anyone else here that used to be on r/visualnovels or r/otomegames? i’m playing through jack jeanne right now and having a blast. what VNs have you all been playing/reading lately?
I was also a lurker on those subreddits, although I mostly just used the r/visualnovels suggestions list to help pick what to read.
Recently I finished both Fate/stay Night and The Fruit of Grisaia after many months (years?) of on and off reading. Maybe not an achievement in the traditional sense of the word, but in the VN world it feels like one lol. I was a big fan of the characters and somewhat flippant tone of Grisaia, and despite the lack of realism I think it still handles its subject matter pretty seriously. Perhaps it’s an unpopular opinion, but I was a bit more critical of FSN, and I probably wouldn’t recommend it unless you were already interested in the world-building from being exposed to the anime.
I really enjoyed Fruits of Grisia. It got pretty insane in places. Michiru supremacy ftw.
Michiru is definitely a solid pick. That was my second route, and probably my second favorite too (I think I must give the win to Sachi though). I’ve only played about an hour or two of Labyrinth of Grisaia so far, and although I didn’t think Fruit really needed a sequel, I’m interested to see where else they take it.
Yeah, Labyrinth is more of a “side stories and after stories” entry. It’s good, and I have to say I really enjoyed Sachi’s after story entry, but I’m not really into separated side stories and after stories. I like that content, but interspersed in with the main story to break up the flow and slow the pacing, not as its own thing. For another example, I never finished the Clannad side stories, despite how much I enjoyed Clannad.
It’s an unusual visual novel, but AI: The Somnium Files was excellent. It’s a cyberpunk detective story with awesome surreal mindscapes in it.
I love visual novels but I’m so bad at playing them. I keep buying them because I love to support the industry, but they tend to be hours and hours long so I don’t finish them, aha.
The last one I played through a route on was “Life After Magic” which is a pretty relatable queer VN about a Sailor Moon expy who dropped out of high school and ended up in a dead-end job, having to reunite with her friends / potential love interests. I’d like to finish this one because I know you can date the villain in one route.
ooh i do love a good villain route
Huge fan of VA11 Hall-A, there’s something really cozy about the framing and the world is interesting and it’s just overall a great time. Really really recommended
Don’t forget the amazing music! Man I need to play through it again.
For a few years in a row I’d play through the game in real time, like starting on the day in December the game starts and played a day in game per day of real time. Was a super fun experience :)
Currently re-playing the Ace Attorney Trilogy as I got it on Steam during the sale. I played them back in the day on the DS and it’s been a blast. I just checked out Jack Jeanne - it seems to have some sort of skill building aspects to it? I’ve been looking for a stat builder otome but there isn’t much out there.
Yeah, I was there, though I didn’t participate a lot.
Lately I haven’t done much VNing. Last one I attempted was Yu-No, but like most of Mages stuff, it’s way too “guide absolutely required to do anything at all”. Either that, or have a super high tolerance for re-read after re-read, carefully diagramming the entire story, doing a thorough search of the environment often without any idea where I’m supposed to go next.
I dunno. Last reasonably new one I really enjoyed was probably Ladykiller In A Bind. I also tried Soviet Games’ recent “Love, Money, and Rock 'n Roll”, and the bad end I got messed me up so bad I haven’t been back.
Finally got round to starting DDLC on my Steam Deck. Not too far in but I’m excited for it to get weird
oh i’m excited for you, that one goes absolutely off the rails
I was a lurker on both subs and waiting for VN communities to pop up on here, and I am also playing Jack Jeanne this week! Isn’t it so good? I’m in love with the art style and super happy I got the Limited Edition because it comes with a gorgeous art book plus some other extras.
I’m new to lemmy, but I think we’re trying to make a VN community happen over at visualnovels@comfysnug.space . This post is the first I’ve heard of Jack Jeanne, but with it recommended twice already I might have to check it out, although I’m not usually much of a console or handheld player. It could be a good excuse to wipe the dust off the old Switch though lol.
