Best Visual Novel Games
144 Visual Novel games, ranked by the Rank and Play community.
Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru
Released: Sep 1, 2011
Critic rating: 97.7 / 100 • 27 votes
Genres: Adventure, Visual Novel
Platforms: PC (Microsoft Windows)
Game modes: Single player
Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru is the sequel to Umineko no Naku Koro Ni.
Sengoku Rance
Released: Dec 15, 2006
Critic rating: 94.6 / 100 • 29 votes
Genres: Role-playing (RPG), Strategy, Turn-based strategy (TBS), Adventure, Visual Novel
Platforms: PC (Microsoft Windows), OOParts
Game modes: Single player
Sengoku Rance (also known as "Rance 7") is the tenth release of the Rance series launched by Alicesoft.
Bad End Theater
Released: Oct 26, 2021
Critic rating: 94.3 / 100 • 25 votes
Rating: M
Genres: Puzzle, Simulator, Adventure, Indie, Visual Novel
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Linux, Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Mac, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Game modes: Single player
Welcome to Bad End Theater!
Fate/Grand Order
Released: Jul 30, 2015
Critic rating: 92.3 / 100 • 76 votes
Rating: T
Genres: Role-playing (RPG), Adventure, Visual Novel
Platforms: Android, iOS
Game modes: Single player
Fate/Grand Order is a turn-based role-playing game with some visual novel elements set in the Fate/ franchise, for iOS and Android.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations
Released: May 30, 2013
Critic rating: 91.9 / 100 • 22 votes
Rating: T
Genres: Point-and-click, Puzzle, Simulator, Adventure, Visual Novel
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Nintendo 3DS, Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Game modes: Single player
A remaster of the original Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations, released exclusively as part of the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy bundle.
Clannad
Released: Apr 28, 2004
Critic rating: 90.8 / 100 • 35 votes
Genres: Adventure, Visual Novel
Platforms: PC (Microsoft Windows), Legacy Mobile Device
Game modes: Single player
Clannad follows the life of Tomoya Okazaki, a high school delinquent who meets many people in his last year at school, including five girls, and helps resolve their individual problems.
Gyakuten Kenji 2
Released: Feb 3, 2011
Critic rating: 90.8 / 100 • 38 votes
Genres: Point-and-click, Adventure, Visual Novel
Platforms: Android, iOS, Nintendo DS
Game modes: Single player
Gyakuten Kenji 2, also referred to as "Ace Attorney Investigations 2" by Capcom staff, is the sequel to "Gyakuten Kenji" (known as "Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth" in English) and the sixth game in the "Ace Attorney" series of text adventure video games.
Muv-Luv Alternative
Released: Feb 24, 2006
Critic rating: 92.0 / 100
Rating: M
Genres: Visual Novel
Platforms: PlayStation 3, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360
Game modes: Single player
"A destiny tossed about, in an insane world--- A flame of life blazing forth, in a dying world--- And now, one more future that is spun--- This is the alternative ending unable to be told before: A very great, a very tiny, a very precious... Tale of love and courage." Muv-Luv Alternative continues the story of Shirogane Takeru after the events of the original Muv-Luv. This is a tale of a love so deep it breaks all barriers; about courage in the face of adversity and overcoming hardships. Takeru encounters insurmountable odds while his entire world is turned upside down around him.
Your Turn to Die: Death Game by Majority
Released: Aug 28, 2017
Critic rating: 90.1 / 100 • 41 votes
Genres: Adventure, Indie, Visual Novel
Platforms: Web browser, PC (Microsoft Windows)
Game modes: Single player
Your Turn To Die: Death Game By Majority is a multi-ending horror adventure game.
Higurashi When They Cry
Released: Dec 5, 2009
Critic rating: 90.0 / 100
Rating: PEGI 7
Genres: Adventure, Visual Novel
Platforms: Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS
Game modes: Single player
Higurashi When They Cry is a Japanese murder mystery visual novel.
The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures
Released: Jul 9, 2015
Critic rating: 89.7 / 100 • 34 votes
Rating: T
Genres: Point-and-click, Puzzle, Adventure, Visual Novel
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Nintendo 3DS, Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, Nintendo Switch
Game modes: Single player
The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures is the ninth installment of the Ace Attorney series of text adventure video games.
