Recommending Story-first games

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jufot

jufot

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I'm interested in games where the story takes precedence over everything else. My personal criteria are:

  • Well-designed, internally consistent, coherent story with a beginning and an end - i.e. no games where the devs make shit up as they go along.
  • Characters that are actual human beings, with lives, personalities and interests outside the MC.
  • Sex scenes should serve the plot, not vice versa. If there is no story-relevant reason for a scene, it shouldn't be there.
  • No Engrish. Non-native speakers are fine (I am one), but the dev should at least use Grammarly or LanguageTool.
  • No cheap tropes (e.g. every woman lusts after the MC's magical dick).

November 2022 edit: This list used to be much shorter and most of the games below were recommended by the regulars of this thread. Make a comment if you can think of others that fit the criteria. We're a friendly bunch here :)

Games I've already played that - IMHO - mostly fit the above criteria, in alphabetical order: (last updated April 2024)
Any other suggestions in the same vein?
 
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turkler

turkler

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quick question before I dump some links here, what would you consider a game? because if you're looking for story-first games then the eventual answer always is visual novels.
 
jufot

jufot

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ju1zzed said:
https://f95zone.to/threads/city-of-broken-dreamers-v1-09-ch-9-phillygames.25739/

100%
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I did play that one, just forgot to add it to the list. Thanks though!

fitgirlbestgirl said:
>Well-designed, internally consistent, coherent story
>Acting Lessons

:WaitWhat:

Dr. Amana, Sexual Therapist
Long Story Short
Ripples
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Thanks for the recommendations, didn't know about any of those!

As for as Acting Lessons, it doesn't have the most coherent story out of those games, but I did say those games mostly fit the criteria :)

turkler said:
quick question before I dump some links here, what would you consider a game? because if you're looking for story-first games then the eventual answer always is visual novels.
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Oh, VNs are perfectly fine! In fact, I'm willing to give up choices all together for a great story so even Kinetic Novels are fine :)
 
ZoeBodyPillow

ZoeBodyPillow

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jufot said:
I just finished playing through the current content. Wow, what an amazing recommendation that was! Definitely in my top 5 now :)
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I am soo glad you enjoyed it! <3
The Deluca Family is my personal favorite game ever! The story is so interesting and the characters are very 'real' and intriguing! :giggle:
 
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m00nsh1ne

m00nsh1ne

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Oathbreaker Season 1 and 2 (2 still in development) Has a very game of thrones feel with all the political intrigue. Not as much killing though lol.

If you liked Our Red String then you'll love the dev's other game Good Girl Gone Bad. Lots of player agency in that one. You could be anything from the faithful good girl, a pornstar, a gang leader, or a anything in between.

The Intoxicating Flavor. The story is definitely interesting and could go in many directions. The sex scenes are slightly contrived but never forced.

Melody is probably the go to vanilla romance VN. As you help teach and develop a young girl in music you begin to grow romantic feelings for her... or you can keep it plutonic and go after some other options closer to your age.
 
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turkler

turkler

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jufot said:
I did play that one, just forgot to add it to the list. Thanks though!



Thanks for the recommendations, didn't know about any of those!

As for as Acting Lessons, it doesn't have the most coherent story out of those games, but I did say those games mostly fit the criteria :)



Oh, VNs are perfectly fine! In fact, I'm willing to give up choices all together for a great story so even Kinetic Novels are fine :)
Click to expand...
I have to say, you're in a bit of a unique spot where you don't like unnecessary sex scenes that just seem bolted on. Very few people in this site think that way and I respect that. I'm also not going to list games like This is the Police because I assume if you're here, then you're looking for games with at least some lewd content.

Alright, let's start with one of the classics, Katawa Shoujo.
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I'm sure you've already played this, but a lot of people have not so I'm mentioning it just in case. It's the bread and butter of people who are relatively new to visual novels.

Now first, Blackberry Honey.
https://f95zone.to/threads/blackberry-honey-ebi-hime.6165/
I've been in this market (Well if you count playing porn games for years as being in the market.) for years and I can genuinely say this is one of the best yuri content you're ever going to see. It's absolutely top-tier writing, ebihime really knows how to write both interesting relationships and interesting stories. Also FYI this one is pretty long.

Crimson Gray and it's sequel.
https://f95zone.to/threads/crimson-gray-final-sierra-lee.3739/
https://f95zone.to/threads/crimson-gray-dusk-and-dawn-final-sierra-lee.19057/
Now I have to admit, this is not superb writing per-se, but it's one of the best tellings of a proper yandere romance story you're ever going to get. I personally felt that the sequel wasn't as great as the first game, but it was pretty good nonetheless.

Sweetest Monster
https://f95zone.to/threads/sweetest-monster-final-ebi-hime.5048/
Another ebihime VN, the guy knows his stuff what can I say. This one is pretty unsettling at some parts and intentionally so, I'm not going to spoil anything but there are some big strings in this. Has plent of lewd content for you to enjoy, though no scene feels like they're just trying to fill in the scene gap. You see all those shitty 3D 'visual novels' on the front page, right? This is what all those games wish they were.

