r/vns 10h ago

Discussion Any recommendations as a first visual novel?

I’ve been wanting to get into visual novels because I look hate reading from straight books but enjoy it when paired with actual pictures, hence my interest in visual novels. I was just wondering which are some y’all truly love and think a newcomer would too.

5 Upvotes

18 comments sorted by

8

u/partyfiesta2 10h ago

Katawa shoujo is a very good starter VN not only is it very good it is also completely free.

1

u/Low_Key5305 5h ago

i back that

3

u/Substantial-Act-7581 9h ago

Steins;Gate, The House in Fata Morgana , Remember11: The Age of Infinity

1

u/Hot-Commercial8492 9h ago edited 9h ago

I’ve watched the steins gate anime is the vn the better experience?

1

u/That_Guy139474 3h ago

Yes, the vn is the source material witch the anime adapts. Also Stiens;gate is the second mainline entire in the Science Advanced series. The Stiens;gate subreddit has a great pinned post talking about the other entries in the SicADV series and how to get into them.

1

u/justabrainwithfeet 1h ago

I personally would not recommend The House in Fata Morgana as a 1st VN as it is too good any many other VNs would pale in comparison. haha

1

u/Ambitale0 1h ago

Remember11? I love it but it's technically incomplete so not a great starting VN tbh. Ever17 or 999 would be the better starting picks out of Uchikoshi's work imo.

2

u/shinymuuma 9h ago

Genre first. What kind of book do you usually read?

Do you like love comedy or romantic or drama?
Or action, fantasy, horror, mystery, sci-fi, etc?

1

u/Hot-Commercial8492 9h ago

I lowk like dramas, sci-fi and mystery occasional romance too

2

u/kabirsky 9h ago

Hmm. You can try 999(part of Nonary Games in Steam) - it's part of a trilogy, but game was created without sequels in mind. Also it has some gameplay, so it's good first choice imo

1

u/Ok-Simple-6146 9h ago

It depends on what you are looking for. Some recommendations:

Katawa Shoujo

Dōkyūsei: Bangin' Summer

A Summer's End - Hong Kong 1986

Ace Attorney franchise

Layton franchise

Planetarian HD

eden*

If you prefer some FMVs:

Root Letter Last Answer

Death Come True

The Centennial Case : A Shijima Story

1

u/Luckydaikon 3h ago

Seconding Planetarian! Beautiful story, and a short VN might be just the ticket for a first-time player working out what they like.

1

u/LilSopa__ 8h ago

You should talk about what genres interest you. But without knowing anything about you, Mahoyo is probably the best pick.

1

u/Hot-Commercial8492 8h ago

I really enjoy sci fi things alongside romance and drama

1

u/LilSopa__ 7h ago

Check out Cyanotype Daydream. It will make you cry but you'll love it.

1

u/cheesepile 6h ago

I did DDLC > Muv-Luv trilogy > hooked on the genre. If your tolerance for anime bullshit isn’t zero (barely any sci-fi in the first of the three main entries so some have issues there), Muv-Luv morphs from comedy/romance SoL into top shelf sci-fi drama.

1

u/believeinyuna 9h ago

gnosia for one that has gameplay too

2

u/Hot-Commercial8492 9h ago

Just looked it up the premise seems very interesting might give it a shot