visual novels
An 'Uber, but for Mental Health' App Is an Unsettling Therapist in 'Eliza'
A software engineer changed the world. Now she has to find out whether she improved it.
Watch a City’s Politics Shift Through the Rear View Mirror of Your Cab in ‘Night Call’
It's not much of a detective story, but 'Night Call' does have some great mysteries.
The Story Behind the All-Woman Team Who Invented the Otome Genre
Nearly 25 years ago, Ruby Party released the first romance-focused game targeted towards women.
'Doki Doki Literature Club' Fits in a Tradition of Subversive Visual Novels
How 'Doki Doki Literature Club' fits into—and complicates—the visual novel genre.
A Horror Game That Rejects The Usual Zombie Tropes
'These Four Walls Called Reality' is a rare game set in an apocalypse that rejects the idea that the social world was hunky-dory before.
This Low-Fi Homage to Nancy Drew Captures Why We Love Detective Stories
The Francy Droo series shows what good puzzle design and mastery of the visual novel medium can accomplish.
Learn to Love Otome Games Through These Essential Titles
There’s a lot more to the “loved-up” side to visual novels than dating sims starring anime boys.
Laugh Your Ass Off In This Ghost Chicken Detective Game
'Chook and Sosig' is the Sam and Max' style game you didn't even know you wanted.
‘Ghost in the Shell’ Meets ‘Cheers’ in New Cyberpunk Bartending Game
VA-11 HALL-A offers a vision of the future, or at least the future’s barflies.
A Beginner’s Guide to Visual Novels
Get stuck into one of these gems, and who knows where it might lead? (Hopefully not into the arms of a psychopathic teddy bear, but no promises.)