This
There is an intense amount of industry stigma attached to the visual novel medium, in so much that if they ever come up it's as the result of some April Fools joke
I want games journalism/reviews to treat visual novels with the same respect as any other kind of game
There is an intense amount of industry stigma attached to the visual novel medium, in so much that if they ever come up it's as the result of some April Fools joke
I want games journalism/reviews to treat visual novels with the same respect as any other kind of game
Reposted from
Natasha 🌳 Play Our Haunt @ itch.io
If reviewers reviewed other game genres the same way they review visual novels
“Unfortunately, Platform Hell’s gameplay consists mostly of jumping on platforms and avoiding obstacles.”
“I wasn’t expecting so much shooting in Boomer Shooter Paradise.”
“Tetronimos 2k26 has too many blocks”
“Unfortunately, Platform Hell’s gameplay consists mostly of jumping on platforms and avoiding obstacles.”
“I wasn’t expecting so much shooting in Boomer Shooter Paradise.”
“Tetronimos 2k26 has too many blocks”
Comments
VNs & JRPGs are both games mediums that originate in Japan and do things in a different way than what western gamedev was doing for a long time
Some level of "I don't like your kind of art, so it's no good" is definitely there
As another reply said, it’s crazy game reviewers even review VNs at all.
They are an interactive narrative medium that generally includes gamification mechanics
They are games
And as someone who has covered them along with practically every other type of game media it's insulting to call them not games
Most VNs I read had no interaction other than moving forward. That’s as interactive as turning pages in a book. I don’t understand this need to be called a «game».
Play Goodbye Volcano High, that's got RPG elements and Rhythm game
Play Spirit Swap, that's built around a match 3 game
Just because you've only played one kind doesn't mean that's what they all are
I think it would help people navigate the topic better than endless gatekeepy stances. I hope haha
We've terms for different types of visual novel (e.g. kinetic, dating sim, mystery...etc)
VN is the broad term, then you look for the kind of thing you enjoy within that
Doesn't matter if it's a kinetic story or something wild & elaborate, visual novels deserve better recognition
I wouldn't trust a movie critic to review an album, a music critic to review a painting or an art critic to review a novel.
We still need game critics playing them, but people who actually enjoy playing them & understand the medium
Wish more reviewers respected the genre even if the game's not to their taste.
But if you talk about something like it's not worth your time no-one will touch it. Which is what we've seen all too often