Games Like ShelfLife: Art School Detective

Something's hiding in the cassette. Rearrange the words of your enemies to investigate a small-town conspiracy in this mystery puzzle game.

Why similar: Dialogue Heavy 17.3%, Emotional 13.4%, LGBTQ+ 12.4%, Detective 10.8%, Supernatural 8.6%

Camp Palut is an otome-style mystery that can be completed in 2-4 hours. Play as Jess, a high school senior attending summer camp for the first time. Luckily there are cuties ready to get to know you! Choose between the four unique love interests or play them all to piece together the whole story.

Why similar: LGBTQ+ 18.6%, Supernatural 16.9%, Dating Sim 14.7%, Romance 11.8%, Visual Novel 10.6%

A summer vacation mystery set at the start of adulthood and on the end of Long Island. Spend time with family, reconnect with lost friends, pursue your music career, and solve the mystery of Montauk's missing kids.

Why similar: LGBTQ+ 22.3%, Supernatural 17.3%, Emotional 12.2%, Story Rich 10.6%, Choices Matter 9.2%

A horror game about a needy female ghost. A trio of close-knit occult club girls gather late at night to enjoy telling ghost stories. Little do they know that Miss Choker, a ghost that targets girls, is just dying to appear...

Why similar: LGBTQ+ 19.6%, 2.5D 14.2%, Supernatural 12.4%, Visual Novel 10%, Emotional 9.7%

Investigate, solve mysteries, and maybe even fall in love in Blooming Suspicion — a witchy visual novel set in modern Seoul with a magical twist.

Why similar: Dating Sim 21.4%, Detective 16.2%, Visual Novel 14.1%, LGBTQ+ 13.5%, Romance 12.6%

Campus Confidential is an LGBTQ slice-of-life dating sim with a supernatural subplot. Enjoy your campus experience, choose your subjects, study hard (or not), meet potential love interests of different genders... and try to uncover the mysteries shrouding the campus!

Why similar: Dating Sim 23.5%, LGBTQ+ 22%, Supernatural 20.9%, Visual Novel 10.6%, Romance 8.2%

Tails Noir Preludes is a post-noir narrative adventure with branching choices. It is an intertwined series of vignettes about change, circumstance, and consequence. Guide four characters through formative moments in their lives in a dystopian Vancouver inhabited by anthropomorphic animals.

Why similar: Dialogue Heavy 18.3%, Detective 15.7%, Visual Novel 13.1%, Emotional 12%, Supernatural 9.6%

Fearbonding is a Yandere x Demon BL Horror Visual Novel. Play as Hinata, a demon, and try to tame the deranged Kosuke. Will you get to satisfy your hunger for fear through your new hunting dog or will you be the one to get devoured?

Why similar: LGBTQ+ 18.8%, Supernatural 15.1%, Romance 12.4%, Dating Sim 11.2%, Visual Novel 11%

A B-horror mystery comedy adventure game. Having a crush on your bestie is hard enough without serial killers in the way! Lily's vacay plan to romance her crush Sally goes wrong when killers keep cropping up and ruining the mood. And that means war. "How dare you come between Sally and me!"

Why similar: LGBTQ+ 19.2%, Detective 16.1%, 2.5D 13.8%, Romance 11.5%, Visual Novel 9.7%

Branching dialogue! Hard choices! A cemetery's worth of phantoms, wraiths, and poltergeists lookin' for love in all the blight places.

Why similar: LGBTQ+ 16%, Dating Sim 15.5%, Supernatural 12.5%, Dialogue Heavy 12.5%, Emotional 11.5%

One of them is visiting a friend in Chicago. The other wants to shake things up in New York City. It starts in San Francisco, but where this relationship goes is all up to you.

Why similar: LGBTQ+ 27.5%, Romance 16.3%, Dialogue Heavy 15.7%, Dating Sim 14%, Visual Novel 12.5%

A visual novel dating sim about the connections you make, the ones that surprise you, and how far you're willing to go to hold onto them. Swipe. Sync. See where it takes you.

