History Main / VisualNovel

* ''VisualNovel/WonderfulEverydayDownTheRabbitHole''

* ''VideoGame/TheHayseedKnight''

** ''VisualNovel/WishfulThinking''

** ''[[Platform/Satellaview BS Famicom Detective Club]]: Lost Memories in the Snow''

* ''VisualNovel/FamicomDetectiveClub''

There is also a small but growing number of Western-developed visual novels, generally created by indie developers and not distributed through mainstream channels. Some of these have garnered critical acclaim, such as ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'' and ''VisualNovel/AnalogueAHateStory''. A lot of Western-produced [=VNs=] are developed in the popular UsefulNotes/RenPy GameMaker, though many developers are shifting towards the use of UsefulNotes/{{Unity}}'s [[https://naninovel.com/ Naninovel]].

+UsefulNotes/RenPy
+UsefulNotes/{{Unity}} (Naninovel)

Before TheNewTens, most visual novels that did get localized suffered from the same problems that anime in the early '90s did: [[AllAnimeIsNaughtyTentacles the localizers seemed to prefer to import the most sexual and/or violent titles]]. However, with the advent of Platform/{{Steam}}, its Greenlight program, and crowdfunding sites like Website/{{Kickstarter}} (all of which have also aided the revival of Western {{adventure gam|e}}ing), the number and availability of visual novels outside Japan have been steadily expanding. Since Steam disallowed explicit sexual content till 2018, the games available there were mostly either [[BleachedUnderpants "clean"]] versions of explicit games or games without any explicit content in the first place.

Notably, due to the particular way Japanese {{Adventure Game}}s (ADV) evolved, most Japanese [=ADVs=] use VN presentation, and as such are considered "visual novels" in the west. However, Japan still generally considers [=ADVs=] to be a separate genre from Novel Games, dividing the two genres by the amoubt of gameplay present; Novel Games have near-zero gameplay, while Adventure Games have basic gameplay.

"Visual Novel" is a type of interactive medium, typically (if [[FlameBait controversially]]) considered a genre of {{Video Game}}s and a subgenre of {{Adventure Game}}s; it is alternatively considered a type of medium itself, for those who do not consider them to be video games.

Though the genre originated from Japan, the term itself is a western invention. In Japan, games that would be classified as [=VNs=] (due to VN presentation) are typically identified as one of the following:
* ''Novel Games'' (NVL)[[note]]Archaically known as "Sound Novels"[[/note]], which are "VN proper" containing little to no gameplay other than reading and decision-making (e.g. ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'')
* ''{{Adventure Game}}s'' (ADV), which contain puzzles or other forms of gameplay, but not to such a level where the VN presentation becomes sidelined (e.g. ''VisualNovel/NineHoursNinePersonsNineDoors''); due to the particular way Japanese adventure games evolved, most Japanese adventure games use VN presentation.

Related to the novel game genre defined above, {{Kinetic Novel}}s are visual novels with no gameplay and no branching stories.

As a presentation format-based genre, the stories presented in visual novels can be extremely diverse. Many visual novels feature non-linear StoryBranching plots with MultipleEndings and often a ChoiceAndConsequenceSystem. In this sense, they can be seen as a digital evolution of {{Gamebooks}} (think [[Literature/ChooseYourOwnAdventure CYOA]]).

* "VisualNovel/HushHushOnlyYourLoveCanSaveThem"

"Visual Novel" is a type of interactive media, typically (if [[FlameBait controversially]]) considered a genre of {{Video Game}}s and a subgenre of {{Adventure Game}}s; it is alternatively considered a type of medium itself, for those who do not consider them to be video games.