- #1 Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!
97% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 32,549 reviews2021
Dev: Team SalvatoPub: Serenity Forge
Windows · Mac
Median: 6.0 hrsMean: 84.3 hrs≥1hr: 80%
Welcome to the club! Write poems for your crush and experience the terror of school romance in this critically-acclaimed psychological horror story.
Why similar: Psychological Horror 24.7%, Dating Sim 16.6%, Visual Novel 16.4%, Anime 12.6%, Romance 8.1%
Why You'll Like It: This expanded official version preserves the same cute dating-sim facade and devastating meta-horror while adding side stories and extra lore.
- #2 YOU and ME and HER: A Love Story
96% matchVery Positive95% of 7,095 reviews2020
Dev: NitroplusPub: JAST
Windows
Median: 7.7 hrsMean: 133.0 hrs≥1hr: 87%
YOU and ME and HER: A Love Story is the visual novel medium in its purest form. Will Shinichi choose Miyuki, the beautiful queen bee of the school, or the endearingly awkward misfit Aoi? With art by Tsuji Santa, these beautifully rendered romances will stay with you forever.
Why similar: Psychological Horror 25%, Visual Novel 22.3%, Anime 10.8%, Romance 9.1%, Dating Sim 7%
Why You'll Like It: A romance visual novel that deliberately plays with routes, player agency, and the boundaries between its fictional world and the person playing.
- #3 NEEDY STREAMER OVERLOAD
96% matchVery Positive94% of 58,305 reviews2022
Dev: WSS playground
Windows · Mac
Median: 3.6 hrsMean: 18.6 hrs≥1hr: 82%
NEEDY STREAMER OVERLOAD is a “multi-ending ADV” depicting daily life with “OMGkawaiiAngel”, a young girl with a rather extreme need for approval attempting to become the #1 “Internet Angel” (streamer).
Why similar: Psychological Horror 37.4%, Visual Novel 22.2%, Anime 19.8%, Cute 8.5%, Sexual Content 7.5%
Why You'll Like It: Like DDLC, it pairs adorable anime presentation and relationship choices with an increasingly disturbing portrayal of mental health and obsession.
- #4 Slay the Princess — The Pristine Cut
95% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 34,471 reviews2023
Dev: Black Tabby Games
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 4.0 hrsMean: 6.9 hrs≥1hr: 88%
You're here to slay the princess. Don't believe her lies.
Why similar: Psychological Horror 28.1%, Visual Novel 24.8%, Dating Sim 15.2%, Romance 11.4%, Horror 10.9%
Why You'll Like It: This choice-heavy horror visual novel builds intimate, unsettling relationships while constantly questioning narrative truth and player control.
- #5 MiSide
94% matchOverwhelmingly Positive98% of 142,774 reviews2024
Dev: AIHASTOPub: IndieArk
Windows
Median: 5.8 hrsMean: 24.0 hrs≥1hr: 92%
Let's imagine that you have a game in which you care for a character. But could you imagine one day getting into that game yourself?
Why similar: Psychological Horror 38.8%, Horror 14.3%, Cute 13.4%, Anime 12.3%, Sexual Content 7.9%
Why You'll Like It: It turns a cute virtual-girlfriend premise into a tense psychological horror story full of tonal reversals and reality-bending events.
- #6 Cooking Companions
94% matchVery Positive94% of 1,212 reviews2021
Dev: Deer Dream StudiosPub: Serenity Forge
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 3.6 hrsMean: 4.6 hrs≥1hr: 95%
Unravel the mystery in this cute psychological horror VN, set deep in the woods of the Tatras Mountains. Will you wind up on the chopping block?
Why similar: Psychological Horror 19.1%, Dating Sim 18.5%, Visual Novel 16.2%, Anime 13.8%, Horror 10.1%
Why You'll Like It: Its cozy cabin cooking and relationship-management setup gradually reveals a much darker psychological horror game with consequential endings.
- #7 The NOexistenceN of you AND me
92% matchVery Positive93% of 22,293 reviews2024
Dev: 0x0Real StudioPub: Nino Games
Windows · Mac
Median: 2.5 hrsMean: 18.7 hrs≥1hr: 70%
Use "game" as a medium to showcase the world of "you/girl". Explore the truth of "you/girl/world" through the form of a "visual novel".