Why similar: Dating Sim 20.9%, Romance 14.3%, Visual Novel 13.7%, Dialogue Heavy 11.5%, Supernatural 9.4%

Add love to your resume! Date, befriend, or explore deeper moments with a wide variety of characters at once, and explore dozens of narratives in this office-themed comedy dating sim.

Why similar: Dating Sim 20.1%, LGBTQ+ 20.1%, Romance 13.1%, Emotional 12.7%, Visual Novel 11.4%

A girl detective faces her darkest mystery yet, in this horror-romance visual novel with stickers, fashion, and bad ends.

Why similar: LGBTQ+ 19.9%, Dating Sim 16.3%, Romance 12.7%, Visual Novel 12.3%, Detective 11.5%

A dark romantic comedy where every match brings you closer to love… or something far more dangerous. Meet monsters, go on dates, and shape your relationships through meaningful choices. But behind every perfect date lies a secret: You’re not looking for love. You’re trying to bring love back.

Why similar: Dating Sim 21.4%, LGBTQ+ 20.1%, Visual Novel 14%, Romance 11.1%, Choices Matter 9.6%

When Max Caulfield finds her friend Safi dead in the snow, she tears open the way to a parallel timeline. Here, Safi is still alive - and still in danger! With her new power to Shift between two timelines – can Max solve and prevent the same murder?

Why similar: LGBTQ+ 24.7%, Choices Matter 11.9%, Romance 10.8%, Emotional 10%, Supernatural 9.2%

Finding true love is hard enough when it’s in person! Build a relationship through the screen as a couple copes with lockdown life by staying connected online! Will their love be loud and clear, or will their signals fade away?

Why similar: Dating Sim 18.7%, 2.5D 16.5%, Romance 13.2%, Emotional 12%, Dialogue Heavy 11.6%

Life is Strange: Before the Storm returns with remastered visuals across characters & environments.

Why similar: LGBTQ+ 22.2%, Romance 13.2%, Choices Matter 11.9%, Emotional 11.6%, Third Person 9.1%

A choice-driven adult visual novel where you play as an immortal navigating romance, betrayal, supernatural mysteries, and meaningful relationships shaped by every decision you make.

Why similar: Detective 21.3%, Emotional 14.2%, Supernatural 13.9%, Romance 11.6%, Visual Novel 10.7%

Kamilia is a story-driven, choices-matter detective mystery. Follow a talented painter who finds himself wrapped up in an unsolved case, as he tries to unveil a hidden truth that has been buried for years.

Why similar: Detective 18.1%, Emotional 13.8%, Mystery 13.4%, Dialogue Heavy 13.2%, Visual Novel 12%

A sapphic visual novel & dating sim. Manage your days aboard a liminal ship, navigating relationships both tense and tender. Fall in love, or bring your companions together. Join the crew, investigate your past, and find a way home.

Why similar: LGBTQ+ 27.1%, Dating Sim 21.6%, Romance 15%, Visual Novel 13.2%, Mystery 6.1%

A black-and-white stylized collection of visual novel stories with pixel graphics gameplay and lineart artwork. Experience how new bonds are created, how they evolve, twist and change. Complete with a separate open-ended adventure mode.

Why similar: Dating Sim 17.3%, Detective 15.4%, Romance 12.4%, Visual Novel 10.7%, Emotional 10%

Are you ready for more LongStory drama? The next installment of this beloved series brings more dates, deeper friendships, trickier dilemmas, and some fascinating surprises!

Why similar: LGBTQ+ 19.3%, Dating Sim 17.5%, Romance 13.2%, Dialogue Heavy 12.6%, Visual Novel 10%

A marvellous romance with a hint of murder, where every playthrough is different! Seek love, friendship, or more... intimate encounters. Help a murdered man find justice. And watch out for the bats.

Why similar: Detective 21.4%, LGBTQ+ 18.9%, Dating Sim 18.4%, Romance 12.8%, Visual Novel 11.5%

A GxG coming-of-age visual novel. Nina sucks at choosing. But when a mysterious incident happens at the arts academy, will she muster the courage to choose–or will she let someone else decide on her behalf?

