doctor caring for other robots in a world where humans have disappeared. The game explores themes of memory, artistic ambition, and the role of healthcare in a society focused on material needs, with a demo available on Steam.
A Forgotten 2005 PS2 Visual Novel Slipped Onto Steam With No Announcement At All
The 2005 PlayStation 2 visual novel compilation My Merry May with be has been quietly released on Steam by MAGES. Inc. without any announcement. While the compilation, which includes My Merry May and My Merry Maybe, is now available in the West, it remains Japan-only with no English translation. This release highlights the challenges of game preservation and localization for older titles.
Building Berlin by Night. How Oaths and Ashes is redefining the Vampire: The Masquerade visual novel
Vampire: The Masquerade - Oaths and Ashes is a new visual novel from Revive the Spark set in a modern-day Berlin, reimagining the classic Vampire: The Masquerade setting. Players can experience the story through the eyes of Alice, a devoted Camarilla Ventrue, and Lenz, a Thin-blood. The game aims to advance the visual novel genre with player choices impacting the city's political structure and a potion-making minigame, while focusing on the core feeling of managing the predator within and the cost of power.
Sovereign Tower looks like a cosy management game, but it's ruthless, full of murder and impossible choices, and features one of the best time travel systems I've ever encountered
Sovereign Tower is a management game with a dark twist, featuring a complex time travel system that allows players to alter past events and their consequences. Despite its charming appearance, the game presents players with ruthless choices and ethical dilemmas. A demo is currently available on Steam, with the full game launching on August 6.
Valkyrie Tune: Synthesis of Souls heading to Nintendo Switch
Good Smile Company and Frontwing have announced that the visual novel Valkyrie Tune: Synthesis of Souls is coming to Nintendo Switch. The game, which expands on Good Smile Company's Valkyrie Tune plastic model series, features a story about an amnesiac protagonist and six heroines. Launch timing for the Nintendo Switch version will be announced later.