Why similar: Psychological Horror 28.1%, Visual Novel 27.8%, Anime 16.4%, Dating Sim 11.6%, Cute 8%
Why You'll Like It: A romance-oriented psychological horror visual novel that leans into unstable identity, multiple endings, and unnerving meta-style storytelling.
- #8 The Song of Saya
93% matchVery Positive89% of 10,280 reviews2019
Dev: NitroplusPub: JAST
Windows
Median: 4.1 hrsMean: 64.6 hrs≥1hr: 85%
Bear witness to a love that will change the world, in this classic horror romance visual novel from acclaimed writer Urobuchi Gen.
Why similar: Psychological Horror 24.6%, Visual Novel 21.2%, Gore 10.7%, Anime 7.6%, Romance 7%
Why You'll Like It: This famously disturbing visual novel frames horror through a romance shaped by an unreliable protagonist's grotesquely altered perception.
- #9 KinitoPET
91% matchVery Positive93% of 14,786 reviews2024
Dev: troy_en
Windows
Median: 2.1 hrsMean: 3.4 hrs≥1hr: 87%
KinitoPET is a psychological horror experience that takes place through Kinito, an early 2000s virtual assistant. Kinito is able to walk, talk, browse, adapt, and play games as Kinito is like no other with its adaptive technology!
Why similar: Psychological Horror 49.8%, Horror 20.8%, Visual Novel 18.5%, Story Rich 7%, Indie 1.7%
Why You'll Like It: A colorful, friendly virtual pet game becomes invasive computer-themed horror that directly exploits the player's trust in its mascot.
- #10 Milk outside a bag of milk outside a bag of milk
90% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 22,405 reviews2021
Dev: Nikita Kryukov
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 2.6 hrsMean: 7.5 hrs≥1hr: 79%
A sequel to Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk. Dive into demented and bizarre world once again and help the girl become a little happier.
Why similar: Psychological Horror 41.1%, Visual Novel 30.3%, Great Soundtrack 7.5%, Anime 7.2%, Horror 6.2%
Why You'll Like It: The darker follow-up expands its protagonist's fractured reality through unsettling conversations and experimental visual-novel presentation.
- #11 Tiny Bunny
89% matchVery Positive83% of 30,684 reviews2025
Dev: Saikono
Windows · Mac
Median: 8.4 hrsMean: 12.6 hrs≥1hr: 91%
Tiny Bunny is a non-linear horror visual novel. Those, who have heard the voice of the forest, are beyond help.
Why similar: Visual Novel 21.8%, Psychological Horror 20.4%, Horror 12.3%, Dark 10.2%, Gore 6.8%
Why You'll Like It: This atmospheric horror visual novel contrasts childhood innocence and a small-town setting with escalating dread, choices, and disturbing imagery.
- #12 Wonderful Everyday Down the Rabbit-Hole
91% matchVery Positive93% of 2,765 reviews2017
Dev: KeroQPub: Frontwing USA
Windows
Median: 9.7 hrsMean: 175.9 hrs≥1hr: 89%
Wonderful Everyday is a visual novel with multiple routes which develops a story based on a few concepts: "the sky and the world", "the beginning and the end", "literature and science", "savior and hero", "brother and sister".
Why similar: Psychological Horror 25.3%, Visual Novel 22.6%, Anime 10.7%, Romance 6.8%, Gore 6.4%
Why You'll Like It: It begins with ordinary school-life visual-novel scenes before branching into philosophical, surreal, and psychologically harrowing territory.
- #13 Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk
89% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 34,372 reviews2020
Dev: Nikita KryukovPub: Nikita Igorevich Studio
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 24 minMean: 8.4 hrs≥1hr: 11%
A short story about what sort of challenges everyday little things can be. Help the girl buy milk, be the first not to disappoint her.
Why similar: Psychological Horror 36.5%, Visual Novel 31.5%, Horror 14.3%, Anime 12.8%, Story Rich 3%
Why You'll Like It: This brief surreal visual novel uses a cute, minimal style and an unreliable perspective to portray severe psychological distress.
