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If the quote “our language is the reflection of ourselves” is true, then what could we learn from Steam user reviews (other than that we deserve every bad game ever published there)? I thought it’d be fun to generate some word clouds of Steam VN user reviews: what words tend to pop up in positive reviews vs negative ones, which words are overused in 18+ VNs, and how old can I make myself feel by seeing all these memes references. Data collection Using the Steam API, I collected the English user reviews for any VN released before 2019 on Steam, giving us 250,000 reviews in total. I filtered out Doki Doki Literature Club’s 71,000 reviews to prevent the results being skewed too heavily towards one VN. I also filtered out any word that appeared in fewer than 5 different VNs to prevent character names from popular VNs from filling up the results too much. Word associations A higher resolution set of these word-cloud images can be found here. The larger a word is the more frequently it’s used. First up is a comparison of what words tend to appear more often in VN reviews vs a random selection of other games on Steam. There’s nothing too surprising here, it’s mostly just popular VN series and various “weeaboo” terms. “Uncensored” also pops up quite prominently, showing how much 18+ content matters to the medium. Next is the list of words that are more likely to come up in reviews the user submitted as a thumbs-up (a positive review). While there’s all the usual flattering terms you’d expect, it’s fun to see how many words traditionally associated with negative feelings come up here: tears, cry, sadness, and bittersweet all show up indicating how much we seek a deep emotional release in VNs... also “memes.” What goes up must come down, here we have words that tend to come up in thumbs-down Steam reviews. Despite VNs being a visual medium, almost all the terms would seem to describe their opinion on the story/writing rather than the visuals, with “boring,” “waste,” and “stupid” all coming up more often than “ugly.” This suggests the most common way a VN can disappoint its users ie through its writing rather than its aesthetic, although this may because it’s easier to judge the visuals from screenshots before you purchase the VN. The English-developed VNs reviews are mostly full of titles of popular EVNs, but we can also see how much more socially progressive EVNs are, with terms like gender, diversity, and lgbt coming up more often than in JVNs. Truly Japan is the land of wonder, or at least kawaii catgirls according to these results. It’s curious that “fighting” would be linked to JVNs, perhaps because there’s so few EVNs that depict violence. Thank you Steam reviews for telling us in the review that a free VN is free. Truly a valuable service. There’s a certain irony that the words that come up more often in commercial VNs are all about how to get it cheaper: sale, bundle, and discount are all prominent terms. These are the words that tend to come up more often in otome VNs reviews (VNs with a female protagonist pursuing male love interests). Words associated with fantasy type settings pop up frequently, queen, princess, and prince are all present which is unsurprising given otome’s love of the fantasy genre. These are the cursed words which come up more often in 18+ VNs, what is lacking in eloquence is at least made up in “tiddies.” These are the words that tend to come up in shorter reviews. We’re told a picture paints a thousand words, but who needs a thousand words when you have swear words to convey meaning instead? Who needs verbose reviews when you have “fuck gay catgirl boobs.” I’m sold on that VN already. You can find higher resolution versions of all these word cloud images here (as well as the longer-review wordcloud which wasn’t included here because it’s boring). You can also view the results in spreadsheet format here, which is useful for reading the smaller (less-common) words. Review trends I’d be ashamed to put my name to an analysis post that didn’t have a graph or two, so to cleanse the palette after all those word clouds here are a few graphs looking at some review statistics. Typically reviews tend to be fairly short, just a few sentences at 150 characters, but there’s no stopping the more long-winded of us who might be few in number, but dramatically pull up the average wordcount with their detailed account of everything that happens in a VN. I expected that the longer a review was, the more likely it would be that the reviewer liked it. It’s the fans who want to talk about it the most isn’t it? Well it turns out to be the other way around, the longer a review is, the more likely it is that the reviewer disliked it. Perhaps unhappy user’s feel the need to justify their opinion more when it goes against the general positive consensus on Steam, where 86% of all reviews are positive. So in accordance with this trend and the excessive length of this post, I hereby give my Steam VN review analysis a thumbs down. Not enough kawaii catgirls. While I don’t think any of these results were surprising, I hope you found it a fun read. If you’re interested in more, check out my other posts on tumblr. Feel free to give any feedback or suggestions for other analyses either here, twitter, or Discord (Sunleaf_Willow ／(^ n ^=)＼#1616). Thanks to Lunaterra, /u/8cccc9, and Elm for their input during this analysis.

