Story-rich games, visual novels, interactive fiction I’ve tried and you should too.
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.
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.
The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante is an interactive visual novel that spans the lifetime of a character named Sir Brante. Progress through the stages of life starting with childhood, where you'll forge deep experiences that will shape the course of your entire life later on. Your actions will affect your own character and also how others interact with you. Try to live true in a world dominated by an esoteric caste system and brutal classism, starting from the very bottom.
Don't Forget Me is a pixel art, narrative investigation game about two cybernetic specialists, memory copiers to be exact. After a client visits their clinic, they find themselves in a complex situation involving government conspiracies and secret technology. The game is slated for release on April 15th, and gamers will find themselves playing a game with excellent art and unique mechanics.
Superstorm Melon Date is a visual novel that takes place in a relatively near dystopic future. People live in shelters and return to the surface only periodically because climate change has plagued the earth with frequent superstorms that burden humanity. People have developed widespread allergies and only the rich can raise fully human children. Therefore, a hybrid species of half melon people have outnumbered humans because they have better immune systems. To tie it all together, the plot of the game is about you going on a date with a melon person listed on an internet dating website. A melon person named, Mel.
Demetrios: The BIG Cynical Adventure is an indie interactive-fiction/visual novel cartoon adventure. The interactive feature is much like you'd see in a hidden object story as well, although clues that you find unlock different possibilities. The story is very comical on purpose and can get as fresh out of the outhouse as you please. Despite this, it is a very well-thought-out mystery story about a complex theft and the clues can leave you curious about what's around every corner.
Aviary Attorney is an interactive hand-illustrated, historical detective fiction that takes place in the earlier half of the 18th century in France. In it, every single character is an anthropomorphic animal inspired by the caricatures of J.J. Grandville. It is also chock full of jokes.
Henchman Story is a cartoony comedy visual novel about life as a henchman for a supervillain named Lord Bedlam. You'll live life within the ranks of other henchmen in dorm-style accommodations within the secret hideout or out in the field, holding your ground against superheroes who want to foil Lord Bedlam's operations.
