Text-Based Hidden Gems on Steam
Unlike generic lists, our game recommendations use a rigorous analysis of Steam user reviews to identify and feature only the best, community-validated text-based games.
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HOPE LEFT ME
You wake up in a mysterious place, alone and freezing to death, the only person around seems to be a weird girl with a long sleeve soviet jersey.
Fallen Hero: Retribution
So you're a villain now? Let's see if you survive the experience.
Arcadie: Second-Born
In this interactive tale of love and war, be the force of reason that your kingdom needs, or perpetuate its reputation as a force of destruction. Find love and weave friendships, or cast it all away for the sake of retribution.
目盲/Blind
「Sometimes what the eye can't tell, the heart can.」 《Blind》 is a light fantasy game for girls set in a modern city. After a childhood accident that left me with a strange face blindness, I was introduced to a profession called "watchman" and since then, the world has taken on a whole new dimension.
Please Be Happy
A comfy yuri VN about the foxgirl Miho and her quest to find the person who's most important to her. This emotional visual novel features two different heroines to choose from, and a story that will make you both laugh and cry!
GOODBYE WORLD
"GOODBYE WORLD" is a narrative adventure game. Play through 12 stages of a puzzle platformer while following the two protagonists through 13 chapters of their story.
The Bible
A digital recreation of The Bible in Kinetic Novel form! Read through and save passages in any order with an original soundtrack, or listen through the greatest story ever told in audiobook form. Featuring an extensive Trivia section to find out how well you really know the stories of Old and New.
Dark Nights
Nothing is as it seems.
Ukraine War Stories
Ukraine War Stories is a set of visual novels about the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Set in the early months of the war, it tells the stories of civilians trapped on Russian-occupied territory. All stories are based on real events and eyewitness accounts.
Absent in the Rain
A mysterious senpai. A serial murder case that has taken the world by storm. And a giant, shadowy fish swimming at my feet... What if all of them are connected and surround me like a circle? What should I do?
Paper Bride 3 Unresolved Love
Paper Bride 3 is a Chinese horror mystery puzzle game This is the third horror puzzle game from our team. This time the story takes place in Moshui Village, which is near Zangling Village, and Fulu City, a small town nearby.
Tales from Toyotoki: Arrival of the Witch (The witch of the Ihanashi)
The English version of the heartwarming story that was highly acclaimed in Japan. Enjoy the meticulously crafted narrative. Set in Okinawa, Japan, it is also a story that unravels the mysteries hidden within its history and fantasy.
natsuno-kanata - beyond the summer
── In the summer of the world that has ended, the girl travels aimlessly. "natsuno-kanata - beyond the summer" is a text adventure game that depicts girls traveling in apocalypse. Through talking to the girls, we get to know them and approach the mysteries of the world ──
My Therapy
A visual novel about cute melancholic girls!
Koishi Navigation Desktop Youkai
Komeiji Koishi, the popular character of Touhou Project, has come to your desktop! This is a cute desktop pet - Desktop Youkai. You can touch her, feed her, chat with her, and set up your own unique interactive response. How will the monster girl from the ground respond to your greetings?
"LIFE" not found;
This small Narrative Point & Click (Puzzle) game is about the mental health struggles of a adolescent high school dropout who's lost at life. Find out what they're struggling with, you might even recognize some things from your own life.
Fabled Lands
Fabled Lands is a challenging old-school narrative RPG set in an open world. Complete quests, fight, trade goods and develop your character. Explore a vast land of adventure: travel across the war-torn kingdom, survive the plains of howling darkness, and escape the Court of Hidden Faces.
World Seed
A simple game with big ambitions. Fight creatures, explore the world and progress your character in this ever changing world.
U-ena -Far fireworks-
The story is set in nondescript rural junior high scool. Tomoki belong to a club that mix literatureclub and tea ceremony club. That called "Kotonoha Circle." It was the night he saw Far fireworks. He meets soaked girl in the center of lake.
Prosperous Universe
In Prosperous Universe start your galactic empire by trading on the real-time market exchange with other real players. Build your 1st base from humble beginnings & watch as your business flourishes with complex supply chain strategies. Economics, politics & realism fuel this immersive business MMO.
Athanasy
Deep beneath the surface of the dead Earth, the City, the last refuge of humanity, hides. Engineering genius and efforts of all mankind; a giant structure of steel, concrete, and biopolymers. It keeps the remnants of civilization one step away from total extinction.
NEKO-MIMI SWEET HOUSEMATES Vol. 1
What is one to do when face to face with a cat-eared, winged angel? Life will never be the same when the angel, Mint, moves in and becomes your new housemate. Follow Mint, a popular girl from the doujin circle "Animal Herb," as she stars in this brand new, heart-warmingly comedic game!
9-nine-:NewEpisode
Enjoy short after stories for the heroines of the 9-nine- series in 9-nine-:NewEpisode!
Help Me Remember, Satori-sama!
Satori's overworked herself into bed, but Okuu needs help remembering things! You can't use her heart-reading power, and will instead have to ask questions and use her power of recollection to correct wrong info, all while enduring visits from Orin and Koishi as you deduce what Okuu's forgotten!
Mr. Rainer's Solve-It Service
When the last thread becomes entangled, their song will be heard.
Cyanotype Daydream -The Girl Who Dreamed the World-
Kaito wakes to find himself in a strange room, with no memories, and a taciturn girl named Yonagi by his side. Upon learning of his role, he immerses himself into three wondrous dream worlds with her. When all three stories meet a bitter end, Kaito recovers his memories, and the true story unfolds.
VOCÊ É UM DEFUNTO MECÂNICO
Baleado até a morte, você é um defunto mecânico se lembrando de como morreu, e das vidas torturadas que agora ficam para trás. Uma aventura em prosa para 20 minutos de pavor existencial no presente pós-singularidade.
Rewrite+
In this city built upon the ideal coexistence of civilization and the environment, Tennouji Kotarou spends his days with his friends, Kanbe Kotori and Yoshino Haruhiko. In this peaceful city, a tumultuous event shakes the foundations of Kazamatsuri once a year.
Arcadia Fallen
Play the role of a young alchemist apprentice who is unwillingly bound to an illegal spirit. Suddenly drawn into a war between humanity and magic, they must join a group of unlikely heroes to escape their own doom, hopefully saving the world along the way.
Saimin Gakushū: Secret Desire
Saimin Gakushū is a school adventure visual novel by popular Japanese developers Dark One! Soichi Akano acquires a sleep-learning machine through a dubious online shopping site, and plans to imprint his knowledge on the female students and teachers at his school.
Sacred Fire: A Role Playing Game
A text-based RPG full of choice and action. Fight for survival in the midst of the Roman invasion of ancient Caledonia. Strategize one dice roll at a time as emotions affect your performance. Use willpower to outsmart opponents, gain allies, wage war, or strive for peace. How will your story end?
Increlution
Survive the ever increasing pressure of time for as long as you can! A minimalistic incremental game about time management that takes inspiration from roguelite games, with a focus on meta-progression. Every generation has a better chance at survival, because previous lives influence its instincts
BUSTAFELLOWS
A new visual novel from the legendary eXtend! Mixing dangerous romance with murder mystery, BUSTAFELLOWS is a steamy noir mystery that will make you shiver but ask for more!