Mostly visual novels, some interactive fiction, these are games but HEAVY on the storytelling.
The Last Act is a visual novel with a theatric theme about an actress in a lead play character. Interact with a social group of charismatic characters, while find yourself getting more and more into the script as the serious drama unfolds. The choices you make unfold the story in different ways, but ultimately you'll find yourself interacting with supernatural characters that seek to interact in your fate. Will you continue on with the play? Or is it too much? Or do people just need to mind their own business? It's up to you.
Half Past Fate: Romantic Distance is a visual novel about a dating during the pandemic. It was released February of 2021. The story revolves around a mutual interest involving a young man and his broken laptop named Stephen and a clerk at a computer repair shop named Robin. Soon after they meet, the city goes into lockdown because of the pandemic. They try to make it work using video dating for multiple months, and test the limits of distant relationships. The game has a very pleasing 2.5D pixel art aesthetic and a catchy chiptune soundtrack.
//TODO: today is a visual novel and dating sim. You'll follow the main character through a crisis involving life direction in the context of paying rent, becoming an artist, working in a bookstore, dating, and the help of a cute but invasive artificial intelligence named Joyce. The game takes advantage of bright pastel colors and hand-drawn art. It conveys a message of getting out of a rut as an adult and using a motivation to solve life's problems. The gameplay is a few hours and very interesting.
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VA-11 Hall-A (Or Valhalla as it's known) is an interactive cyberpunk bartending simulator with elements of visual novel character interaction. Play from the perspective of Jill, a young woman who lives in the year 207X in a city called Glitch…
CRASH: Autodrive is a visual novel style point-and-click mystery that takes place in Pittsburgh, PA, the year 2027. You are a passenger in a robot auto cab that hosts you and three other passengers on your way to your respective destinations. The car takes an unanticipated detour and strikes a crossing bicyclist on a deserted back road in the city. With the aid of a host full of clues from your cab-sharers, you will use information and evidence from the individual to unravel the mystery behind the crash. In a world where A.I. is everywhere, you'll have to deduct on your own the implications of this accident. The game is due for release sometime in the spring of 2021.
Arcade Spirits: New Challengers takes place in an alternate history, the year 20XX, where arcades have not been subjected to deprecation or obsoleteness, unlike what happened after consoles in the 1980s. As such, the arcade is quite an interesting place…
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Coffee Talk is an interactive visual novel released in the pumpkin spice season of 2020. You play a barista in Seattle in a futuristic/alternate-universe. Your customers range from human to succubus, and it is your job not only to make them coffee in your coffee shop but also to help talk them through their personal problems. The gameplay is interspersed with actual barista beverage making with various ingredients and you can even make latte art. The game art is also enjoyable and has a high-quality direction in design.
Read Only Memories: NEURODIVER is an indie interactive fiction visual novel project currently set for release sometime next year. Play as ES88 a psychic therapist who recovers lost memories for clients using the help of an organic "neurodiver." You'll start as a hybrid client named Crow. Crow has a mysterious background but is trying to restore a memory that has been tampered with to recover a memory chip at the center of a secretive trade he took part in. The art direction in Read Only Memories is colorful and fresh.
A Cottage Story is an indie fantasy-style visual novel currently in development by indie developer LadyMeowsith on itch.IO. You'll play as Emory, or whichever moniker you choose. Your form is selectable as well. Your are a human/changeling grown up far away from humans. You live within a fantastic forest of goblins, satyrs, elves and maybe more. Meet characters and treat their ailments with a mastering of herbalism and healing skills from herbs found in the forest. Participate for story or personal fulfillment in this stylistic story/dating sim.