VA-11 Hall-A
https://f95zone.to/threads/va-11-hall-a-cyberpunk-bartender-action-sukeban-games.1430/
An excellent visual novel (Yes, visual novel, I do not consider mixing drinks every half an hour or so gameplay.) based around a woman working as a bartender in a cyberpunk city, though FYI this one has no sex, at all. There are some lewd jokes every now and then, and there's exactly one scene where you hold hands with someone, but no sex.

Stay! Stay! DPRK!
https://f95zone.to/threads/stay-stay-democratic-peoples-republic-of-korea-devgru_p.3661/
For this one, I have to say that you're either going to love it or hate it. It's not a very serious game, as you can tell from the name. The humor's not dry-cut but it's definitely not for everyone, but I personally found it quite enjoyable. Also has sex scenes, suprisingly.

Clannad
https://f95zone.to/threads/clannad-v1-6-7-3-key.34141/
https://f95zone.to/threads/clannad-side-stories-final-key.34142/
https://f95zone.to/threads/tomoyo-after-its-a-wonderful-life-final-key.1099/
I have to admit something here, I haven't even touched Clannad, simply didn't have the time to, but it's considered one of the classics, the stepping stones of the visual novel genre, so I'm throwing this here. It has to be half-decent if so many people praise it, right? No sex btw.

If you want more suggestions, go through these games and tell me what you like and what you don't, I'll be glad to help you find more.
 
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jufot

jufot

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turkler said:
I have to say, you're in a bit of a unique spot where you don't like unnecessary sex scenes that just seem bolted on. Very few people in this site think that way and I respect that.I'm also not going to list games like This is the Police because I assume if you're here, then you're looking for games with at least some lewd content.
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Yeah, it's not that I don't like lewd content in general (this is F95 after all) I just prefer if there is a story reason for it :)

turkler said:
Alright, let's start with one of the classics, Katawa Shoujo.
You must be registered to see the links

I'm sure you've already played this, but a lot of people have not so I'm mentioning it just in case. It's the bread and butter of people who are relatively new to visual novels.
Click to expand...
Oh yeah, I was actually quite active on the KS forums when the game was in development. I have very fond memories from that time :)

turkler said:
Now first, Blackberry Honey.
https://f95zone.to/threads/blackberry-honey-ebi-hime.6165/
I've been in this market (Well if you count playing porn games for years as being in the market.) for years and I can genuinely say this is one of the best yuri content you're ever going to see. It's absolutely top-tier writing, ebihime really knows how to write both interesting relationships and interesting stories. Also FYI this one is pretty long.
Click to expand...
Oooh I love yuri, brilliant recommendation!

turkler said:
Crimson Gray and it's sequel.
https://f95zone.to/threads/crimson-gray-final-sierra-lee.3739/
https://f95zone.to/threads/crimson-gray-dusk-and-dawn-final-sierra-lee.19057/
Now I have to admit, this is not superb writing per-se, but it's one of the best tellings of a proper yandere romance story you're ever going to get. I personally felt that the sequel wasn't as great as the first game, but it was pretty good nonetheless.
Click to expand...
Not really a yandere fan, but I'll take a look.

turkler said:
Sweetest Monster
You see all those shitty 3D 'visual novels' on the front page, right? This is what all those games wish they were.
Click to expand...
That's high praise! I'll definitely take a look.

turkler said:
VA-11 Hall-A
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I'm already a huge fan of this one :)

turkler said:
Stay! Stay! DPRK!
https://f95zone.to/threads/stay-stay-democratic-peoples-republic-of-korea-devgru_p.3661/
For this one, I have to say that you're either going to love it or hate it. It's not a very serious game, as you can tell from the name. The humor's not dry-cut but it's definitely not for everyone, but I personally found it quite enjoyable. Also has sex scenes, suprisingly.
Click to expand...
Humorous games can be great if the humour is to your taste (Above the Clouds is a great example for me) so I'll give this one a shot :)

turkler said:
Clannad
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I have it on Steam since forever and I know its reputation, but I just can't seem to find the time to tackle something this big. It's on my backlog for a reason though :)

turkler said:
If you want more suggestions, go through these games and tell me what you like and what you don't, I'll be glad to help you find more.
Click to expand...
Thanks for taking the time to recommend all this stuff! I'll post here again after I go through a few.
 
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jufot

jufot

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m00nsh1ne said:
Oathbreaker Season 1 and 2 (2 still in development) Has a very game of thrones feel with all the political intrigue. Not as much killing though lol.
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I know Oathbreaker's dev, and I'm a huge fan of her other game
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, so this is definitely on my backlog.

m00nsh1ne said:
If you liked Our Red String then you'll love the dev's other game Good Girl Gone Bad. Lots of player agency in that one. You could be anything from the faithful good girl, a pornstar, a gang leader, or a anything in between.
Click to expand...
Sounds excellent! It's usually very difficult to balance player agency with a good story, so I'm curious how that goes for GGGB.

m00nsh1ne said:
The Intoxicating Flavor. The story is definitely interesting and could go in many directions. The sex scenes are slightly contrived but never forced.
Click to expand...
Noted, thanks!

m00nsh1ne said:
Melody is probably the go to vanilla romance VN. As you help teach and develop a young girl in music you begin to grow romantic feelings for her... or you can keep it plutonic and go after some other options closer to your age.
Click to expand...
I quite love Melody, and not just for the romance. The musical references were right up my alley. I should have mentioned this one in the OP :)
 
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5.00 star(s) 8 Votes