While there is plenty to praise about Microsoft’s video game subscription service, one of the biggest strengths ofXbox Game Passis how there truly something for everyone, no matter what genres they may be into. While some of theXbox Game Pass' biggest titles are shooters, multiplayer titles, and action games, more niche experiences have been able to carve out a place for themselves.
One of the most underappreciated genres on Xbox Game Pass is visual novels. While Xbox has not had a strong history with the genre, manydevelopers and publishers have found success bringing titles to Xbox Game Pass, and right now it has a strong line-up of visual novels to try.
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AI: The Somnium Files
One of the strongest visual novels and detective games in recent years,AI: The Somnium Filesis almost everything fans of either genre could want.AI: The Somnium Filescenters around Kaname Date, a detective with his right eye replaced by an AI known as Aiba. Together the two are tasked with solving a series of murders where each of the victims eyes have been removed. Date uses a machine called Somnium to travel into the minds of witnesses and gather evidence from their memories.
Boyfriend Dungeon
While not entirely visual novel-focused,Boyfriend Dungeonblends dating sim mechanics and visual novel gameplay with dungeon crawlers as player build relationships with multiple weapons that can transform into humans. Unlike many games to play with the dating sim genre in recent years,Boyfriend Dungeonis as dedicated to being an enjoyable dating simas it is a challenging dungeon crawler.
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Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Now regarded as a classic among visual novel fans,Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havocremains a game-changer for the genre. First released in Japan for PlayStation Portable in 2010,Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoccontinues to explode in popularity.
Danganronpafollows a group of fifteen “Ultimate” studentsas they are trapped in their high school, Hope’s Peak Academy, and forced into a killing game by an evil animatronic bear called Monokuma. In order to escape, one student must kill another and get away with it. The player follows Makoto Naegi, dubbed the “Ultimate Lucky Student,” who entered the school out of sheer luck while his classmates excel at a certain talent.
Paradise Killer
Paradise Killeris one of the most ambitious visual novels released in the last few years, and one of the few indie visual novels to join Xbox Game Pass. In a universe where a council known as the Syndicate is attempting to create a perfect world, the game follows exiled detective Lady Love Dies, who is allowed return to Paradise Island 24 after the council is murdered by one of its inhabitants.
Paradise Killeris a rare example of an open-world visual novel where players are tasked with exploring the secrets of Paradise Island 24. The game includes a memorable and diverse set of characters set around a strong visual presentationtaking inspiration from games such asFlower, Sun, and Rain.
The most refreshing element ofParadise Killerisits open-ended approach to detective gameplay in a visual novel. The game is completely open in how it allows players to solve its mystery. Any character can be accused at any point, and players can make a case for anyone being the culprit to receive different endings.Paradise Killerhas some of the broadest ideas in a visual novel yet, and has just recently joined the Xbox Game Pass library.
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Zero Escape: The Nonary Games
Zero Escape: The Nonary Gamesis a compilation of the first two games in Spike Chunsoft’s franchise-999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors, which released for the Nintendo DS in 2009, andVirtue’s Last Reward, released for the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita in 2012. This is an easy recommendation to fans of games likeDanganronpa, even if it is heavier on the exposition and complexity. It comes to Xbox Game Pass on March 22, and hopefully the final entry in the series,Zero Time Dilemma, will come to Game Pass shortly after.
From the mind of Kotaro Uchikoshi,Zero Escapefollows a group of strangers who are assigned numbers as they awaken to find themselves in a death game, solving puzzles to avoid execution.It was one of the main inspirations forDanganronpa, but whileDanganronpais more focused on the murder mystery element and detective stories,Zero Escapefocuses more on puzzles. Each game features an insanely deep flowchart in which player actions and decisions can wildly change the direction of the story, which makes it perfect for repeat attempts throughXbox Game Pass.
