aoi tori has, honestly, a truly unique atmosphere with a timeless, warm energy. aoi tori's narrative is deeply enriched by its complex and multifaceted characters. all of them being amazingly written and intricately developed and drive the emotional depth of the narrative. the relationships and individual growth depicted throughout the story create a deeply engaging experience. it's a visual novel that explores very adult themes. i really loved the character mary harker and she is my all time favorite fictional character !! i adore her personality; she's funny, charming, and incredibly endearing.i found myself laughing at her moments and feeling genuinely attached to her. honestly, i even bought a lot of merch of her because i love her so much !

i discovered this visual novel years ago, and it immediately became one of my favorite works of fiction. every aspect — from the story to the characters — captured my heart deeply. this vn pulls you in right away : dark, intense, and full of mystery. written by suzuka miya, it has that slow burn psychological depth that really gets under your skin. playing as a private detective in a post war tokyo, you're thrown into a series of brutal murders. the latest episode, released in january 2025, surpassed all my expectations and was even better than i had hoped. visually, sugina miki's art is perfect for this kind of world : moody, unsettling, and beautiful in a haunting way. every scene is dripping with atmosphere, and it all blends seamlessly with the story's heavy tone. this vn is a masterful blend of storytelling and artistry. it's one of my favorite vn of all time

wonderful everyday is more than just a visual novel to me — it's a deeply personal experience that has stayed with me for years. when i first discovered it, it was unlike anything i had encountered before outside the more popular international titles like danganronpa or va-11 hall-a. it introduced me to a world of storytelling that felt raw, complex, and heartbreakingly real.

this vn challenged me emotionally and intellectually in ways few other stories have. its narrative weaves through layers of reality, pain, and hope, making me question not only the characters' lives but also my own perceptions. the themes it tackles are heavy and often unsettling, but they are handled with such care and depth that they became almost cathartic for me.

i remember playing it late at night, feeling both lost and found within its story. the characters felt like flawed, broken people i knew — people struggling to find meaning and connection. it taught me a lot about empathy, mental health, and the fragility of life. every time i revisit it, i discover something new, something that hits me in a different place emotionally.

wonderful everyday is a visual novel that doesn't shy away from darkness but also finds moments of light and warmth amidst the chaos. it's a story that has shaped my understanding of what visual novels can be: profound, challenging, and deeply human. it's not just a game; it's a piece of art that holds a special place in my heart, and it always will.

air by key is a deeply moving visual novel that i discovered later than some of their other works like little busters and rewrite. despite coming to it afterwards, air quickly became a title that resonated strongly with me. its gentle storytelling, bittersweet themes, and delicate atmosphere captured my heart in a way that felt both nostalgic and fresh. minagi is my favorite character i loved everything about her and honestly, i almost fell in love with her. i even adored her soundtrack; it perfectly captured her essence and added so much to the atmosphere.

the characters in air are beautifully written, each carrying their own dreams and sorrows, and the story explores themes of memory, loss, and fleeting happiness with a tender touch. playing it felt like entering a wistful, quiet world where every moment held meaning and emotion.

i'm especially drawn to how air balances sadness with hope, creating an experience that lingers long after finishing. it's a visual novel that reminds me to cherish the fragile and transient moments in life.

after finishing air, i'm looking forward to diving into kanon, another key classic that i've heard so much about and can't wait to explore.

i didn't expect mashiroiro symphony to hit me the way it did. i went into it thinking it would be a typical, light-hearted moege with a few touching moments here and there, maybe a nice romance, maybe a cute cast. but what i found instead was a visual novel that slowly, quietly worked its way under my skin — not with drama for drama's sake, but with gentle, emotional storytelling that made me care deeply for these characters. especially for sana.

the story starts off with a familiar premise : co-ed integration between two schools. it's a slow burn, and it takes its time building the atmosphere.

