This week, August 7-14, 2023, Steam is featuring Visual Novels.
We all have gaming genres we’re weak on, and this is one of mine. I love reading, love a good story and did enjoy the Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA website: https://www.cyoa.com/) series when younger. Somehow, though, the visual novel, the virtual version of a CYOA just hasn’t grabbed me the same way. How about you?
Curious, in part because I like these weekly themed Steam events, but also because I would like to get into a visual novel, I browsed the Steam Visual Novel Category: https://store.steampowered.com/category/visual_novel/
If you want to dip a toe in without reaching for your wallet, you can visit the FREE TO PLAY Visual Novel section here: https://store.steampowered.com/category/visual_novel/?tab=9
On a whim, and because lately I’ve been thinking about VR more, decided to do a search for Twilight Zone … and what do you know? There is a Twilight Zone VR game, that seems sort of Visual Novel genre (although the reviews are mixed to bad, so probably not something I’ll try): https://www.oculus.com/experiences/quest/3508802139177629/
The question in the title: are visual novels enjoyable interactive games? My answer is: it depends on the story! And since we, as the readers, determine the path of the story through our choices, the answer clearly varies. Maybe what gets me in this genre is I’m more interested in the tactile book-reading CYOA vs. the digital counterpart. Or maybe, more likely, I just haven’t explored the genre enough. How about you?