Visuals Novels continue to rise in popularity with each passing year, what with behemoth titles that are as well known as any genre defining video game such as Danganronpa, Steins;Gate and The House of Fata Morgana. What does get wrongly judged however are the more adult visual novels, something that platforms such as Steam are submerged with in porn or Hentai games when we simply mean visual novels aimed at adults.
Here we will consider the very best visual novels that are marketed at a mature, adult audience that utilises its more explicit content in the best ways for its storytelling and presentation. Please be warned then that these games all are not appropriate for anyone under the age of 18. These games will cover themes or aspects such as violence, drugs, nudity, dark themes, traumatic events and offensive material. You have been warned.
Kara no Shojo
As a psychological horror and murder mystery, Kara no Shojo starts off harmless enough but divulges into one of the roughest, most gruelling and harrowing of experiences for a visual novel. With a set-up of solving a series of murders that turns up not just a serial killer but several horrifying revelations, Kara no Shojo is one of the most tragic and hopeless of any visual novel currently available in the West.
Even with its supposed best ending, there is no happy conclusion in sight after all of the disturbing events that transpire within its plotline. With the majority of its characters being unsavable no matter how much effort you put in, its sexual content also does even more harm than good in how it signals the death of those involved more often than not. Featuring high amounts of gory details such as suicide, rape, abuse and body mutilation, the tale of Kara no Shojo is unforgettably haunting.
Umineko
Umineko almost absolutely needs no introduction or explanation for its place on this list. Despite not containing anything sexually explicit in it, Umineko goes heavy on all its violent elements to tell a cautionary tale of how self-serving and self-destructive humans are. Following yet another detective lead like the above, Umineko is one of the most suspenseful and thrilling of murder mysteries found within any creation of a medium form. Dark in every sense of the word, Umineko is a thematically important visual novel, and one that excels at exploring how we hide from the challenges we face in life. There’s a good reason why it hits us so hard.
Higurashi
Higurashi is yet another visual novel that needs little welcoming onto such a list for its notoriety alone. The title explores the theme of friendship with a dark scope. Arguably being one of the darkest on the list due to it featuring a main cast of teenagers and pre-teens, the sheer volume of violence, death and despair experienced from the iconic psychological thriller horror makes Higurashi extremely unsuitable for youngsters but one to absolutely appreciate as an adult.
Doki Doki Literature Club!
We are getting the most infamous out of the way first due to their notoriety, and it’s no different than with one of the most recent, ground-breaking mature visual novel creations out there with Doki Doki Literature Club! (DDLC for short). DDLC made the rounds on the Internet back in 2017 as a free-to-play game made by the indie studio Team Salvato and became an instant hit for popularising the cute exterior, dark underbelly juxtaposition of a product.
Upon booting up the game, DDLC warns the player of its dark and unsuitable themes that players under 18 or those who are easily disturbed should not experience. It’s the most on the nose warning despite its outward appearance, but it is greatly necessary with the turns it takes. Clearly marketed and tagged as a psychological horror despite its harmless and cute visuals, DDLC threw the Internet into chaos with its twists within a twist narrative that becomes increasingly more aggressive and predatory the longer you stick around for it. It’s something you should best experience for yourself than get spoiled by.
Full Metal Daemon Muramasa
Frequently regarded as a masterpiece of a visual novel, Full Metal Daemon Muramasa tells a grand story with a mature, adult audience in mind that is far bigger than its genre or medium will ever contain it to be. All presented in a blood torn setting of a war where its characters use each other for their own benefit and where their morality scales slide from one extreme to the other, the title is a whiplash on the player’s senses.
With plenty of gore, sex as disservice and depressing endings topped off with a bittersweet finale, Full Metal Daemon Muramasa is NITRO PLUS’ most brutal and pessimistic creation – and that’s coming from the creators of Song of Saya. As it challenges what makes a person good or bad and settles on how nothing is justified no matter how understandable the motivations are, Full Metal Daemon Muramasa is a masterclass in writing. Just make sure you are of age to appreciate it.
Wonderful Everyday: Down The Rabbit-Hole
Philosophical, violent and unpredictable all comes to mind whenever anyone who has experienced Wonderful Everyday: Down The Rabbit-Hole is reminded of it. Consistently rated 18+ no matter the version it has been released in across the West, this title is as surreal as it is tragic. Propelled by an initial mystery, the true nature of what it has to actually say is the core horror aspect of it, but that is thrown out the window once the player has experienced how much of a mind screw the entire game ends up being.
This is aided and propelled by its seemingly unproblematic first chapter before everything hits the fan as soon as its second part starts up. With revelations that challenge what is and isn’t reality, its characters almost always suffering an untimely end and a main cast who are losing their grip of their sanity, Wonderful Everyday: Down The Rabbit-Hole is one of the most twisted tales to have been inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
You and Me and Her: A Love Story
Since DDLC made the list, you can be doubly sure that the original visual novel with such similar themes and presentation also gets a spot here. Developed by NITRO PLUS, You and Me and Her: A Love Story deconstructs the very genre it presents itself as. If you have already played DDLC, you can probably already guess just how things play out in You and Me and Her: A Love Story. It’s clever, so clever in fact that the game even makes remarks well after 10 years since its release because… it knows things. You and Me and Her: A Love Story is the original dating sim that deceives the player, and as we said once before, these types of video games are best explored and played blind, so that’s all we have to say for it.
Yume Miru Kusuri: A Drug That Makes You Dream
While its title is self explanatory for being placed on this list, Yume Miru Kusuri is a classic coming-of-age eroge with a very sharp edge to it. As an older title on the list dating back to 2005 with its original release, it’s not a particularly long one. With covering three routes and each tackling a different point of conflict for its love interests – that of bullying, substance abuse and interpersonal relationships within education, it’s as dark and ruthless as it sounds.
With all of these stories being depicted in an everyday, slice of life narrative set within modern day Japan, it remains relevant to this very day for its depiction on how mental health issues are swept under the rug. Despite not being a complete downer experience of a story, Yume Miru Kusuri can still be too emotionally alarming for some players.
I Woke Up Next To You Again
As the only solo created indie visual novel on the list, Angela He’s entire body of work is well worth looking into for the themes she tackles and brings to light, such as coping mechanics and depression. With many examples being on the more obvious side of what the meaning behind each small game is (HE BEAT HER. hides nothing there), I Woke Up Next To You Again makes you think you have its narrative down immediately – it’s a one night stand, obviously.
Only, it isn’t. The game is one of the more obscure in meaning for Angela He, as it is instead an allegory of drug dependency. Depending on player’s responses, the player character can break out from their hallucinations of their supposed companion for the night – aptly named Hero(ine) – or allow their demons to get the best of them. It’s a numbing but reflective experience, especially when players are hit with said realisation.
The Fruit of Grisaia
It’s up for debate but if you ask me, The Fruit of Grisaia is one of the rarer examples of a visual novel that requires its sexual content to get the most of out it. Sex in The Fruit of Grisaia feels natural and organic in the relationship progression of its main character and love interests. Although this material is optional when it comes to the game depending on which version it is you go for, its themes also divulges into the extreme and traumatic depending on the route. For a title that starts out so harmlessly slice of life, the majority of its characters carry heavy burdens and emotional scars of their pasts and backstories.
Thank you for reading, that’s our 10 Best Adult Visual Novels all compiled for this list. To check out more related content on our site, see similar articles like Top 10 Best horror visual novels to help you get ready for Halloween or Top 5 Best Visual Novels of 2022. Additionally, do stay up-to-date with our articles and coverage on Facebook.
