When it comes to video games, the gameplay is usually the main course and any other aspect takes a backseat. The story is one of those aspects, which is why plenty of games can get away with less than stellar narratives. There are some outliers, however, calledvisual novels, and in that genre, the storyisthe gameplay.
RELATED:Best Western RPGs That Ape Final Fantasy’s Turn-Based Combat
Needless to say, they have some of the craziest and most compelling stories in gaming. What little they have in interactivity or graphics, they make up for it by imprinting their novel ideas into a player’s memories in a way that a gameplay loop of map unlocking or enemy murder can’t match.
Updated June 19, 2025 by Sid Natividad:After playing too many video games that require too much input or activity from the players, it can be relaxing to unwind with something that gives a good story in just a few clicks. Good visual novels can scratch this itch for a change of scenery in games. Not all visual novels on PC are created equal of course.
The top visual novels can move and sway the players to emotions they never thought existed. That’s why picking the best visual novels on PC is always a good way to start with the genre. Thankfully, an update is here to help players decide, with expanded choices, which top visual novels to play.
15Eliza – A Digital Counseling Program Drama
Elizasees players assuming the role of Evelyn. She’s an ex-salary woman who got burnt out of her job and decided to apply for a company that develops an AI counseling program called “Eliza.” The program feeds Evelyn a script that analyzes the program user’s psyche. Evelyn must then recite this information to her superiors.
The only problem is that Evelyn also somewhat becomes a pseudo-patient in the process of reciting scripts from Eliza. She is then compelled to confront her past traumas and old acquaintances as she explores her own psyche while also dealing with her new job.
14The House In Fata Morgana – A Gothic Suspense Tale
Looking for a visual novel that won’t be over in an afternoon of playtime? ThenThe House in Fata Morganawill surely sate that craving. It boasts a whopping 30 hours of gameplay time, meaning there’s a lot of story to be had in this Japanese visual novel.
RELATED:Fate/Stay Night: Every Route In The Visual Novel, Ranked
It’s a millennium-long story that deals with tragedy, insanity, and human nature in general. Players simply wake up in an old and decrepit Gothic mansion with no memory of their past. The maid then informs them that they’re the new master of the house and that the empty halls might rekindle some of the player’s ideas about their identity.
13Steins;Gate – A Time Travel Mystery
Steins;Gateis a video game that was also adapted into an anime and thus cemented its legacy as one of the most riveting time travel stories in both mediums of entertainment. The best part is that the game also offers more than 30 hours of content, making it a great companion to the anime.
This visual novel has the same premise as its show counterpart. A group of poor tech-savvy inventors (the player included) managed to create a device using a microwave that allows them to send messages to people in the past. They can then change the future this way by communicating with people from the past.
12Hatoful Boyfriend – A Wacky Dating Sim About Pigeons
It’s best not to takeHatoful Boyfriendwith a logical or serious perspective as it’s first and foremost a dating sim. Except, the people players date are not people, but anthropomorphic pigeons. Each pigeon has its own personality and preference, making the same more challenging than just offering a different variety of birdseed.
How did this happen? Well apparently, the players got accepted in St. PigeoNation’s Institute, a school for talented birds. The catch is that the player character is a human, making them a rare case in the school. That doesn’t matter since the objective here is to woo and date those birds!
11Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc – A Battle Royale/Among Us Hybrid
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havocis the perfect game for those who are looking for something similar toAmong Usbecause it’s practicallyAmong Usand a battle royale game combined. The objective here is to murder someone and not get caught. Anyone who gets caught will be penalized.
RELATED:Best Slice Of Life Games (That Are Not Visual Novels)
To make things more interesting and dynamic, all the participants are bright scholars who thought they were getting into a top academy. That top academy, however, imprisoned them with the promise of freedom for anyone who fulfills the aforementioned objective.
10Dream Daddy – A Fun Dating Sim
2-for-1 games are always a good thing, especially if they utilize several genres well.Dream Daddyis one such title and it’s great if someone wants something more involved than a two-dimensional story unraveling in front of their eyes.
Dream Daddyputs players in the shoes of a random single dad who ventures into the town of Maple Bay which, to his luck, happens to be full of hot single dads (or daddy material). Each of them has a colorful personality and it’s up to the players to woo them, in a modern sense.
9Cinders – A Fantasy Adventure
Cindersis a more mature take on Cinderella, similar to howShrekorThe Witchergames handle their fairy tales. Almost everyone has heard of Cinderella by now so the story should be familiar. The difference is that players have a say in Cinderella’s actions.
RELATED:JRPGs That Have Great Combat But Weak Stories
If they ever find some of the evil step-sisters a little too annoying or the Prince Charming a little too aggressive, then they can pick a different fate for Cinderella. Not everything is black and white inCinderseither, and the characters grow more interesting as their motivations and histories are shown.
8Arcade Spirits – A Retro Futuristic Dating Sim
For anyone who’s a fan of the neon-flavored arcade culture of the 1980s,Arcade Spiritsexplores an alternate version of history where the 1983 video game crash never took place. Therefore, everything in the 21st century onward has a retroactive theme and atmosphere.
Arcade Spiritssaw this as an opportunity for adifferent kind of dating simwhere every character is hip, quirky, and, of course, single. The premise is similar to most datings sims/visual novel hybrids where the main character finds themselves in a new town without any connections.
7Heaven Will Be Mine – A Space Epic
For something with heavier and more dire stakes than a dating sim, thenHeaven Will Be Mineis a story about survival in the dark abyss of space. Players are tasked to pick one of three female characters to fight a space war.
RELATED:Longest Visual Novels (& How Long They Take To Read)
Along the way, players can choose to have some side activities to alleviate the stress of such a task. For example, they can engage in raunchy chats with other characters or form relationships in thissci-fi visual novel.
6Neo Cab – A Cyberpunk Taxi Driver Game
Think of Uber, but the service works in a cyberpunk reality and the streets are mostly empty. Also, the players take the role of Lina, the last human cab driver in Los Ojos. Being an organic being, she puts herself at high risk in her line of work.
Moreover, the passengers are so used to their cab drivers being robots that a lot of them tend to be repulsive or intentionally abrasive. It’s up to the players, as Lina, to control their emotions and responses while balancing their professionalism.
