Dark visual novel hidden gems

Grief, guilt and violence hang over these little-known stories, and you meet them by reading and choosing. In Our Wonderland you try to mend broken friendships while death keeps looping back, in Banebush you guide a man through a stark village shaped by folk dread, and in The Shell Part III: Paradiso you question witnesses in postwar Tokyo to close a murder case. Each one asks you to follow dialogue, pick branches and sit with bleak outcomes.

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1. 暴杀残雨之夜

   

   On a rainy night you play Yuexiang Lihua, a high school student staying with her uncle and working part-time to save for college. You choose how to treat a clingy junior, a fallen prince-like senior, a kind bookstore manager, and a mysterious boxer who may be your lost brother, with each choice branching toward a different ending.

   98%98% of 1,084 Steam reviews are positive10Players online now: 10$6

2. Is the Vat Utopia or Dystopia?

   

   Earth is scheduled for demolition to make way for an interstellar highway, and two lonely teenagers get picked as samples for an alien "Human Observation Documentary". What follows is a short, sweet and surprisingly moving romance visual novel: dark jokes, meme-heavy dialogue, gorgeous presentation and a pure love story with a happy ending, all in about four hours.

   97%97% of 1,003 Steam reviews are positive2Players online now: 2$2.69

3. Only You

   

   "Problem Child" me, Class Heartthrob her—two lines that should never cross collided through a series of coincidences, shattering my monochrome world. Crave her eyes on me alone, crave her world with me alone. The once-pure admiration begins to twist...

   94%94% of 745 Steam reviews are positive5Players online now: 5$6.99

4. if you stay

   

   Winter 1999, hours before your train to Tokyo. You are Fumiko, outed and done with your hometown, meeting your girlfriend Mika for one last date. Read, choose your words carefully, and decide if you stay together in this short, bittersweet romance for visual novel readers.

   97%97% of 164 Steam reviews are positive4Players online now: 4Free

5. The Moon Looks Beautiful Tonight: Definitive Edition

   

   Two girls must travel to the Moon's core after it has been thrown out of orbit. A PC98 inspired visual novel about fear of the unknown and people in love.

   98%98% of 287 Steam reviews are positiveFree

6. AIR

   

   A summer-town romance about family, memory, and a girl tied to the sky. You read, choose, and branch through routes and endings, including the side story First Sky Chapter, with retouched HD art and full Japanese voice. Sad, tender, and musical: worth playing for the long summer feeling and the mother-daughter story at its center.

   97%97% of 697 Steam reviews are positive9Players online now: 9$29.99

7. Putrika 2nd.cut:For the Exquisite Attire

   

   Is cutting down a young girl a sin, or a salvation? In the Haku-a Church where pure love and jealousy collide, a young gem-craftsman is forced to choose—to let her live, or to end her life.

   91%91% of 235 Steam reviews are positive$17.99

8. How Much for the Body in the Freezer

   

   Short visual novel. An all-too-familiar story, born from an all-too-familiar motive, on an all-too-familiar street.

   91%91% of 248 Steam reviews are positive$1.99

9. Our Wonderland

   

   A horror-romance visual novel following the trials of a dysfunctional friend group thrust back into the wish-granting wonderland of their youth. Either they face the issues plaguing them or risk dying in horrific ways again… and again… and again.

   99%99% of 145 Steam reviews are positive7Players online now: 7Free

10. Set Yourself on Fire

    

    A quiet town awaits death. Two young women fall in love.

    97%97% of 456 Steam reviews are positiveFree

11. Waning Flowers of a World Eternal - The Rainbow Appears After Flowering Rain

    

    Is one life worth the price of another? A bittersweet visual novel about life and death, trust and bonds, and promises made. Brought to you by popular Japanese bishojo game developer SWEET&TEA. Winner of the Moe Game Awards 2016's "New Brand Award"!

    97%97% of 314 Steam reviews are positive1Players online now: 1$19.99

12. Phantom PHANTOM OF INFERNO NITRO ARCHIVE

    

    NITRO ORIGIN's debut title, Phantom PHANTOM OF INFERNO, is coming to Steam! A web of swirling conspiracies. A whirlwind of bullets. Amidst it all, a poignant tale of a boy and a girl unfolds...

    91%91% of 141 Steam reviews are positive3Players online now: 3$29.99

Browse and filter all dark visual novels