Kodansha Creators’ Lab has announced that it will publish the Bon-developed visual novel Buzz or Die. In it, you compete in a new gruesome game show for viewer votes to avoid being sent to death row. Buzz or Die is in development for PC and is expected to launch this year.…
There was a time when visual novels were a rare thing in the West, particularly on consoles. Steins;Gate, from 2009, was one of the pioneers in changing that. Brought to the West on PS3 and Vita, it turned heads by proving to a wide and mainstream audience that it was…
Six years after its original Japanese launch, Cupid Parasite is now coming…
Idea Factory and its otome factory, Otomate, is at its best when…
The first otome visual novel that I played – in fact, the first visual novel at all – was Hakuouki, back on the PlayStation 3, when visual novels on console were a rare treat indeed. These days, we’re inundated with the genre, but Idea Factory, the publisher behind Hakuouki, have…
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Sekai Project has announced that comedic visual novel Welcome to Café Lumière! ~A Dragon Girl Concept Café~, the first game from Japanese developer Cutephoria, will be released for PC later this month. It originally launched in Japan in November 2025. The game features artwork by veteran bishoujo game illustrator Koucha.…
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Idea Factory International has announced that it will be publishing 9 R.I.P. sequel, a sequel to the otome visual novel 9 R.I.P., digitally and physically for Nintendo Switch later this year. The game features nine full routes, including direct continuations of the Heavenly and Godly Endings from 9 R.I.P. Players…
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Nintendo’s decision to revive the Famicom Detective Club series seems to have kick-started a mild rush of new games that are, effectively, mystery visual novels, but have point-and-click elements and light puzzles to keep players interested and intrigued. That’s a good thing. This genre is excellent. And Aksys’ decision to…
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Back in 2023 (dear lord, time flies fast), Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo was a surprising release by Square Enix. By that company’s standard, it was a humble and straightforward visual novel, but clearly the execs had seen the success of Danganronpa, AI: The Somnium Files, Famicom Detective Club…
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Jen Williams has seen the future, and like many of us, she’s worried about it. The studio lead at Cherrymochi, the Japan-based indie outfit behind the cult hit Tokyo Dark, spent the early 2000s working with Hewlett-Packard on GPS-triggered gaming experiments in Bristol. Back then, everyone was certain they were…
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After introducing Paranormasight: The Mermaid’s Curse at last week’s Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase, Square Enix has released new information about the supernatural mystery adventure game. Specifically, it has introduced seven characters and two game systems. The title will be launched next week.…
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Idea Factory International has announced a late May release date for Birushana: Winds of Fate, an otome visual novel fan disc set 15 years after the Heiji Rebellion. It will be released digitally and physically in North America and Europe, and anyone who picks up the physical edition early enough…
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Nearly three years ago, Square Enix released the visual novel Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo. In his review, DDNet editor-in-chief Matt wrote that it was ” one of the better visual novels that [he’s] played in some time.” Today, Square Enix surprised the world by announcing its sequel, Paranormasight:…
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Lached Up Games serves a very specific niche with its quirky and colourful visual novels. Is there much of an audience for fanservicey visual novels filled with Australian humour about genderswapping (and now, with Help! I’m Turning Into A Mermaid!, species swapping)? Probably not. But for the people who do…
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