Summary
Visual Novelshave been celebrating a renaissance of sorts over the past year with many gamers realizing their format allows them to tell intense stories that regular games can’t always manage. This is especially true when looking athorror games.
Without having to rely oncheap tactics like jump scares, visual novels can craft some truly terrifying stories designed to perfectly unsettle anyone that plays through them. Some are particularly horrifyingand even seasoned fansof the genre know to not play through them all alone.
Updated February 17th, 2024, by Mara Cowley:Visual novels delve into many different genres, with romance likely being the one that mostly comes into mind when thinking about this type of game. However, many visual novels delve into horror, using their art and text to spin a truly terrifying tale to scare their readers. This article already contains a multitude of thebest horror visual novels, but there are so many more that deserve the attention of avid VN fans. As such, this article of horror visual novels has been updated to include more entries.
6.98
Doki Doki Literature Club!
Hi, Monika here!Welcome to the Literature Club! It’s always been a dream of mine to make something special out of the things I love. Now that you’re a club member, you’re able to help me make that dream come true in this cute game!Every day is full of chit-chat and fun activities with all of my adorable and unique club members:Sayori, the youthful bundle of sunshine who values happiness the most;Natsuki, the deceivingly cute girl who packs an assertive punch;Yuri, the timid and mysterious one who finds comfort in the world of books;…And, of course, Monika, the leader of the club! That’s me!I’m super excited for you to make friends with everyone and help the Literature Club become a more intimate place for all my members. But I can tell already that you’re a sweetheart—will you promise to spend the most time with me? ♥This game is not suitable for childrenor those who are easily disturbed.
At first glance, and for the first few hours of gameplay,Doki Doki Literature Clubseems like another adorablevisual novel dating sim, despite the trigger warning at the beginning. Four adorable girls embodying different anime stereotypes are all part of a literature club that is close to closing down due to a lack of members, until the player is talked into joining. The player will spend a short while getting to know the girls and writing poetry before things take a turn.
The horror quickly sets in, with strange twists to the music, glitching text, and gory, horrifying visuals as the other girls are systematically deleted, quite literally, until only one remains: just Monika. Thanks to the shocking twist, this visual novel gained a lot of notoriety on the internet. The developers went on to make an expanded paid version for fans.
7.07
The Letter
The Letter is an interactive, horror/drama visual novel inspired by classic Asian horror films. Told through an immersive branching narrative, the game puts the players into the shoes of seven characters as they find themselves falling prey to a vicious curse plaguing the Ermengarde Mansion for centuries.In this game, your choices will shape and drive the story forward: will you mend a relationship on the verge of collapse, or will you let it fall apart? Will you risk saving them, despite the consequences, or leave them to die a gruesome death? The fate of all the characters is in your hands.
The Lettermight be one of the longest and most in-depth horror visual novels, following the tale of seven very different people that all fall prey to a curse originating from a letter in an old house scheduled for re-opening.
With many different branching paths depending on the player’s choices, no one run is the same as the next, as even the smallest of choices can take the game in a completely different direction, offering great replayability. With fantastic voice acting, incredible visuals, and drawing inpsiration from asian horror moves such asJu-On, it’s hard not to get hooked on this game, though players will need the courage to face what scare might come next.
February 15th, 2024
Developer(s)
Experience
Death Mark 2takes place in a Tokyo suburb, specifically the Konoehara Academy, where gruesome events occur each decade, leaving the police scrambling to explain the incidents. Rumors begin swirling that spirits are to blame, but these rumors might not just be idle chatter.
The rumors gain enough notoriety for the Principal to hire Kazuo Yashiki, who is known as a Spirit Doctor, to investigate the Academy and find out the true cause behind these incidents. The impressive visuals of this game help to set a suspenseful atmosphere, with effective scares that are sure to leave players terrified of what the next page might hold.
May 5th, 2013
Nitroplus
Song of Sayais a uniquely disturbing and unsettling visual novel that follows the tragedy of Fuminori, whose perception of the world changes following an accident that causes brain damage. Normal food tastes and smells disgusting, and he sees everyone around him as grotesque lumps of flesh and organs–other than Saya, whom he sees as a beautiful girl in a dress.
In reality though, Saya is the true monster, but due to Fuminori’s perception, the two begin a peculiar yet touching love story. Multiple story beats touch on difficult subjects unabashedly that will undoubtedly shock players, and there are two different endings, with neither offering any true happiness. Only those brave and strong-willed players should dare enter the world ofSong of Saya.
July 30th, 2020
Innocent Grey
The months of flowers flourishing, and sunny afternoons come to a close asFlowersbegins the third chapter in its story of Saint Angraecum Academy and continues Suoh Shirahane’s investigation into the current whereabouts of her former Amitie partner and lover, who vanished from the school without a trace nor parting word.
To unlock the next piece of the puzzle, Suoh takes on a challenge from Yuzuriha Yatsushiro, who tells the shy girl that she must take Yuzuriha’s place as the school’s Council of Nicaea president if she wishes to learn what she knows.
September 2nd, 2014
Spike Chunsoft
Danganronpa’ssequel entry takes its predecessor’s literal murder game mystery premise and flies it out to a tropical island destination. Similar to the previous game, a group of Hope’s Peak Academy students is trapped in a remote location and informed that their only means to escape is to kill another classmate and evade the remaining classmates’ suspicions of their identity as the killer.
Bursting with unexpected twists, charming characters, and a surprising amount of heart given its gruesome narrative,Super Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despairdistinguishes itself sharply from other horror visual novels and places itself on many’s best visual horror novel lists.
Decemner 29th, 2000 (JP)
Type-Moon
In the fictional city Misaki, second year high school student Shiki Tohno has a very close brush with death which allows him to see the death lines of others, which break upon death. These sights make him endure crippling headaches, fear of seeing death, and exile at the hands of his father. Eventually, he comes face to face with supernatural beings, taking the visual novel in a horrifying direction.
Tsukihimeis filled with classic horror tropes like vampires, magic, and a dash of romance. The game’s graphics are a little dated by today’s standard but the fantastic atmosphereTsukihimeoffers still makes it worth checking out today. It was also eventuallyadapted into an animeshowing just how excellent its story is.
October 23rd, 2012
Chunsoft
Wanna play a game? No, not that kind of game but it’s still a game of life and death. This is a sequel tothe originalZero Escapeand has a similar story where nine people must escape a warehouse or potentially die.
Many fans have said the game takes a bit longer to get into the story than the original and is a bit too over the top for most. Still, fans of the first game should certainly give it a try as they’ll find a similar experience to enjoy.
November 16th, 2010
Nine players have nine hours to pass through the door matching the number on their bracelet. If they don’t, they’ll sink alongside the ship. This simple premise goes far deeper than players could imagine, creating a game that can be played many times over before the true ending is found.
The version on the Nintendo DS introduced many players to the game making it one of the more recognizable and effective horror visual novels out there.
12Chaos;Child - 8.33
Chaos;Child
It’s been six years since a massive earthquake leveled the city of Shibuya. Now, in October 2015, while researching a number of recent murders, Takuru Miyashiro realizes a horrible truth. These murders are the return of a series of killings that plunged Shibuya into terror six years ago. And at the same time, people called gigalomaniacs, with the powers to make their delusions real, are beginning to awaken…
Chaos;ChildandSteins;Gateshare the same director and it shows. Sure fans can point to some of the side routes in the game being iffy but the characters and story more than make up for it.
This murder mystery surrounded by the events of a massive earthquake is the epitome of psychological horror while still stirring players emotionally to their core. Make sure to be braced for impact when playing this one
