The Best Visual Novels On The Nintendo Switch

Key Takeaways

• The Nintendo Switch’s appeal lies in its versatility as a hybrid console, offering both handheld and home console functionality.
• Visual novels are popular on the Switch for engaging stories and character-driven experiences.
• Indie visual novels like Coffee Talk and Paranormasight offer unique storytelling experiences, showcasing a variety of genres and themes.

One of the main reasons the Nintendo Switch has become so popular over the years is that it blends a handheld system with a home console, allowing it to be played on the go or on the TV. This means that people with different tastes can browse through the massive selection of games available on the Nintendo Switch and easily find something for themselves.

One of the most popular genres on the Switch is the visual novel. These games typically focus on compelling stories that can be influenced by your choices rather than battling against enemies and searching for loot in an open world. For people who prefer more interactive and character-driven games, this genre is full of mesmerizing adventures, and most of them can be played from the comfort of your couch or in bed thanks to the Nintendo Switch.

Updated on October 9, 2024, by Kyle Chamaillard: The Nintendo Switch has become the home to many amazing and immersive visual novels, so we’ve decided to update this list to include even more essential titles for anyone looking for an engaging story.

33 Tavern Talk

Tavern Talk might look familiar on the surface, but its unique twists on the visual novel genre allow it to serve a delicious experience full of memorable characters and captivating storylines. If you’ve ever wanted to run a small café in a world inspired by fantasies like Dungeons and Dragons and Lord of the Rings, Tavern Talk has everything you need on its menu.

You play as a barista at the Wayfarer’s Inn, a hotspot for the local elves, dwarves, witches, and more to sit down after a long day of adventuring. Aside from hearing about your customer’s daily toils, you also have the responsibility of updating the quest board to give them something to do between drinks. If you like Coffee Talk but want to try something a bit different, Tavern Talk is the perfect destination.

32 Ace Attorney Investigations Collection

Most of the Ace Attorney games follow Phoenix Wright, a defense attorney who believes in justice and fights for his clients with passion and charisma. There are a few spin-offs that focus on other characters, though, including the Investigations titles which star Wright’s rival and ally Miles Edgeworth.

The duology has been remastered and brought to modern consoles with the Investigations Collection and is the first time that Ace Attorney Investigations 2: Prosecutor’s Gambit has been released outside of Japan. With enhanced graphics, art galleries, and even more bonuses, there shouldn’t be any objections to stepping into the shoes of a world-famous prosecutor.

31 The Charming Empire

The Charming Empire is a dating-based visual novel that is set in the Taisho-Roman era of Japan, shortly after the turn of the 20th century.

The game follows the main character, Amane Kosaka, who lives a quiet but happy life in the countryside until her brother, Soshi Amazaki, the current ruler, calls her to the bustling city. The game takes place in the palace, where Amane Kosaka learns that things are not what she expected.

30 Code: Realize ~Guardian Of Rebirth~

The Code: Realize series features many games, but this one stands out because of its charming setting and characters. You play as Cardia, an amnesiac woman living in an abandoned mansion under her father’s orders, who forbids her from leaving.

Soon enough, Cardia’s father disappears, and her life turns upside down. Cardia meets a series of unique and curious characters based on historical and literal figures, such as Victor Frankenstein and Count Saint-Germain. Each romantic interest is well-written and likable, with distinct personalities, and the game features branching paths, making it an ideal otome visual novel.

29 Collar X Malice

Though Collar X Malice may seem like your standard otome romance game at first, it has a lot more to offer than that, which makes it stand out from the crowd. You play as a police officer who has been attacked and ends up with a poison-filled collar around her neck. The story follows the investigation into this phenomenon, as explored by five former — and handsome — officers.

Where Collar X Malice excels is in its writing and mystery. As you play through each route, you learn more about a series of mass murders and slowly inch closer to unraveling them. It’s a darker take on the romance visual novel genre, with a delicious helping of mystery and some fun minigames as well.

28 Digimon Survive

Digimon Survive is the first game in the long-running series to feature visual novel elements, and it works surprisingly well. It treads familiar ground by sending a group of young kids at camp into the world of Digimon, but its unique characters and darker story help it stand out from other games in the series.

You will spend the majority of your time talking to your friends and their Digimon, forming bonds that affect both the story and which digivolutions you will see. The visual novel aspects are separated by engaging turn-based battles that allow you to recruit more monsters for the team or face off against terrifying bosses to move the plot forward.

27 Neo Cab

From meeting new people to driving around the city at night, a cab driver’s life is never boring. That’s especially true for Lina, a driver for a company called Neo Cab who discovers that her friend has mysteriously disappeared and the only people who can help her are the ones in her backseat.

Throughout Neo Cab, you’ll talk to your passengers about their day, and possibly uncover clues about your friend’s whereabouts. While a heated debate about driverless cars occurs in the game’s foreground, you’ll need to do whatever it takes to uncover the truth, one fare at a time.

26 Florence

Florence is an excellent example of how effective shorter games can be at depicting an emotional and captivating narrative. At just under an hour long, you can easily beat it in a single session, but don’t be surprised if you’re absolutely absorbed by Florence’s story by the time credits begin to roll.

It’s best to describe Florence as a short graphic novel with plenty of puzzles and minigames to help put you in the shoes of the titular protagonist as she navigates love, life, and the other tribulations that come with your mid 20s. Florence spectacularly showcases the highs and lows of finding yourself and is bound to resonate with most who take the hour to complete it.

25 Steins;Gate Elite

Steins;Gate Elite is an enhanced version of the original Steins;Gate visual novel, and features unique innovations such as being animated, making it feel more like an interactive movie.