- #14 Higurashi When They Cry Hou - Ch.1 Onikakushi
88% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 6,855 reviews2015
Dev: 07th ExpansionPub: MangaGamer
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 4.0 hrsMean: 21.5 hrs≥1hr: 85%
Higurashi When They Cry is a sound novel. The music, backgrounds and characters work together to create a world that is the stage of a novel for the user to read. They laugh and cry and get angry. The user takes the point of view of the protagonist to experience the story.
Why similar: Visual Novel 38.7%, Anime 23.9%, Dark 11.5%, Great Soundtrack 9.2%, Story Rich 8%
Why You'll Like It: A cheerful rural friend-group story slowly curdles into paranoia, violence, and uncertainty over what is real.
- #15 Find Love or Die Trying
86% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 12,005 reviews2021
Dev: Sunseeker Games
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 1.6 hrsMean: 23.9 hrs≥1hr: 59%
Welcome to the only killer dating show where ending up single means ending up dead! Date or die, it's up to your choices!
Why similar: Dating Sim 26.3%, Visual Novel 19.5%, Anime 13.8%, Psychological Horror 13.1%, Romance 12.9%
Why You'll Like It: It starts as a bright dating competition but adds life-or-death stakes, route-based romance, and sinister secrets beneath the cheerful presentation.
- #16 Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
87% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 38,953 reviews2016
Dev: Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 8.0 hrsMean: 22.7 hrs≥1hr: 88%
Investigate murders, search for clues and talk to your classmates to prepare for trial. There, you'll engage in deadly wordplay, going back and forth with suspects. Dissect their statements and fire their words back at them to expose their lies! There's only one way to survive—pull the trigger.
Why similar: Visual Novel 25.8%, Anime 22.3%, Psychological Horror 20%, Great Soundtrack 15.4%, Story Rich 6.8%
Why You'll Like It: It mixes anime-school character bonding and dating-sim-like free time with a high-stakes murder mystery and shocking tonal shifts.
- #17 Raging Loop
86% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 11,351 reviews2017
Dev: KEMCO
Windows
Median: 24.2 hrsMean: 60.5 hrs≥1hr: 83%
The feast has begun, can you escape the village alive?
Why similar: Visual Novel 34.1%, Psychological Horror 28.1%, Anime 7.6%, Story Rich 6.9%, Gore 6.4%
Why You'll Like It: Its looping death-game mystery combines a close-knit cast, repeated routes, and increasingly unsettling revelations about the scenario.
- #18 missed messages.
84% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 15,554 reviews2019
Dev: Angela He
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 36 minMean: 3.0 hrs≥1hr: 18%
‘goth gf’s iPhone’ airdrops you - accept or decline? A love/horror story about life, death, & memes.
Why similar: Visual Novel 27.7%, Psychological Horror 23.9%, Romance 14.6%, Great Soundtrack 9.4%, Horror 5.8%
Why You'll Like It: A short, free visual novel about romance and mental health whose intimate choices can lead to painful and serious outcomes.
- #19 CHAOS;HEAD NOAH
84% matchVery Positive88% of 2,108 reviews2022
Dev: MAGES. Inc.Pub: Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.
Windows
Median: 4.5 hrsMean: 54.9 hrs≥1hr: 84%
CHAOS;HEAD NOAH is now available on Steam!
Why similar: Visual Novel 27.7%, Psychological Horror 20.6%, Anime 15.4%, Gore 12.1%, Story Rich 6.2%
Why You'll Like It: This paranoia-driven visual novel follows an isolated protagonist whose delusions and choices make reality progressively harder to trust.
- #20 The Letter - Horror Visual Novel
85% matchVery Positive85% of 1,534 reviews2017
Dev: Yangyang MobilePub: Neon Doctrine
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 6.6 hrsMean: 11.1 hrs≥1hr: 89%
When seven people fall prey to a vicious curse, they will discover that horror rests not from the shadows lurking about, but within themselves. To what ends will one go in order to survive?
Why similar: Visual Novel 28.6%, Horror 17.8%, Psychological Horror 16.9%, Anime 11.3%, Gore 8.2%
Why You'll Like It: A branching ensemble horror story where relationship decisions, supernatural terror, and multiple routes determine who survives.
- #21 Paper Lily - Chapter 1
82% matchOverwhelmingly Positive99% of 8,923 reviews2024
Dev: Leef 6010
Windows
Median: 4.0 hrsMean: 8.1 hrs≥1hr: 76%
Paper Lily is an RPG horror game in which you can solve puzzles in different ways. Explore a hidden world, meet strange characters, and guide Lacie as she attempts to find answers about her unusual condition.