Why similar: LGBTQ+ 21.7%, Romance 12.9%, Emotional 12.2%, Dialogue Heavy 11.6%, Visual Novel 11.2%

A mature romance visual novel about getting close and deciding what comes next. Meet four heroines in Greenfield's adult transfer program, keep or break your promises, and follow three complete episodes to 16 endings. All romanceable characters are 18+.

Why similar: Dating Sim 20.6%, Romance 14.7%, Emotional 13.3%, Visual Novel 12.5%, Mystery 9.8%

Experience episodes 4 through 6 of Heroes of Eroticism in this one convenient package, full of excitement, romance and tough choices. After having once been entirely eradicated, superpowers are suddenly returning. Will this generation handle them better than the last one?

Why similar: Dating Sim 19.1%, Emotional 15.2%, LGBTQ+ 14.1%, Romance 13.3%, Visual Novel 11.6%

Experience the BAFTA award-winning story of Life is Strange now beautifully remastered with enhanced visuals and vastly improved animation using mocap technology.

Why similar: LGBTQ+ 22.2%, Choices Matter 13.3%, Emotional 12.9%, Romance 11.4%, Story Rich 9.5%

The saga of Max and Chloe, and the fate of Caledon, is yours to decide! Play as both Max and Chloe as an all-new story builds towards an epic climax. The fire will force Max and Chloe to make devastating decisions. Can they find a future together… Before everything burns?

Why similar: LGBTQ+ 25.1%, Emotional 11.9%, Supernatural 11.8%, Choices Matter 10.5%, Romance 7.5%

Bia's sister has vanished into a desert of dunes and lagoons, where an old legend has awoken. Guided by a compass that doesn't point north, investigate the disappearances and choose carefully: every decision defines who you save.

Why similar: Mystery 21%, Supernatural 13.6%, Story Rich 11.6%, Choices Matter 9.5%, Emotional 8.2%

A lonely young man is guided by a silent Muse to solve the mystery behind his two Doppelganger Soulmates.

Why similar: LGBTQ+ 15.7%, Dating Sim 14.5%, Detective 13.9%, Supernatural 13%, Romance 10.9%

This is a story about a guy named Santiago, early morning, he wakes up to an earthquake! and then after it happens he decides to help others becoming a rescue team member, in this story you'll save Simón a his dog Jovita out of the disaster, let's see how love will make it's way here.

Why similar: LGBTQ+ 24.5%, Dating Sim 20%, Romance 15.7%, Visual Novel 15.3%, Emotional 11.6%

In this slow-burn BL visual novel, build trust and uncover the past of a gentle spirit. Make choices that shape your bond with him, explore his memories, and discover if love can truly cross the boundary between life and death. Romance. Mystery. And a ghost who might just steal your heart.

Why similar: LGBTQ+ 25.4%, Dating Sim 23.3%, Supernatural 15.9%, Visual Novel 14.6%, Mystery 9.6%

In this game, play as Shenming University News Department members. Explore strange incidents—no need for truth. Write compelling reports from clues; eye-catching content excites readers. As for what really happened…do readers actually care? If you care, go find out yourself.

Why similar: Detective 30.1%, Supernatural 17.4%, Visual Novel 16.9%, Choices Matter 9.4%, Story Rich 9%

Awaken in a terrifying world where monsters are real, find a way back home while forging bonds with five captivating monster gals: a playful gecko, a mischievous demon, a popular pumpkin, a elegant carnivorous plant and a gentle moth. Shape friendships and romances in this light-hearted adventure!

Why similar: Supernatural 21.5%, LGBTQ+ 19.7%, Dating Sim 19.4%, Romance 15%, Visual Novel 12.6%

Create your own love story with those adorable men who were once just background characters.

Why similar: LGBTQ+ 18.2%, Dating Sim 16.5%, 2.5D 13.5%, Romance 11.7%, Emotional 11.4%

A classic Asian drama series is reborn in anime style, and you’re the director with power to guide the clash between rival families! Re:Burn The Bonfire of Taiwan puts you in control of the narrative, allowing you to guide the beloved characters to endings from the original show.