In Steins;Gate Elite, a group of college students discover a way to alter the past. You control the choices made by the main character, Okabe, which can greatly alter the game’s plot and lead to one of the multiple possible endings. Being fully animated and fully voiced, this game brings a new experience to an already beloved visual novel.

24 Coffee Talk

One of the more unique visual novels is Coffee Talk, which makes you the sole owner and barista of a café with the same name. You will interact with customers of varying fantasy backgrounds, including orcs, elves, and even mermaids, in a fictional version of Seattle.

Coffee Talk takes place over the course of two in-game weeks, letting you play through each day and interact with its many curious characters, all while learning about their lives and worries. The game boasts great visuals and chill vibes, making for a relaxing, albeit short, experience.

23 Spirit Hunter: Death Mark

Death Mark is a horror visual novel and is the first game in the Spirit Hunter series. While the story is told as a visual novel, you will also spend time solving puzzles and collecting items to complete the game.

In a Tokyo district called H City, something strange begins to happen. According to rumors, people are starting to get strange bite-like marks on their bodies shortly before they die. You play as an amnesiac detective on whom one of these marks has appeared, and it’s up to you to figure out the cause of this plague, restore your lost memories, and save yourself.

22 Tron: Identity

The world of Tron is undoubtedly cool, and it’s honestly surprising that there haven’t been more games set on the Grid. Developed by Mike Bithell, the creator of games like Thomas Was Alone and John Wick Hex, Tron: Identity is an immersive visual-novel experience you won’t want to unplug yourself from.

You play as a sentient program, known as Query, who is tasked with investigating a break-in that led to the theft of a valuable item. As you interrogate suspects and uncover clues, you’ll be forced to make crucial decisions that impact the story and determine which ending you receive.

21 Arcade Spirits

Arcade Spirits is a unique dating sim visual novel for anyone who loves video games. This game is set in an alternative version of history in which the video game crash in the 1980s never happened, and arcade games still reign supreme.

You get to create your own character to play as, and the options are varied and inclusive, even allowing you to choose your preferred pronouns. The game has you working at Funplex, a popular arcade with great staff and customers. The choices you make and relationships you build push the story forward, and could even decide the ultimate fate of Funplex.

20 Coffee Talk 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly

Like a good cup of coffee, some recipes don’t need to be changed if the product is already perfect. Coffee Talk 2 is a confident sequel that keeps most of the core mechanics of its predecessor like talking to customers and making them beverages and introduces a few quality-of-life improvements that make the experience even sweeter than before.

You’ll serve drinks to plenty of familiar faces from the original game, and a slew of new customers that fit right in with Coffee Talk’s fantastical yet relatable world. The soundtrack is just as good as the first one, and the lo-fi beats make the perfect background noise for this cozy, funny, and irresistible visual novel.

19 VA-11 Hall-A

VA-11 Hall-A is both a bartending simulator and a visual novel. Set in a dystopian future, you work as Jill, a bartender at the titular dive bar — pronounced Valhalla — where you serve up drinks and conversation.

Almost all of VA-11 Hall-A’s world-building comes from your conversations with your patrons. They do an excellent job at painting a portrait of themselves and the world they inhabit with words alone. When you’re not working, you can stop by the shops and use your tips to buy decor for your apartment, which, aside from being aesthetically pleasing, improves Jill’s mood and make her shifts easier. Just make sure you pay your rent.

18 Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries Of Honjo

If you would rather sit on the edge of your seat in terror instead of solving murder cases or deciding who to choose as a romantic partner, look no further than Paranormasight. This tense visual novel features incredibly memorable characters as they spiral toward the darkness lurking in their city and within themselves.

Paranormaight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo follows a group of strangers after they are gifted a deadly power. They can use their powers to take the souls of other people — including other Curse Bearers — and if anyone gathers enough, they can wish for anything they like. The game is full of twists, and fascinating puzzle mechanics that feel like they belong in a Kojima project.

17 Murder By Numbers

If you’ve ever wanted a game that fuses the fun characters and investigative elements from the Ace Attorney series with the relaxing nanograms from Picross, Murder by Numbers is the game for you. With a perfect balance of story and puzzles, Murder by Numbers is the perfect game to play before bed or during transit.

You play as Honor Mizrahi, an amateur detective who is paired up with an amnesiac robot known as SCOUT. Together, you’ll work on individual cases while figuring out SCOUT’s past and meeting memorable characters like Fran Tasia and Bobby Price. It also has an excellent soundtrack composed by Masakazu Sugimori from the Ace Attorney series.

16 Night In The Woods

Night in the Woods is slightly different as far as visual novels go because there is a lot of exploration and platforming in the game. That being said, it’s still more of a story and dialogue-based game than some others.

You play as a college dropout named Mae who recently returned to her hometown, the small and dying mining town of Possum Springs. But when Mae tries to reconnect with the friends she knew before she left for college, she realizes that maybe more has changed than she thought.

15 Dream Daddy

Dream Daddy is a dating sim visual novel in which you create your own single and ready-to-mingle dad who is new to the neighborhood with his daughter, Amanda.

There are dads for everyone in this game: Jock dads, goth dads, bad dads. You can even be the bad dad yourself by trying to romance a married dad. Each character has their own unique storyline, and your choices will determine if you get a happy ending.

14 Needy Streamer Overload

Needy Streamer Overload shows you what it’s like to be in a toxic relationship with a streamer of your own making. It’s a dark game covered in pastel and cutesy art, yet there’s no humor to be found anywhere.

This build-a-streamer visual novel tackles mental health and the darker side of streaming culture. As extreme as it’s presented, the game’s theme sparks a great discussion about the dehumanization of entertainers, no matter which ending you fall into.