what moved me deeply was the relationship between miu and sana. their bond felt incredibly intimate, even if neither of them ever said it out loud. sana clearly admires miu ; she leans on her, depends on her presence, even when she acts cold or annoyed. and miu, in her calm and gentle way, always seems to understand sana without needing words. there's a quiet closeness between them that goes beyond friendship. it's in the way sana watches her, the way her mood shifts when miu is around. their dynamic is so wonderful.. like two people who care deeply for each other. it's one of the most emotionally honest parts of the story, and it stayed with me long after the route ended.

what really made me fall for sana wasn't a route of her own in the main game -because she doesn't have one there- but the way she quietly stole the spotlight in miu's route. she's not just a side character; she's a constant presence, and her emotions end up shaping a lot of the story's weight. her feelings are messy, unresolved, and sometimes painful to watch. she's jealous, hurt, and trying so hard to hold it all in. but underneath all that, there's so much vulnerability. she wants to be seen, to matter. and even when she lashes out, you can tell it's coming from a place of deep insecurity. miu's route ended up being just as much about sana's pain as it was about love.

and then came sana edition, and it honestly felt like a gift. finally, she was given the space to be fully understood. her own story, her own voice. not filtered through someone else's route, but her own emotions, at her pace. the spin-off shows a softer, more open sana ! still herself, still a little sharp and awkward, but slowly letting people in. i loved how it took its time with her, how it let her grow without rushing. her romance with the protagonist felt genuine, more earned. and seeing her come to terms with her own worth, learning to accept love rather than just longing for it in silence that's what stayed with me the most. sana edition didn't just complete her arc. it made me love her even more.

looking back, i think sana became my favorite character not just in mashiroiro symphony, but in visual novels in general. she's not designed to be "likable" in the obvious way. she's messy, defensive, sometimes even frustrating. but once you break through that shell, there's so much tenderness and yearning inside her. and that's what stayed with me the most. and the opening for sana edition is my absolute favorite opening ever.

i first played gore screaming show back in 2018. it was one of my very first visual novels, and honestly, it completely shattered me. i had no idea what i was getting into. id heard whispers online about how disturbing it was, but nothing couldve prepared me for the experience. at that time, i had also just discovered euphoria, and while both vns were shocking in their own ways, gore screaming show left a much deeper mark on me. there was something about it that got stuck in my head. for a while, between 2019 and 2020, i was borderline obsessed it was always in my carrd LOL so cringe!

kyoji, the protagonist, surprised me. he wasn't passive. he fought back, reacted, got angry and that made everything hit harder. the girls' routes all had something unnerving lurking underneath them, but aoi's especially stuck with me. i remember thinking hers felt almost sweet at first, and then everything slowly got more and more off.

then there was yamiko. her route destroyed me in a different way. yuka's route, the true route, gave me mixed feelings. it felt rushed in some places, and the lore got pretty vague, but there were scenes in there that still live in my head rent-free. i'll never forget the way the story ties back to the beginning, how the curse and the trauma are passed on. it's not a clean ending. but that made it feel more real. on the other hand, when i replayed the game more recently, i found akane's route way less engaging than i remembered. she honestly bored me ; her character felt flat, and her whole route just dragged. she was just boring tbh, and it lacked the emotional weight or weird charm that the others had, and it stood out in a bad way on replay.

the soundtrack stayed with me. that eerie, ambient music. the weirdly beautiful cg work, full of contrast between innocence and horror. it was overwhelming back then. here are some of my favorite OSTs A Blue Day, Overture -Transfiguretion-, MADNESS VISITOR

even now, i think about it sometimes. not the gore itself, but the feelings. the unease. the nostalgia. the strange tenderness buried under all that horror. it's tied to a very specific time in my life, and whenever i remember it, it's like stepping back into that weird emotional haze of 2018. even if i see its flaws now, it still feels like a core memory. one of the first vns that showed me just how much this medium can mess with your heart and head and how deep it can stay buried inside you.