Why similar: Psychological Horror 39.4%, Anime 22.7%, Horror 12.6%, Story Rich 9.3%, Cute 9%
Why You'll Like It: This story-focused horror adventure retains a cute anime look while exploring isolation, trauma, puzzles, and disturbing supernatural threats.
- #22 Class of '09
82% matchVery Positive95% of 9,128 reviews2021
Dev: SBN3
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 2.3 hrsMean: 3.7 hrs≥1hr: 75%
This is the anti-visual novel. Instead of playing as some guy magically able to score with beautiful anime girls, YOU play the anime girl and create mass chaos in the lives of your potential "suitors". Earnest comedy, social accuracy, and late 2000's aesthetic await you in Class of '09!
Why similar: Visual Novel 46.1%, Psychological Horror 17.3%, Anime 14%, Sexual Content 9.8%, Story Rich 7.3%
Why You'll Like It: This school social visual novel subverts familiar dating-game expectations with abrasive dark comedy, branching choices, and emotionally grim outcomes.
- #23 Zero Escape: The Nonary Games
83% matchVery Positive93% of 7,427 reviews2017
Dev: Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.
Windows
Median: 6.5 hrsMean: 21.7 hrs≥1hr: 90%
Kidnapped and taken to an unfamiliar location, nine people find themselves forced to participate in a diabolical Nonary Game by an enigmatic mastermind called Zero. Why were they there? Why were they chosen to put their lives on the line? And more importantly, who can be trusted?
Why similar: Visual Novel 29.8%, Psychological Horror 23.7%, Anime 13.7%, Great Soundtrack 9.6%, Story Rich 9.1%
Why You'll Like It: A tense visual-novel escape game built around branching timelines, character relationships, and major twists about the player's perspective.
- #24 Project Kat - Paper Lily Prologue
81% matchOverwhelmingly Positive99% of 5,925 reviews2021
Dev: Leef 6010
Windows
Project Kat is a short, unconventional RPG horror game in which there is always another way. Solve puzzles, make friends (or not), and guide Kat as she attempts to uncover the mystery behind a strange golden letter.
Why similar: Psychological Horror 38.6%, Anime 24.2%, Horror 12.2%, Cute 9.2%, Story Rich 8.4%
Why You'll Like It: A deceptively charming pixel-art adventure about a schoolgirl becomes a compact, puzzle-driven psychological horror experience.
- #25 OneShot
80% matchOverwhelmingly Positive98% of 65,379 reviews2016
Dev: Future Cat LLCPub: KOMODO
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 4.7 hrsMean: 28.2 hrs≥1hr: 84%
OneShot is a surreal top down Puzzle/Adventure game with unique gameplay capabilities. You are to guide a child through a mysterious world on a mission to restore its long-dead sun. The world knows you exist.
Why similar: Great Soundtrack 34.1%, Psychological Horror 19.5%, Cute 18.1%, Story Rich 17.7%, Anime 3.3%
Why You'll Like It: A gentle pixel adventure develops a strong player-character bond and uses fourth-wall-aware storytelling to make its emotional choices resonate.
- #26 The House in Fata Morgana
81% matchVery Positive95% of 6,743 reviews2016
Dev: NOVECTPub: MangaGamer
Windows
Median: 6.5 hrsMean: 27.9 hrs≥1hr: 84%
A gothic suspense tale set in a cursed mansion. "The House in Fata Morgana" is a full-length visual novel spanning nearly a millennium that deals in tragedy, human nature, and insanity.
Why similar: Psychological Horror 19.9%, Visual Novel 18.9%, Anime 11.8%, Great Soundtrack 11.7%, Romance 11.5%
Why You'll Like It: A gothic visual novel with deeply emotional relationships, unreliable memories, and an increasingly tragic psychological mystery.
- #27 Inscryption
78% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 148,820 reviews2021
Dev: Daniel Mullins GamesPub: Devolver Digital
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 10.1 hrsMean: 16.5 hrs≥1hr: 92%
Inscryption is an inky black card-based odyssey that blends the deckbuilding roguelike, escape-room style puzzles, and psychological horror into a blood-laced smoothie. Darker still are the secrets inscrybed upon the cards...
