Visual Novel game genre

I like Visual Novels a lot. Currently playing 999 on my NintendoDS. :)
You should play Analogue: A Hate Story it's great. :)

My vote is for Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, and Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. It's a so good game, but sometimes I'm not really in the mood to listen to the characters. But the 1,5 hour long Class Trial is the best, in every episode :D If you want to see, what is the game will be about, watch Danganronpa: The Animation Episode 1. Episode 1 only cause spoilers :P

If I saw correctly. Dysfunctional Systems is just an episode, which takes 2 hours to complete, so I wouldn't recommend that

Finished it a few months back and I loved it! Can't wait to play Episode 2 :)

The trailer is actually the main reason I decided to buy it too. I enjoyed what I have played but that's not saying much since I've only played it for a short amount of time. If you think you would like it you could try Junipers Knot since it's free and by the same developers. There are also a few 50% off coupons around if you do end up buying the game.

I'm really glad I opened this thread.
I never gave so much thought about this genre, but the material you're giving me to check... worth it!

LONG LIVE THE QUEEN
Even that it isn't on Steam. It's one of the best I have played, Magical diary is good too.

tell a tale the walkingdead its practically a visual novel si try that one first =P

For me free Katawa Shoujo was brilliant and touchy. Thank God I've managed to get good ending, I was seriously sad sometimes. And then, happy. Everybody who played will know.

This thread is making me rethink about the genre. BUT the linearity of most and 'too much slice of life/relationship sims' still turns me away.

Its beyond me why with text based without voice-acting these devs don't push it further. Bigger and more complex games features few branching paths because all of the costs. The few visual novels ive 'played' featured equal or less the amount of branching of one good quest from Fallout 1/2. All that really puts me off into giving then money. This very example, very beautiful and interesting concept but... 2 endings, and from all reviews, very little on different choices. Come on, why not make a graphic novel then?

I wish there were more non-anime games.

Well, I'm a huge fan of VN, played a lot of 'em, and as like you I wasnt interested in VN but one day I was bored and just tried one, my first VN was Katawa shoujo (you should give it a try) and man... no words.
PD: I'll check for that VN on steam looks pretty interesting

Narcissu and Sunrider are free VNs that are worth checking out.

Just ended Dysfunctional Systems episode 1. Thanks, Lina!
It's more of a Graphic Novel using what a game offers in technology than a game using what a Graphic Novel offers in narrative...
But oh boy, it is pretty...
I want to see how the story goes on. :)
I started and... couldn't stop until I got to the episode's end.

check out The Maker's Eden

The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us should be considered visual novels, because they aren't really about gameplay.

As I see it visual novels are just novels with some images and not actual games. Kind of the way that something like The Stanley Parable is actually an interactive movie, but not a good game. It's a walking simulator that has no gameplay, but that doesn't make it a bad experience.

I don't like VNs that are at the extreme end of the spectrum, where you literally have no choice except to advance the story. This doesn't do anything for me since there's no immersion; I prefer reading a novel or watching a movie to that. You should at least have the illusion of choice. Also, I'm not much into supa kawaii Japanese stuff, which limits your options a bit. I see Long Live the Queen and Magical Diary as gateway drugs. :-)

Fortunately more Western stuff is being made in the genre and I really don't mind "interactive experiences" that are more about story than about gameplay. As SF pointed above, the latest Telltale games are closer to VNs than traditional adventure games -- although they're not VNs by the conventions of the genre, it's really about the story experience, not about solving puzzles. Also, Planescape: Torment is not a visual novel, but the story is much more important than the RPG gameplay (which is a walk in the park compared to its contemporaries) and I'd call it the best RPG I've ever played. An interactive story can easily trump gameplay if you do it right.

Another Western VN you might like to check out is Cinders. I played the demo and I liked what I saw.