8 Titles You Should Check Out at Steam Visual Novel Fest

This week is the Steam Visual Novel Fest, the gaming provider’s annual celebration of the popular combination game and book genre. There are a ton of them available so we selected some popular favorites to recommend for those getting started with VNs or for someone looking for their next one to play. These choices run the gamut from gothic suspense tales with multiple endings to cardbuilding life sims to wholesome stories dealing with identity and loss.

Please note that some VN themes/situations can be dark or troubling. We have done our best to highlight any content warnings but you should review the game description on Steam or the game’s official website first just to be certain.

STEINS;GATE

Content Warning: Some gore; casual consideration of rape.

A classic of the genre, the time travel science fiction visual novel STEINS;GATE was so popular after its 2009 release that manga and anime adaptations were made of it. Students discover they can change the past and start to do so with experiments that quickly grow out of control. While there is some player interaction in the form of emails/texts that the player can choose to respond to — and influence which ending you’ll receive — most of the game is a straightforward VN that runs well over 30 hours of reading time.

Get STEINS;GATE on Steam

Slay the Princess

Content Warning: Self-harm, realistic depictions of horror and gore, mild nudity. Full list of CWs provided at the official site.

My choice for Game of the Year of 2023, Slay the Princess is a psychological horror visual novel that pulls no punches with the ramifications of the choices you make. As the title says, there is a princess you must slay to save the world — or so you are led to believe. But you’re a hero; aren’t you supposed to save princesses? She is a prisoner after all. You’re warned not to listen to her that she will charm and lie and say anything in order to stop you. Still there’s that nagging voice in the back of your mind …

Slay the Princess contains several branching paths including new ones added for the new “Pristine Cut” release. The hand-drawn artwork and fully voiced narration only adds to the depth and enjoyment of this VN.

Get Slay the Princess on Steam

Coffee Talk

Content Warning: Very mild sexual innuendo, smoking.

Coffee Talk takes place in a Seattle similar to our own — only Werewolves, Mermaids, Orcs, Elves and other fabled beings are all real and love to chat while drinking coffee. As the owner and barista you learn to make drinks, get to talk to your customers, and maybe even nudge some relationships in the right direction. This game has a great and cozy vibe and the characters are all memorable. There are some different endings available; getting them may require you to relive some days again and figure out where you may have gone wrong with a drink order (you may need to find a guide to steer you in the right direction).

If you’ve already played Coffee Talk there is a sequel that is almost as good as well as Tavern Talk which was inspired by it.

Get Coffee Talk on Steam

The House in Fata Morgana

Content Warning: Frequent violence and gore, mature content.

The House in Fata Morgana is a tale of gothic suspense spread across many centuries. You awaken in a cursed mansion with no memory of who you are. Your only companion is a woman who calls You the Master of the house, and she is Your Maid. She leads you to experience the tragedies that have befallen other residents in the past in the hopes that doing so could help restore your memories. Who is the White-Haired Girl that sits at the center of so many tragedies? Why is the mansion cursed? And who are you?

While Fata Morgana has some choices that could lead to different endings, it’s a pretty straightforward VN with dark atmosphere, compelling characters, and a mystery that won’t let you go. There’s also a sequel that furthers explains the origins of the curse that has befallen the mansion — but definitely don’t play it until you’ve played the original.

Get The House in Fata Morgana on Steam

The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood

Content Warning: Some nudity, mature themes including mental health, self-harm, suicide, gender identity and discrimination, use of legal drugs, sexual themes.

In The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood you are a witch exiled to an asteroid. Desperate to escape you summon a forbidden cosmic entity who helps you design your own set of Tarot cards, which you then use as you interact with other witches and guide the destiny of your coven. What fortunes will you reveal as you strive for freedom?

This game has a delightful cast of characters and clever use of the Tarot card-building mechanics. While the vibe is cozy the stakes are real, not only for your coven but for the entire universe.

Get The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood on Steam

I Was a Teenage Exocolonist

Content Warning: Major character death, children in peril/dying, animal cruelty and death, body horror (written not visual), consensual sexual content (not visual), mature themes like violence, mental health and domestic abuse. The game itself has a Content Warnings section on the main menu that gives you further details, although be warned that there is spoiler material potentially contained therein.

You are growing up on humanity’s first extrasolar space colony, and you are navigating life with collectible cards formed from your memories of past lives. As each month passes in the playable decade of your life you’ll encounter challenges in learning skills, forming relationships and simply staying alive. Subsequent playthroughs build on your prior games allowing you to experience new events or revisit old events with new outcomes, and as such failure can be just as instructive as success. There are also romances you can form with other characters you’re growing up alongside, but also tragedy to endure. What life will you end up building in space?

Get I Was a Teenage Exocolonist on Steam

Doki Doki Literature Club

Content Warning: Self-harm, depression, suicide, suggestive sexual themes

One of the classics of the genre, DDLC has a reputation for psychological horror that’s well-earned. As the main character you’ve joined the titular Literature Club to pursue a romantic interest, and each poem you write brings you closer to her. What seems to start as a dating sim, though, starts to veer horribly off course. Talking about its secrets will spoil the experience, but fortunately the base game is available for free (the “plus” edition has better graphics and additional content but no changes to the original story).

Get Doki Doki Literature Club on Steam

National Park Girls

Content Warning: Child injury (off-screen), death (off-screen), trauma, mild adult themes

Our final selection is a full narrative VN (no choices) that recently released a complete edition incorporating all the chapters from the original release. The main character is Eve, an increasingly disillusioned National Park Ranger at Yosemite National Park. There she encounters three girls who are the physical manifestations of Yosemite, Zion and Yellowstone parks. Hijinks ensue!

In all seriousness this is a wholesome look at what makes a person (or a park) a person. The characters are delightfully realized, and while the final chapter derails a tad there’s still an emotionally satisfying conclusion.

Get National Park Girls on Steam

Hopefully you found a new title to enjoy while reading this. If there are only titles we missed that you think should’ve been featured feel free to comment!