Why similar: Detective 26.3%, Dating Sim 25.5%, Visual Novel 17%, Romance 12.2%, Choices Matter 7.5%

You wake up as a jester next to the king's lifeless body. You are trapped in a cursed kingdom with three love interests. Will you seek the truth, help the others, or try to escape?

Why similar: Detective 16.5%, LGBTQ+ 15.5%, Dating Sim 13.7%, Dialogue Heavy 11.8%, Romance 10.4%

Follow the story of Blanca Silverurn—a strix entangled in a murder mystery. Explore the Grimstrand campus and learn about its unique magic. Delve into the secrets of students and faculty members. Affect their relationships, including a spicy romance between Blanca and her enigmatic mentor.

Why similar: Detective 14.9%, Dialogue Heavy 14.6%, 2.5D 12.6%, Emotional 11.3%, Romance 11.2%

《花落冬陽》是一款以「夢想」與「思念」為主題的文字冒險遊戲。故事講述主角謝子臣在追尋作家之夢的過程中遭遇的困境，以及與夏芊帆、雪見兩名少女的戀愛故事。豐富的劇情、精緻的插畫、悠揚的音樂、搭配全中文語音，帶你體驗一段動人的台北冬季戀曲。

Why similar: Supernatural 21.9%, Dating Sim 21.9%, Emotional 15.2%, Visual Novel 14.2%, Romance 11.8%

There is a girl, searching for something she lost... Tamayura Mirai is a midsummer fantasy visual novel of humans, spirits, and sorcerers that's won several industry awards in Japan.

Why similar: Dating Sim 18.1%, Emotional 13.3%, Romance 12.4%, Visual Novel 11.4%, Dialogue Heavy 10.9%

A BL/yaoi mystery visual novel that follows a man named Sebastian as he’s forced into a game of life-or-death, alongside three strangers. Who put him there, and more importantly… who can he trust?

Why similar: LGBTQ+ 21.2%, Supernatural 15.6%, Romance 12.7%, Visual Novel 11.8%, Mystery 11.8%

Plenty of Fish in the Sea is a cozy narrative-driven dating sim where you engage in heartfelt conversations with charming salmon and take them on delightful underwater dates.

Why similar: LGBTQ+ 21.8%, Dating Sim 21%, Emotional 15.1%, Romance 12.8%, Dialogue Heavy 10%

A romance-driven narrative about destiny, devotion, and the dangerous pull of belonging, set against the ruins of a long‑lost city calling you home.

Why similar: LGBTQ+ 20.4%, Supernatural 14.9%, Romance 14.5%, Visual Novel 13.8%, Emotional 8.7%

Shadows of Deceit is a choice-driven adult Visual Novel where you find yourself bound to the Goddess of Temptation, accept her gift and indulge in a life of pleasure or resist her pull and stay true to your heart. Go on a journey filled with desire, corruption, drama, comedy, and lots of sex.

Why similar: Dating Sim 21.9%, Visual Novel 14.5%, Supernatural 11.5%, Romance 10.4%, Dialogue Heavy 9.9%

Can you mix a cocktail while eye-to-eye with a criminal? Find out in Best Served Cold, a murder mystery set in a bustling speakeasy where you serve customers, make friends and enemies, and solve crimes. At the Nightcap bar, prohibition is a killer… and so are some of your customers!

Why similar: Detective 24.6%, Dialogue Heavy 16.3%, Visual Novel 12.6%, LGBTQ+ 10.6%, Choices Matter 9.2%

Dive into "Homewords," a captivating, story-driven RPG without any combat. Explore Orbtüse with Zoë, a rude child, as you skillfully interrupt and guide her through conversations. Use the power of words to overcome conflicts, unravel mysteries, and help Zoë learn the art of empathy.

Why similar: 2.5D 16.8%, Emotional 14%, Visual Novel 13.8%, Detective 13.3%, LGBTQ+ 11.4%

Explore the small town of Kettle Rock as Detective Lupe, alongside their unlikely partner Sheriff Misra, to solve the case of a mysterious Winery. But things are not as they seem, as something much more sinister lies behind the history of this town.