Limbus Company
Released: Feb 27, 2023
Critic rating: 89.5 / 100 • 24 votes
Rating: M
Genres: Role-playing (RPG), Strategy, Adventure, Visual Novel
Platforms: Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS
Game modes: Single player
Limbus Company is a darkly stylish turn-based strategy RPG from Project Moon, set in the same universe as Lobotomy Corporation and Library of Ruina.
Utawarerumono
Released: Apr 26, 2002
Critic rating: 88.7 / 100 • 24 votes
Genres: Role-playing (RPG), Tactical, Visual Novel
Platforms: PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2
Game modes: Single player
Hakuoro, a man who wakes up in a tiny backwoods village near the mountains with heavy injuries, no memory, and a mask he cannot remove.
Persona 4 Golden
Released: Jun 13, 2020
Critic rating: 90.0 / 100
Rating: M
Genres: Role-playing (RPG), Adventure, Visual Novel
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Game modes: Single player
A coming of age story that sets the protagonist and his friends on a journey kickstarted by a chain of serial murders.
Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
Released: Nov 27, 2008
Critic rating: 92.6 / 100
Rating: E10+
Genres: Point-and-click, Puzzle, Visual Novel
Platforms: Nintendo DS
Game modes: Single player
As with previous Professor Layton games, Unwound Future is an adventure game where the player solves puzzles offered by local citizens to progress the story forward, through dialogue and around 32 minutes of full motion video.
Fate/Stay Night
Released: Jan 30, 2004
Critic rating: 88.3 / 100 • 56 votes
Genres: Adventure, Visual Novel
Platforms: PC (Microsoft Windows)
Game modes: Single player
Fate/Stay Night is a Japanese visual novel, which was originally released as an adult game.
Umineko no Naku Koro ni
Released: Oct 15, 2010
Critic rating: 85.0 / 100
Genres: Adventure, Visual Novel
Platforms: PC (Microsoft Windows)
Game modes: Single player
Umineko no Naku Koro ni takes place in 1986 on October 4 and 5 on a secluded island called Rokkenjima.
Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony
Released: Jan 12, 2017
Critic rating: 87.6 / 100
Rating: M
Genres: Point-and-click, Adventure, Visual Novel
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, PlayStation Vita, Nintendo Switch
Game modes: Single player
Welcome to a new world of Danganronpa, and prepare yourself for the biggest, most exhilarating episode yet.
Doki Doki Literature Club!
Released: Sep 22, 2017
Critic rating: 94.5 / 100
Genres: Adventure, Indie, Visual Novel
Platforms: Linux, Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, Mac
Game modes: Single player
The Literature Club is full of cute girls!
The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood
Released: Aug 16, 2023
Critic rating: 90.0 / 100
Rating: M
Genres: Adventure, Indie, Visual Novel
Platforms: PC (Microsoft Windows), Nintendo Switch
Game modes: Single player
Immerse yourself in an enchanting narrative experience as Fortuna, a fortune-teller Witch condemned to exile on her asteroid home.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice For All
Released: May 30, 2013
Critic rating: 87.4 / 100 • 22 votes
Rating: T
Genres: Point-and-click, Puzzle, Simulator, Adventure, Visual Novel
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Nintendo 3DS, Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Game modes: Single player
A remaster of the original Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice For All, released exclusively as part of the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy bundle.
Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward
Released: Feb 16, 2012
Critic rating: 85.7 / 100
Rating: M
Genres: Point-and-click, Puzzle, Adventure, Visual Novel
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Nintendo 3DS, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation Vita, Xbox One
Game modes: Single player
The second game in the Zero Escape series.
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles
Released: Jul 26, 2021
Critic rating: 85.6 / 100
Rating: T
Genres: Point-and-click, Puzzle, Adventure, Visual Novel
Platforms: PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), Nintendo Switch
Game modes: Single player
This bundle is "The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures" and "The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve" in one package.
Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors
Released: Dec 10, 2009
Critic rating: 90.0 / 100
Rating: M
Genres: Point-and-click, Puzzle, Adventure, Visual Novel
Platforms: Nintendo DS
Game modes: Single player
The game is a murder mystery visual novel with a heavy story focus that requires multiple playthroughs to figure out and involves puzzle rooms used to progress through the story with dialogue choices to be made inbetween them.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Released: May 30, 2013
Critic rating: 86.3 / 100 • 58 votes
Rating: T
Genres: Point-and-click, Puzzle, Visual Novel
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Nintendo 3DS, Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Game modes: Single player
A remaster of the original Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, released exclusively as part of the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy bundle.