(Technically my fuwaversary was yesterday,) Damn, it’s been a whole year since I joined Fuwanovel because of a bad experience I had r/VNs. Which is funny, because I joined fuwa right around my spring break and it’s my spring break again. Anyway, quite a few things happened to me since I joined Fuwa, I mainly wanted to contribute more the fuwa community because this one of the few bastions of intellectual discussion regarding EVNs. Most people on reddit think EVNs are shit, because all they read over there are JVNs. I wanted to help more here at Fuwanovel. I even throw some money at this website. (Hence I am a backer) After I learned that Fuwanovel is basically at a stand still because @Tay is really busy. I decided to help around in the EVN scene. Some of the things I am working on right now. I am an EVN dev for the most part. I am working on getting a visual novel out in the summer. It’s my first one actually. I put it on hiatus because life, and thanks to VN conference, I got super motivated to further my career in this very very niche market within the otaku realm. So, look forward to that. I will post an update on that soon enough because I have my voice actors and a background artist. That audition was fun. Right now, I am at Watercress Studios as a new programmer. I joined the team back on February 18th. So far, this is my first time making an EVN as part of a jam. If you are familiar with Watercress Studios, we are making a “very watercress” EVN. This photo should give you a hint. This is a EVN for NaNoReNo, so obviously it’s coming out after march. I would love for all of you guys to try it out and write some reviews on it. #ThisWasForYou https://twitter.com/TeamWatercress Make sure you follow us on twitter because we’ve just been spilling all kinds of stuff on this visual novel. A watercress member founded a new studio called Colorless and I am an assistant writer for an EVN called Gilded Gamers. There is no expected release date, so it’s going to be a while. So basically, I am working on three visual novels at the current moment. If you’re still reading this long post, Thank you. Let me tell I you why I like developing EVNs. I’ve said this before on Fuwanovel. But I believe that visual novels are art. Maybe because I am young and I am not jaded as the older otakus in this fandom. But I truly believe that the EVN medium is on the cusp of a revolution. I can see it. I can imagine it. I know it’s going to happen. I sincerely don’t want this to be the case anymore. Visual novels need to be a starter medium, and the best way to accomplish that is to create EVNs. EVNs that normies will wanna read. EVNs that will break what I call the Otaku Barrier where @Clephas talks about how VNs snatch otaku form other mediums. I wanna thank everyone here from @Plk_Lesiak, @tymmur, @Clephas, and everyone else for all the knowledge you have given me. Regarding the visual novel medium. I want to thank @Tay for helping maintain fuwa after all the drama during the great pirate era. I want to thank @solidbatman for being cool. I want to thank @Kiriririri for all the You don’t know how happy I am to be part of such a great community. Thank you. Now, you guys can ask me any question. Nothing is off-limits. Oh yeah here’s my twitter: https://twitter.com/Happine27386045

Some recommendations from the ones I've read: Princess Evangile KonoSora (make sure to grab retranslation patch!) KoiChoco Hatsukoi 1/1 WagaHigh Noble Works To Heart 2 Crescendo Yukizakura Sakura Sakura Yume Miru Kusuri Sanoba Witch Yoake KoiIroChu! Miagete (A Sky Full of Stars) SakuSaku DalSegno Katawa Shoujo Fureraba Heart de Roommate

Yeah, about that, the QCer just finished the QC yesterday. So I just need to apply the corrections, then make a patch, then let him test it, then we should be good to go

[inaudible meowing] jk Expect a new review soon™.

I've been looking for some romance visual novels to play through, I don't mind 18+ content. I just finished Newton to Ringo no Ki and thought the romance in there was good. I need English translation though because I'm not learning Japanese yet(too busy with regular school). I would appreciate any replies, Thank You.

Damenakoi is definitely a romance novel. It seems we are still waiting for a translation from MG though. It was the only untranslated VN that I ever started and via Google Translate I was able to follow along ok even though my Japanese was extremely bad back then. I stopped after 2 routes though because I decided I wanted to learn the language better before I continued with it. It definitely contained lots of romance though, so if it is ever finished by MangaGamer I can only recommend it.

Well, Happy Fuwaniversary from me, too I find it really cool how you think about the genre. I agree that VNs have so many possibilities in them that are hardly ever used. It seems to me sometimes that the genre gut stuck in a way that authors always think too much about satisfying the same needs of otakus that they have satisfied for the last 20 years. And I am always happy to hear of younger writers who want to break through that invisible barrier! And I am glad to see that lately there have been really interesting EVNs coming out. It's pretty hard for these to get their attention since many people still think that JVNs are the only REAL VNs. Not long ago I was one of them but thanks to people here on the forums like @Plk_Lesiak and others (whose VNDB profiles I looked through) I found that I was restricting myself and I have now finished my first EVNs and more are on my list I think what turned me away from EVNs until then was the style of the artists that was very often far away from the typical manga characters. Actually I have often been wondering if and why only Japanese were capable of drawing characters in that way. Anyway, I wish you all the best with your projects and am looking forward to news about any of them! Good luck!

* Fureraba . Very light hearted, with quite a lot of +18 content. * Kono Oozora . Overall light hearted. Has some light drama. * Princess Evangile . Good comedy, and a surprising amount of drama. * Clannad . This VN taught me (A grown man) ....... how to cry again. It's themes of family and friendship are executed pretty well. * Symphonic Rain . Quite unique in it's setting, and how it mostly ditches the moe characters. * Grisaia no Kajitsu . Don't let the very light hearted and over the stop comedic common route fool you. The character routes get ...... more then a bit tense, and explore some uncomfortable psychological themes. * ef - a fairy tale of the two . Various kinds of relationship drama. The first game revolves around a love triangle, and the 2nd game manages to be even more tense then that...