Why similar: Detective 34.6%, Dating Sim 21.5%, LGBTQ+ 16.1%, 2.5D 10.2%, Adventure 7.4%

Something odd is happening to the senior class at Elsinore Academy, and it is up to you to break the curse! Navigate college life and also try to solve the mystery of why everyone is spooky!

Why similar: LGBTQ+ 18.6%, Dating Sim 18.3%, Supernatural 16.8%, Romance 12.3%, Visual Novel 11.2%

WHODUNNIT is a mystery visual novel following a man who must answer a burning question: who the hell did he hook up with last night?

Why similar: Detective 32.9%, LGBTQ+ 19%, Visual Novel 14.4%, Mystery 12.7%, Story Rich 8.4%

In this haunting visual novel, you become Salem - torn between forbidden love and regime loyalty. Make split-second decisions that transform his personality in a solarpunk dystopia. With multiple paths and endings, your choices define who Salem becomes in a world where being different is dangerous.

Why similar: LGBTQ+ 15.4%, Supernatural 14.7%, Dating Sim 14.2%, Emotional 12.3%, Romance 11.3%

Mysterious deaths. Dreams that are reality, and reality that is a dream. Will Noah be able to move forward and solve the mystery⁠—or will he give in to the demons of his past? A story-rich BL mystery visual novel.

Why similar: LGBTQ+ 20.5%, Emotional 14.3%, Mystery 12.2%, Romance 12.1%, Visual Novel 11.8%

The Kingdom of Novus has been thrown into disarray and It's up to you to decide if you’ll help to bring peace, or if you’ll stoke the fires of chaos. Pick a side, and meet your match.

Why similar: LGBTQ+ 27.3%, Dating Sim 24.7%, Romance 17.8%, Visual Novel 14.5%, Story Rich 9.1%

The hero moves to a new city. However, along with him comes a masked killer who begins to kill his friends one by one... Make decisions to build your adventure. Can you stop him before it's too late?

Why similar: Detective 25.4%, Dating Sim 17.4%, Visual Novel 13.1%, Mystery 12.6%, Romance 9.4%

A quiet night in Oakridge Valley spirals into chaos after you rescue a girl from a sinister ritual. As the last law enforcement officer in town, you’ll face paranormal horrors, twisted secrets, and the darkness that hungers to consume everything you swore to protect.

Why similar: Dating Sim 16.2%, Detective 15.2%, Supernatural 14.4%, Romance 9.7%, Visual Novel 9.6%

Enter a seductive visual novel where love meets temptation. Explore hotwife, cuckolding, corruption, NTS and optional NTR paths.

Why similar: Dating Sim 18.7%, LGBTQ+ 17.2%, Romance 15%, Visual Novel 12.7%, Emotional 10.9%

An adventure game in the genre of mystical detective. Student Kris is on the trail of the killer. Every decision has consequences, and every wish may be the last.

Why similar: Detective 20.2%, Dialogue Heavy 13.9%, Visual Novel 10.7%, Emotional 10.5%, Third Person 9.8%

To Kill Eros is a drama-filled BL Visual Novel exploring the flavors of love and the depth between people who join hands — while also blaming Eros for everything, of course!

Why similar: LGBTQ+ 23.8%, Dating Sim 22.5%, Visual Novel 14.6%, Romance 14.3%, Emotional 9.7%

Alex Chen hides her 'curse': the psychic power of Empathy, the ability to absorb the emotions of others. When her brother dies in a so-called accident, Alex must embrace her power to find the truth.

Why similar: LGBTQ+ 23%, Choices Matter 12.9%, Emotional 12.2%, Romance 11%, Story Rich 8.6%

Dating is scary—especially when you’re wooing the physical manifestations of human phobias. Fall in love with a Fear. Try not to flinch.

Why similar: Supernatural 19.4%, LGBTQ+ 14.8%, Visual Novel 14.2%, Romance 14%, Dialogue Heavy 11.6%