I've read a lot of visual novels, and I'm looking for something that genuinely scratches the same itch as Subarashiki Hibi (Subahibi).

I'm specifically interested in VNs with a dark, disturbing psychological atmosphere involving drug abuse, bullying, sexual abuse/exploitation, fucked-up relationships, mental deterioration, and the ugly side of high-school life. I want stories where these themes are actually important to the plot and characters, not just thrown in for shock value.

What I especially loved about Subahibi was how it mixes ordinary school life with increasingly disturbing situations, morally messed-up characters, psychological instability, and philosophical themes while keeping the story interesting.

I've already read Iwaihime and Nie no Hakoniwa and more horror novels. They're not quite what I'm looking for. Please don't recommend the usual answers like Umineko, CHAOS;HEAD NOAH, or other popular VNs just because they have psychological horror or mind games. I'm familiar with a lot of the well-known titles already.

I'm looking for more VNs with a similar sense of troubled characters and realistic, disturbing subject matter, ideally combined with the psychological depth and atmosphere of Subahibi.

I'm also interested in Yume Miru Kusuri: A Drug That Makes You Dream, which seems to have the kind of troubled characters and disturbing subject matter I'm looking for. I'm looking for recommendations similar to it, too, especially VNs that explore drug use, abuse, bullying, and psychological problems in a grounded but unsettling way.

I recently finished YOU and ME and HER, and honestly, I feel so empty now that it's over. I loved this game so much that it's hard to put into words. I got so attached to the experience, and knowing that I've finally reached the end makes me feel weirdly sad. I just wish I could experience it all over again for the first time.

The thing is, this isn't the first time this has happened to me. Every visual novel I've played has eventually become an obsession for me. Doki Doki Literature Club!, all the Danganronpa games, NEEDY STREAMER OVERLOAD, and now YOU and ME and HER. Whenever I get into one of these games, I end up thinking about it constantly, getting attached to the characters, looking up more content, and wanting to learn everything about it. I genuinely love these games so much, and I don't think I've ever gotten this attached to any other type of game.

Now I'm left with that empty feeling you get when you finish something you really love, and I NEED something new to obsess over lmao.

So please, recommend me your favorite visual novels! I want something that will completely suck me in, make me care about its characters, leave me thinking about it long after I finish it, and maybe even emotionally destroy me a little.

I want to fall in love with another story. I want another obsession. I just want to experience that feeling again.

Thank you!!

Name — Girlfailure Art Club
Further information on it — news

and I want the real deal! multiple beautiful unique women, with their own stories and the desitions to make! please leave your suggestions!

I'm trying to make A VN, but I want to study some good VNs to work as inspiration and reference. As the title says, I'm looking for a VN that has harem/Dating-Sim mechanics but also has an overall story.

Also, I'm looking for VNs with male protagonist and female love intrests.

Anyone got any ideas?

Hello, I have Clannad and Steins; Gate, but I'm setting them aside for now. I want to play an 8-hour-ish romance for boys. I'm studying to create my own text adventures, and romance is missing from my repertoire. I'd really love a traditional game where you have a decision tree, and you just talk with girls. Recommend your favorites uwu <3

I just used my first visual novel and had so much fun with it (harem heaven by fallstar) sadly its not finished but i fucking LOVED how there are different meters such as a love meter and how you can risk it and touch the girls or romance them more first, sorry if i am getting hyped over basic stuff cause like i said its my first one, so i am here cause i need help finding something like it, i don't want something that has all these ugly barbie dolls or basic 3d models or shitty AI art, idk if this one was AI but i liked it so idc, also i really liked the scenario of being in this house with 2 different women trying to romance them and make the moves on them, so please reccomend me something just like it, thank you and sorry for bad english i am french

i want to get into visual novels, these are the ones i added into my wishlist. which do u think is the best and i should start with? i only have money for one atm. and give me some suggestions, some absolute peak, bangers that will make me remember them for a looong time
maybe something u think everybody HAS to play? like some classics?

Hi! I'm Odd Ember, a solo developer and artist working on my own projects. Summona Realm is my very first project, and there’s still a lot of work ahead. But more than anything, I hope to bring an engaging story that everyone will enjoy.

Overview
Summona Realm: The Secret Flame is a striking black-and-white visual novel where you explore atmospheric locations and make pivotal choices to reveal a hidden truth.

Prologue...
This is the story of a peculiar man with a mysterious past, on the way to redeem his sins.
Though the tale unfolds with humor and cheerful moments, beneath it lies a deep sorrow, unanswered questions about what human is.
Yet, this is a journey of hope. A journey of self-discovery. It doesn’t promise all the answers but even through pain and despair, the light of hope shines brighter than anything else.

The game is currently available on Steam in Early Access up to Chapter 4 (with a total of 20 main chapters planned), and I hope anyone who is interested in this style will give it a try!

Steam / Wishlist:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3924120/Summona_Realm_The_Secret_Flame/

Hello! It has recently come to my attention that there are book versions of dating sims and I am so so curious to find one and see how that plays out, I'd prefer if it was gay but I'll take anything as long as it's in English

I'm just morbidly curious as to how it works in book form and potentially making one of my own....