Why similar: Horror 40.1%, Dark 31.9%, Story Rich 22.6%, First-Person 4.6%, Adventure 0.7%
Why You'll Like It: Although card-game focused, its deceptively simple setup evolves into a dark meta-narrative that repeatedly overturns what the player thinks the game is.
- #28 Buddy Simulator 1984
79% matchVery Positive93% of 4,366 reviews2021
Dev: Not a Sailor Studios
Windows
Median: 4.3 hrsMean: 7.1 hrs≥1hr: 88%
Thanks to next generation AI technology, BUDDY SIMULATOR 1984 simulates the experience of hanging out with a best buddy! Your buddy learns from you, constantly adapting to your interests and personality. But most importantly, your buddy can play games with you!
Why similar: Psychological Horror 48%, Horror 21.9%, Cute 12.2%, Story Rich 11.5%, Indie 2.3%
Why You'll Like It: A seemingly wholesome retro program centered on making a digital friend gradually becomes unnerving meta-horror about companionship and control.
- #29 Pony Island
79% matchVery Positive95% of 18,152 reviews2016
Dev: Daniel Mullins Games
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 3.0 hrsMean: 16.2 hrs≥1hr: 88%
Pony Island is a suspense puzzle game in disguise. You are in limbo, trapped in a malevolent and malfunctioning arcade machine devised by the devil himself. It is not a game about ponies.
Why similar: Psychological Horror 42.8%, Great Soundtrack 15%, Horror 13%, Dark 11.5%, Story Rich 4.1%
Why You'll Like It: This clever meta-horror game masquerades as a simple arcade experience while having the player fight an increasingly hostile game itself.
- #30 Who's Lila?
78% matchVery Positive94% of 3,836 reviews2022
Dev: Garage Heathen
Windows
Median: 3.6 hrsMean: 4.7 hrs≥1hr: 78%
A reverse-detective adventure, where you control your character's face
Why similar: Psychological Horror 39.5%, Visual Novel 28.1%, Horror 19.5%, Story Rich 8%, First-Person 3.7%
Why You'll Like It: A surreal horror adventure with visual-novel sensibilities where facial-expression choices and an unreliable reality create sustained unease.
- #31 Helltaker
77% matchOverwhelmingly Positive98% of 128,246 reviews2020
Dev: vanripper
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 1.4 hrsMean: 19.3 hrs≥1hr: 64%
Helltaker is a short game about sharply dressed demon girls.
Why similar: Great Soundtrack 23.6%, Anime 23.6%, Cute 16.1%, Dating Sim 15.3%, Visual Novel 8.4%
- #32 Trick and Treat - Visual Novel
77% matchVery Positive90% of 3,627 reviews2016
Dev: Eternal Night StudiosPub: Alberto Herrera
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 42 minMean: 5.1 hrs≥1hr: 41%
Trick & Treat is a Visual Novel that test your instincts by making choices that can get you out from the cursed forest or drive you to death… or maybe just maybe your choices can guide you to something more?
Why similar: Visual Novel 29.7%, Anime 25.7%, Horror 9.9%, Dating Sim 9.2%, Romance 8.6%
- #33 Undertale
75% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 343,307 reviews2015
Dev: tobyfox
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 4.9 hrsMean: 19.0 hrs≥1hr: 81%
UNDERTALE! The RPG game where you don't have to destroy anyone.
Why similar: Great Soundtrack 35.1%, Psychological Horror 13.1%, Story Rich 12.7%, Dating Sim 9.9%, Cute 7.5%
- #34 Carpe Diem
76% matchVery Positive89% of 8,562 reviews2015
Dev: Moonlit Works
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 12 minMean: 9.0 hrs≥1hr: 13%
Seize the day
Why similar: Visual Novel 31.6%, Anime 28.7%, Dating Sim 17%, Cute 6.9%, Psychological Horror 5.3%
- #35 Corpse Party
76% matchVery Positive89% of 1,404 reviews2016
Dev: GrisGrisPub: XSEED Games
Windows · Linux
Median: 3.5 hrsMean: 16.9 hrs≥1hr: 81%
A group of friends unknowingly perform an occult ritual that traps them in an otherworldly elementary school. Here, the vengeful spirits of young children threaten their lives and their sanity, and the only hope of survival is to uncover the chilling details behind the murders of those trapped before them...