My friend, your translation is gold! Please bring us another jewel when you feel like sharing your gift (I will be back with more thanks when i finish it).

You're welcome I just fixed links - they got broken in the first version of my post. Also, KEY VNs (Kanon, AIR, Clannad, Little Busters, Planetarian) are very good too, even though they aren't "pure" romance.

Thanks, I will check these out and add some to my to play list.

First update on Natsuki's route, and Irru said that it's really the shortest route seeing that it's already at more than one third in less than a week (And that Natsuki is cute). Here's the progress below: Common: 100.0% Sora: 100.0% Marika: 100.0% Natsuki: 33.44% Misa: 100.0% Rikka: 100.0% Touko: 100.0% Total: 91.50% If they go with this rate, then I guess by April we should have Natsuki's patch aka full Hoshiori patch which is good. That's all for this week update, and as usual credit goes to Irru and Trip for translating Hoshiori.

And that, my friend, is not even a guarantee anymore, you are basically proving our point with your own words. Noone can guarantee a huge trilogy (unless kickstarted) when the first entry can bomb so hard that it won't be feasible anymore. That just doesn't make any sense. Sol Press is doing exactly the same thing as Neko would right now so your discontent is a bit misguided.

the cover itself is nsfw-ish so I thought it would be better to cover it? Please Bang My Wife VNDB // Buy it on MangaGamer Summary The Sashiharas, Yashushi and Mariko, are newlyweds. When their marriage begins to stagnate, he suspects she's having sex with someone else. When Yasushi confronts Mariko and demands to know the truth, she tells him the intimate details of her affair: her other partner's trouble climaxing, and how it means he can keep going for hours. Her multiple orgasms, which are something Yasushi can never give her. How he reaches the deepest places inside her, awaking her to that new pleasure... Yashushi's reaction to the confessions is extreme jealousy, but also incredible arousal, so he makes a request of his wife: "I want to watch." "You really want that?" "You want me to lose myself, right in front of you...? Are you sure?" Yasushi nods, and Mariko smiles faintly. Their marriage will never be stagnant again... [From official website] Ending Guide Although this visual novel doesn't have much to choose, there are some "questions" that have to be asked in a specific order; otherwise, you won't progress. Extra Scenes After completing it, you can go to "Extras" > "Scene Gallery" to see through Mariko's eyes her affairs happening; as you do that, you'll also unlock every CG left. Attribution This walkthrough is based on info attained on Otaku Lair. If there's something wrong let me know ASAP via PM!

Because visual novels colour my grey life with emotions I can never experience irl.

Wow, I just realized it's been nearly 2 years (18 March 2017) when this project was announced @@. Based on the progress check I think the team has done a pretty good job, you guys are not so far from finishing this.

Yeah, like a living world where certain parts of the setting seem to be moving their own way. I can only think of one story I've read which fits that bill. Even in a story with much smaller world-building I think a setting and it's characters needs to be something the protagonist wanders through and bumps into, not something they finish like an RPG dungeon. I enjoy stories focused on a cast of characters because they tend to naturally fulfill this criteria. Perhaps having primarily consumed VN's and JP media, I'm not that picky about behind-the-scenes logic and minor plot inconsistencies, but when a story breaks its own rules... that just weakens it.

Again, thank you and all involved for your time and efforts! Looking forward to experiencing this game.

Hello. I am the guy who wrote that review of Little Busters that everyone hated because I did not like the game. Those poor people are doing just fine, however, even with my evil, vile, disgusting review out there still. I, on the other hand, have never been worse off. You see, I've been overwhelmed with guilt. I feel bad for what I did. I took a beloved visual novel, one that has changed the lives of many people, and slandered it with my negative review. Then I continued to ride that infamy I gained into relevancy allowing my hatred of Little Busters! to manifest itself as a false representation of my true opinion of it, much like I am doing right this moment. The truth about my time with Little Busters! is that I enjoyed the VN. It had some bad routes (like all of them) and had a really unremarkable ending. But can I say I did not enjoy my time reading it? Not really. The 24 hour stream was a blast, and subsequent streams were a lot of fun, especially when people were involved in the jokes and discussion of the routes as I read them. For example, Lewycool's Sexy Seagull Legs during Mio's route was light in an otherwise forgettable, boring route (protip: a character with no personality other than "I like books" is not a recipe for a fun route) and allowed me to actually have fun with the route. Likewise, discussions of Kurugaya's Balloon Tits carrying me off into the sky made her Bill Murray wannabe route more enjoyable. Refrain was a blast to read right up until the ending. I didn't hate Rin and simply wished we saw far more development from her than what we got. She was a fun character. The experience of reading Little Busters! was good. I had a good time. While my opinions on Little Busters! remain the same, that it is a bad VN (not horrid at least), I do not regret the time I spent on it and I sometimes wish I could read it over again on stream with everyone like I did before. So, I owe everyone an apology. I'm sorry your favorite VN is so shit I had to bring in friends to enjoy it instead. I can't wait to get my hands on the official Rewrite release in 600 years. Also, a review of an InvertMouse VN is coming very soon to this blog near you, assuming I'm not blocked first.