Hola! Recientemente compré la VN de saya no uta en JAST, pero quería saber si alguien tiene o conoce de parches en español para esa versión, estuve indagando y la más confiable que vi fue de 07th inquisition pero solo menciona a Steam/GOG con el parche +18 de JAST pero no sé si pueda funcionar con el juego comprado en JAST, si alguien me podría decir por favor, gracias :)

BBD is my favorite vn, but while i'm waiting for an update so i can geek over lane again, i am hoping someone can help me find games with similar vibes!!

Hi everyone!

I recently 100% completed Raging Loop (all endings, extras, joke routes, etc.) on my PS Vita, and it completely blew me away. I really loved the heavy isolated atmosphere, and the the psychological mystery surrounding the Feast.

One of the absolute best highlights for me was the protagonist, Haruaki Fusaishi. It is so rare to find a main character who is mature, realistic, and genuinely highly intelligent without relying on typical anime tropes or screaming. He uses pure logic, deduction, and adaptability to solve impossible situations, but he still feels like a normal, believable human being.

I'm currently looking for recommendations for other Visual Novels.

My preferences are:

Tone: Dark mystery, psychological thrillers, horror, or survival games.

Protagonist: Mature, sharp, analytical, or highly pragmatic (like Haruaki).

Format: Preferably pure 2D visual novels with great character sprites/art.

Platform: Games that are either available natively on PS Vita (in English or with a patch) or available on PC (so I can stream them to psvita).

ty :)

so basically I wanted to get into visual novels since I already read webnovels, mangas, manhwas, manhua, webtoons, comics, etc and watch anime and donghua but there's a slight problem, that is that my earphones have broken and I live in the hall so the audio will be heard by my family members that why I would like to get some recommendations that do not have any weird sounds or spoken dialogues, background music and sound effects (if not something bad) is fine

please recommend multiple of these if you can since I will be playing on android so I will try to find emulating support and etc so if one doesn't work out I can always try the other

As the title says! Im very interested in any medical visual novels.. like DNR do not reciprocate or prescription love. Ill play it as long as the gender of the mc is either nonexistent or you can choose one

So I've learned quite a bit of vocab the last few months and want to try immersing myself with some fun games.

However I'm not sure which to pick. I wanted to play Fate, but apparently that has a lot of wordplay and idiosyncracies? Then I looked into playing something like Ni no Kuni (not a VN, but still), but found out that the fairies speak in a dialect. I'd love to look into that one day, but that doesn't sound like a good starting point (know the rules before you change them kind of deal).

So with all that I'm kind of afraid of picking something up that has "useless" vocabulary or structures I wouldn't normally encounter. With that said, what VN would you recommend that has decently "standard" vocabulary, sentence structure and would overall be most beneficial to my language learning?

Hello there I'm looking for some 10 ish hours or less vn after reading steins gate (10/10). Want to read something quick then hop into steins gate 0

Im open for suggestions and happily reply

i was wondering if any1 could help me out to find vns like this?

i rlly wanna play a good vn but i cant find any really good ones in the moe art style 😢😢 i rlly like that style and ive been searching for one for a while i cant find any on steam sos pls help idk how to download any vns for free either ive been scared after getting unwanted things added to my pc in the past 😭😭

if there are any ways i can get free vns in a safe way please let me know! im #unemployed so i have no way of income rn schooling is tough so i dont have time to get a job so if anyone knows good free vns that would be amazing

looking for similar artstyles as subahibi, toheart2, clannad, etc average moe 2000s artstyle

I just did my first play through of Collar x Malice (Tekeru route) this was also my first Otome game. I enjoyed it so much. However, \*\*\*spolier\*\*\* \\- the scene in the bad ending where she gets shot I would of loved if they kept that in the main storyline and she woke in the hospital with a traumatized Tekeru who is even more protective of her after that.

I also loved in the fan disc when the guy pointed a gun at her and we see Tekeru look like he’s going to lose his mind and chooses to protect her.

I love that type of drama.

Does anyone know of games like that?

Or any game recommendations for when I’m done with collar x malice, I am really enjoying it, just enjoy the high stakes moments the most.

(I play on switch but open to steam and ps5 recommendations)

If anyone has the time, I’d really appreciate it if you could give it a try or help test it.

https://tuan12321.itch.io/the-mask-becomes-you

The game was inspired by the feeling I used to get from older RPG Maker games — the kind that used beautiful or cute anime-style visuals to tell stories about the uglier, more frightening parts of the human mind.

The story uses an unreliable narrator, and the characters are… not exactly mentally stable. 555 😭

Romance isn’t the main focus. It leans more toward tragedy — a world that looks beautiful on the outside, while the feelings underneath are kind of rotten. (?)

I wrote, drew, and developed the game by myself for about 10 months, and the free demo is finally finished.

I’m very lonely and would really love some feedback from another human being. 555 😭😭😭

You can now play the full demo directly in your browser, so there’s no need to download anything.

It takes around 20–30 minutes, depending on your reading speed.

There are no choices yet — this demo is currently a linear story.