Why similar: Psychological Horror 20.8%, Horror 19.5%, Anime 18.5%, Visual Novel 14.2%, Gore 9.7%
- #36 Confess My Love
75% matchVery Positive94% of 4,890 reviews2017
Dev: LR Studio
Windows
Median: 1.7 hrsMean: 6.4 hrs≥1hr: 65%
The story takes place after school, when Willie decides to confess his love to the girl of his dreams, Liza. Afraid of being refused, he hesitated for a while. Should he summon up his courage and confess his love to her?
Why similar: Anime 22%, Horror 15%, Psychological Horror 14.2%, Romance 13.9%, Visual Novel 10.3%
- #37 Crush Crush
74% matchVery Positive89% of 28,563 reviews2016
Dev: Sad Panda Studios
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 7.1 hrsMean: 97.8 hrs≥1hr: 80%
Welcome to Crush Crush - the Idle Dating Sim! Meet, flirt, and fall in love with a motley cast of girls in this heartfelt and hilarious game.
Why similar: Dating Sim 33.4%, Anime 22.4%, Sexual Content 18.9%, Visual Novel 8.4%, Romance 7.4%
- #38 Yume Nikki
74% matchVery Positive94% of 10,656 reviews2018
Dev: kikiyamaPub: PLAYISM
Windows
Median: 54 minMean: 70.8 hrs≥1hr: 46%
This is a game in which you traverse the extremely dark world inside a dream.
Why similar: Psychological Horror 47.2%, Horror 18.8%, Dark 15.8%, Cute 11.3%, Indie 2.4%
- #39 REFLEXIA Prototype ver.
71% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 7,584 reviews2022
Dev: MAHOUMAIDENPub: Nikita Kryukov
Windows · Linux
Median: 48 minMean: 3.6 hrs≥1hr: 38%
REFLEXIA's story starts out as a parody of its genre and ends as a psychological drama.
Why similar: Psychological Horror 21.2%, Dating Sim 18.7%, Visual Novel 18%, Anime 10.6%, Romance 10.4%
- #40 SCP: Doki Doki Anomaly
73% matchVery Positive92% of 93 reviews2021
Dev: Flightyfelon Games Inc.
Windows
SCP-8008-1 IS A HORROR DATING SIM WHERE THE BEST YOU CAN HOPE FOR IS SURVIVAL. SMOOCH SCP-173, SCP-682 AND EVEN SCP-096. DO NOT RUN THIS SOFTWARE WITHOUT CLASS-4 AUTHORIZATION.
Why similar: Psychological Horror 20.7%, Dating Sim 17.6%, Anime 13.5%, Visual Novel 12.2%, Romance 9.7%
- #41 OMORI
71% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 88,824 reviews2020
Dev: OMOCAT, LLC
Windows · Mac
Median: 10.4 hrsMean: 25.8 hrs≥1hr: 84%
Explore a strange world full of colorful friends and foes. When the time comes, the path you’ve chosen will determine your fate... and perhaps the fate of others as well.
Why similar: Psychological Horror 48.2%, Great Soundtrack 21.7%, Story Rich 11%, Horror 10.6%, Anime 6.8%
- #42 Everlasting Summer
72% matchVery Positive94% of 78,183 reviews2014
Dev: Soviet Games
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 5.4 hrsMean: 59.6 hrs≥1hr: 75%
Visual novel loved by many – Everlasting Summer – now on Steam!
Why similar: Visual Novel 31.7%, Anime 19.7%, Great Soundtrack 16.5%, Romance 10.8%, Dating Sim 9.8%
- #43 Kid,napper: Gosh, I'm Kidnapped by a Pupil
73% matchVery Positive88% of 4,506 reviews2018
Dev: Catnip
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 42 minMean: 9.8 hrs≥1hr: 32%
I had to admit, the only thing that is more scary than a murder weapon, is that girl, who is not even supposed to hold it
Why similar: Psychological Horror 21.1%, Visual Novel 18.4%, Anime 14.5%, Horror 10.7%, Dark 8.9%
- #44 How To Date A Magical Girl!