i remember the timing so clearly ; i was going through a weird phase where i felt disconnected from everything, and this vn kind of slipped into my life quietly. i didn't expect much from it, just thought the art looked soft and the premise was kind of interesting. but looking back, i think amatsutsumi affected me in a very subtle way. not with shock or intensity, but with this strange, gentle sadness that slowly grew over time, and exploded in the final route.

the premise itself already felt different from what i was used to. the main character, makoto, has the ability to control others with words literally. through something called kotodama, he can influence thoughts, feelings, decisions. he comes from a hidden village of people like him, descended from gods, and has never known anything else. but one day, he just leaves. not in a dramatic way, just quietly. like something in him is tired of that world.

then he meets kokoro, a bright, cheerful girl who feels like the perfect embodiment of normal life. she brings him home to live with her and her mother, who runs a little café. and that's how it begins not with conflict, not with trauma, but with warmth. he tries to fit in, learn how people live, act like he belongs. the town is peaceful. no one knows about his power. and honestly, those early chapters made me feel weirdly safe. there's something about the setting that just… slows everything down.

each heroine route introduces a new girl, each with her own issues. at first, they felt kind of basic to me. they weren't bad, but they didn't really leave a strong impression. the typical structure — a bit of bonding, some personal drama, the power being used to help, and then consequences that start piling up. it's like the vn is hinting at something bigger the whole time, but it doesn't let you touch it yet. and that was frustrating, because i knew it was building toward something. the routes were okay but they felt like a slow walk around the real story.

and then came hotaru.
hotaru is… different. she's the only person that makoto's kotodama doesn't work on. and that fact alone changes everything. she sees him for who he really is, not because he lets her, but because he can't hide. and for makoto, who's used to controlling everything with just words, that's terrifying. their relationship starts off awkward, kind of fragile. but as it unfolds, it becomes something way deeper than just romance. it's a confrontation. a reckoning. hotaru's route is the core of this vn and it's not just good. it's devastating in the best way.
the true route doesn't just expand the lore or explain makoto's power ; it breaks it down. it forces him to face what he's done, how he's used his words to change people, even when he thought he was helping. it asks what it really means to connect to someone. to speak, and be heard, without manipulation. and for a story about the power of language, that question hit me so hard.

purple software has this way of building emotional slow-burns that don't hit you until the very end, and this is one of their best examples. there's a reason it's their most loved vn among fans. hotaru's route alone is worth everything. it takes the whole story, all the themes, all the weight, and just lets it all pour out.

even now, when i think back to 2022, this vn feels like a quiet landmark in my mind. i didn't cry when reading it, but something inside me shifted. amatsutsumi left a mark. and it's not one i want to forget

clockup holds a special place in my heart. it's a studio ive been familiar with for years, and euphoria was actually one of the very first visual novels i ever played. honestly, i started it mostly as a joke because everywhere online, people called it the "worst horror hentai ever" lol. so naturally, i wanted to see what the fuss was about. and it turned out to be a beautiful tragic love story. definitely not what i expected. (and probably not the worst horror hentai in the world either LOL)

the story follows a group of people trapped in a place, and the protagonist has to commit horrific, immoral acts on the girls if he wants to survive. it's brutal and twisted, no doubt. but what really grabbed me was how the vn dives into the mental struggle ; that battle between doing these utterly inhuman things and the basic moral common sense that screams inside. that tension kept me hooked.

i really liked the character of byakuya. not because she's perfect or innocent, but because she becomes this cult leader figure. shoutout to angie from danganronpa, because i love that archetype.

sure, euphoria is intense — the repeated torture scenes and endless agonizing screams can wear you down. it's not for the faint of heart. but i have a soft spot for eroguro, and euphoria is a classic in the genre. it's dark, disturbing, but also deeply fascinating. it's a title that's nostalgic for me. maybe even more than gore screaming show, though it doesn't carry quite the same emotional baggage that game does for me.

in the end, euphoria surprised me. what i thought would just be shock and gore turned into something more ! a twisted, tragic exploration of human darkness and connection, wrapped in an uncomfortable, horrifying setting. it's not a pleasant ride, but it's unforgettable.