73% matchMostly Positive80% of 472 reviews2019
Dev: Cafe ShibaPub: RIVER CROW STUDIO
Windows
Median: 4.2 hrsMean: 14.9 hrs≥1hr: 96%
You're invited to the elite academy for magical girls! Will you take the opportunity to make new friends? Learn magic? Or... Will you try to date a cute magical girl?
Why similar: Psychological Horror 17.6%, Visual Novel 14.8%, Dating Sim 13.1%, Anime 12.8%, Violent 6.3%
- #45 CLANNAD
71% matchOverwhelmingly Positive98% of 11,028 reviews2015
Dev: VisualArts/KeyPub: Sekai Project
Windows
Median: 7.3 hrsMean: 106.8 hrs≥1hr: 83%
From the world renowned visual novel studio Key, the highly rated story of CLANNAD is now available on Steam! Improved visuals, achievement integration, and Dangopedia make this the best version of CLANNAD to date.
Why similar: Visual Novel 29.4%, Anime 19.6%, Romance 13.4%, Great Soundtrack 12.4%, Dating Sim 12.1%
- #46 Adolescent Santa Claus
72% matchVery Positive85% of 1,329 reviews2018
Dev: TALESSHOP Co., Ltd.
Windows
Median: 30 minMean: 3.5 hrs≥1hr: 25%
This visual novel game tells the tale of a cute little Santa Clause appearing
Why similar: Visual Novel 44.8%, Anime 33.4%, Cute 14.8%, Story Rich 2.6%, Casual 1.6%
- #47 PockeDate! - Pocket Dating Simulator
67% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 2,665 reviews2024
Dev: TERNOX
Windows
Your Pocket-Sized Dating Simulator! Every launch brings a new date with unique dialogues! Spend endless hours with your adorable, love-struck virtual girlfriend.
Why similar: Dating Sim 22.9%, Visual Novel 20.4%, Psychological Horror 18.3%, Horror 11.1%, Romance 10.5%
- #48 HuniePop
70% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 31,684 reviews2015
Dev: HuniePot
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 5.4 hrsMean: 56.8 hrs≥1hr: 86%
HuniePop is a unique sim experience for PC, Mac and Linux. It's a gameplay first approach that's part dating sim, part puzzle game, with light RPG elements, a visual novel style of presentation, an abrasive western writing style and plenty of "plot".
Why similar: Dating Sim 36.1%, Anime 28.7%, Sexual Content 13.7%, Romance 8.7%, Cute 4.3%
- #49 Tricolour Lovestory
70% matchVery Positive81% of 28,081 reviews2017
Dev: HL-Galgame
Windows
Median: 4.2 hrsMean: 48.8 hrs≥1hr: 83%
Time flies and never comes back. But with an incredible 1-million-word script and 100+ original CGs, this game will take you back to when you were young, simple and pure. Go and get the love of your life back, start something new, or end everything in flame, that's for you to decide!
Why similar: Visual Novel 30.1%, Dating Sim 28.9%, Anime 14.2%, Sexual Content 7%, Great Soundtrack 6.8%
- #50 Higurashi When They Cry Hou - Ch.2 Watanagashi
70% matchOverwhelmingly Positive97% of 2,000 reviews2015
Dev: 07th ExpansionPub: MangaGamer
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 4.4 hrsMean: 17.0 hrs≥1hr: 93%
Higurashi When They Cry is a sound novel. The music, backgrounds and characters work together to create a world that is the stage of a novel for the user to read. They laugh and cry and get angry. The user takes the point of view of the protagonist to experience the story.
Why similar: Visual Novel 23.4%, Psychological Horror 20.5%, Anime 14.4%, Horror 11.5%, Great Soundtrack 6.8%
- #51 Muse Dash
68% matchVery Positive91% of 122,371 reviews2019
Dev: peroperoPub: hasuhasu
Windows · Mac
Median: 3.7 hrsMean: 34.7 hrs≥1hr: 79%
Paradise of parkour & rhythm game ★★★ — Muse Dash!!
Why similar: Anime 38.5%, Great Soundtrack 21.5%, Cute 19.2%, Sexual Content 10.3%, Psychological Horror 5.9%
- #52 Kill or Love
69% matchVery Positive89% of 2,191 reviews2020
Dev: Andy Church
Windows · Mac · Linux
A visual novel about obsession, loneliness, and, based on your choices, varying amounts of murder.
Why similar: Psychological Horror 28.3%, Visual Novel 22.4%, Anime 18.4%, Romance 11.1%, Horror 6.8%
- #53 Tiny Bunny: Prologue
69% matchOverwhelmingly Positive95% of 2,262 reviews2020
Dev: Saikono
Windows
Median: 42 minMean: 2.7 hrs≥1hr: 38%
Tiny Bunny: Prologue is a non-linear horror visual novel. Those, who have heard the voice of the forest, are beyond help.
Why similar: Visual Novel 36.8%, Horror 26.2%, Psychological Horror 14.1%, Anime 8.6%, Dark 7%
- #54 Moe Era
69% matchVery Positive88% of 4,830 reviews2020
Dev: Comfy Company
Windows · Mac · Linux
Welcome to Moe Era, the era of cute things! It has everything but a hero to help four adorable girls. You're the one they're waiting for!
Why similar: Visual Novel 22.5%, Psychological Horror 19.7%, Dating Sim 17.4%, Anime 16.2%, Romance 6.6%
- #55 Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
68% matchOverwhelmingly Positive96% of 32,966 reviews2016
Dev: Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 10.4 hrsMean: 32.5 hrs≥1hr: 92%
Jabberwock Island—You and your classmates were ready for fun in the sun until Monokuma returned to restart his murderous game! Trapped in a kill-or-be-killed situation, your only hope rests in solving the island’s mysteries.
Why similar: Visual Novel 22.4%, Anime 21.5%, Psychological Horror 15.8%, Great Soundtrack 14.4%, Story Rich 6.7%
- #56 Sucker for Love: First Date
66% matchOverwhelmingly Positive98% of 3,024 reviews2022
Dev: AkabakaPub: DreadXP
Windows
Median: 2.2 hrsMean: 5.1 hrs≥1hr: 69%
Put the 'love' in 'Lovecraftian horror'! Perform terrifying rituals to win the affections of eldritch horrors and smooch 'em... at any cost!
Why similar: Psychological Horror 18.4%, Dating Sim 17%, Visual Novel 14.1%, Anime 13.7%, Romance 11.7%
- #57 Emily is Away
67% matchVery Positive89% of 32,336 reviews2015
Dev: Kyle Seeley
Windows · Mac · Linux
Median: 54 minMean: 19.8 hrs≥1hr: 42%
Emily is Away is an interactive story. Create a screenname and choose your path through the branching narrative.
Why similar: Visual Novel 26.1%, Dating Sim 25.6%, Story Rich 18.8%, Romance 17.8%, Singleplayer 4.5%
- #58 Hooked on You: A Dead by Daylight Dating Sim™
66% matchVery Positive90% of 6,818 reviews2022
Dev: PsyopPub: Behaviour Interactive Inc.
Windows
Median: 1.8 hrsMean: 6.0 hrs≥1hr: 64%
Welcome to Murderer’s Island. Your companions: four dead-sexy Killers who, underneath their murderous exteriors, just want a little romance. Flirt your way into their hearts, uncovering dark twists along the way. Will you find true love, forge friendships… or get hacked to death?
Why similar: Psychological Horror 26.6%, Dating Sim 24.4%, Visual Novel 18%, Romance 11.3%, Anime 9.7%
- #59 MONMUSU
68% matchVery Positive80% of 5,252 reviews2018
Dev: Tentacle GamesPub: NEKO WORKs
Windows
Median: 3.5 hrsMean: 50.5 hrs≥1hr: 77%
You are an up and coming summoner and a lover of monster girls. Earn money to gather up summoning materialsand summon monster girls!
Why similar: Anime 46.9%, Sexual Content 31.3%, Visual Novel 15.3%, Cute 3.3%, Indie 1.2%
- #60 Kimochii Classroom
64% matchVery Positive88% of 195 reviews2025
Dev: Radish ASMR
Windows · Mac · Linux
Welcome to Kimochii Classroom! A slice-of-life visual novel with stunning visuals, a beautiful soundtrack, and an immersive story. Who will you meet first?
Why similar: Visual Novel 29.4%, Dating Sim 20.9%, Psychological Horror 20.7%, Anime 15.4%, Romance 6.9%
