Highlights
- Visual novels offer a break from action and horror games, providing a deep story experience with various gameplay mechanics and genre options.
- These PS5 visual novels cover different genres, including romance, horror, and comedy, with shorter and longer games available.
- Each visual novel on this list presents unique and engaging narratives, whether it's a futuristic detective story, a romance with multiple endings, or a surreal neo-noir about a chicken detective.
If you want to take a break from all the massive action and horror titles but still want a game with a deep story, then a visual novel may be just what you need. These games usually contain a story-focused experience with various gameplay mechanics and options to keep each playthrough from feeling stale.
These games cover a range of genres, like romance, horror, and even comedy. There are shorter visual novels that can be beaten in a few sittings and longer ones that can take a couple of weeks to reach the ending. If you are looking for the best PS5 visual novels available, these are the ones to check out as soon as possible.
Updated July 26, 2023, by Kyle Chamaillard:The PlayStation 5 has something for everyone, including an incredible range of visual novels for anyone looking to take a break from all the excellent triple-A titles also available. There are so many great choices that we've decided to update this list to include even more PS5 visual novels that are worth looking into while you wait for the next game from Insomniac or Naughty Dog.
20 Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness
If you're a fan of the Psycho-Pass anime or dystopian fiction, Mandatory Happiness has everything you need. It's set in a futuristic version of Tokyo, where every citizen is scanned for their criminal potential, and you'll play as several characters trying to hunt down a rogue AI that wants to euthanize part of the human population.
If you enjoy movies like Total Recall or Blade Runner and futuristic detective narratives, this game is for you. It also follows characters who don't appear in the anime, so you don't have to watch it to get in on the action. Like other visual novels, the choices you make will affect the narrative significantly.
19 Date-A-Live: Rio Reincarnation
This is a great visual novel to pick up, especially if you’ve seen the Date A Live anime. Rio Reincarnation contains three separate stories that let you interact with the girls from the series in all-new adventures. To save the world from lethal Spacequakes, you'll need to befriend the Spirits and teach them the power of love.
The game also has a heavy focus on romance, and there are multiple endings available that will change depending on which character you decide to romance. Seeing them all might be difficult, as there are over ten different characters to interact with and numerous dating events to witness.
18 Chicken Police: Paint It Red!
Developed by a Hungarian gaming studio, Chicken Police is pure visual novel gold. You play as a weathered, rooster-headed cop named Sonny Fetherland as he tries to uncover the truth behind the city of Clawville. There's romance, mystery, and a surprising amount of heart for a story about a man who is also a chicken.
Chicken Police boasts over eight hours of spoken dialogue, interrogation scenes, and more mysteries than you can crow at. It's a surreal experience, watching a dog tell a bird that he's off the force, but if you're into that kind of surrealism, this bizarre neo-noir may be exactly what you're looking for.
17 428: Shibuya Scramble
Unlike the other visual novels on this list, 428: Shibuya Scramble uses real actors and still images instead of animation to tell its unforgettably absurd story. It features five protagonists whose lives begin to intertwine after they all get sucked into the midst of an intriguing mystery.
You can play as them in any order you like, though progress will sometimes stop if you haven't advanced far enough in another character's story. You must also be careful because certain decisions can affect the other narratives for better or worse. Shibuya Scramble is simultaneously hilarious, surprising, and unlike anything else available on the PlayStation.
16 Doki Doki Literature Club Plus!
While Doki Doki Literature Club looks like a dating sim when you first boot it up, the game slowly transforms into a psychological horror game wrapped in a romantic guise. You'll start off trying to figure out which of the four girls you want to take out on a date, but will end up fearing for your life toward the end.
It only takes a couple of hours to beat the game, but it will likely stick with you for a long time afterward. Playing Doki Doki Literature Club is a mind-bending experience that subverts expectations and pushes the boundaries of the visual novel genre as far as they can go.
15 Song Of Memories
Song of Memories is a game about a seemingly utopian world that quickly falls into chaos due to a virus pandemic. At the same time, its heavy romance aspects and basic combat keep the story interesting. There is also a surprising amount of original music throughout the game that might get stuck in your head.
Although this visual novel has some combat, the mechanics are rather simple and designed to push the story forward. In a strange twist, you also have several AIs living in you that can kill the enemy through the power of song. Song of Memories is a medium-length novel that can be fully completed in around 12 hours.
14 World End Syndrome
World End Syndrome may not sound like it, but it is a dating sim and deals with quite a bit of high school life. The twist comes with the fact that students have started to die around the protagonist, and a legend says that corpses will soon start to rise back up from the dead.
The main attraction comes from how the gameplay unfolds; the game allows you to choose how to spend your day, which can greatly affect the story. It's up to you to figure out how you want to spend your day and slowly unlock all the different endings the game has to offer.
13 Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy
The first Ace Attorney game launched in the West in 2005, and since then, the series has become a staple in the visual novel world. Each game puts you in the shoes of a lawyer as they take on riveting murder cases, explore crime scenes, and object to anything that seems out of line.
It’s an especially great treat if you are someone who enjoys slowly unraveling mysteries but with a bit of comedy and anime camp thrown in the mix. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy comes with dozens of hours of gameplay and more cases than you can shake a stick at.
12 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
It's not uncommon for visual novels to feature more than one playable character, but 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim contains over a dozen high-school students with engaging stories and personalities. Aside from the gorgeous environments and character building, the game also contains real-time strategy battles between giant mecha and Kaijus.
A visual novel with RTS elements sounds strange, but 13 Sentinels balances the two so perfectly that they somehow feel like a natural fit. The battles might feel unnatural at first, but they're pretty fun once you understand the basics, and the story is so good that you'll want to clear them just to find out what happens next.
11 Root Letter
Root Letter is perfect for those who love a classic murder mystery. You return to your hometown after years of absence and use a series of letters written by a murder victim to unravel the cold case. The letters will have you looking at past events from the characters' lives to see new perspectives and keep you guessing about who the murderer could be.
This is another medium-sized visual novel that will only take around 12 hours to fully complete. It's perfect for those who need a good introduction to the dramatic storytelling of the genre. Its sequel, Root Film, is also available for the PlayStation and is just as good as its predecessor.
10 Hatoful Boyfriend
If you're looking for pure comedy, then try Hatoful Boyfriend, a dating sim that's just about as weird as it can get. Hatoful Boyfriend has you entering a new school that is primarily inhabited by birds. In this world, the human species is pretty much extinct, and you are one of the few surviving members.
While attending St. Pidgeonations, you will meet a wide cast of quirky birds that you can, of course, romance. As you play through the game, more characters and routes will unlock; each route takes around one hour to play through.
9 The House In Fata Morgana
Some could argue that The House in Fata Morgana is one of the best-written and most engaging visual novels ever made. There aren't any gameplay diversions like in Ace Attorney or 13 Sentinels, so if you just want to sit back and feel like you're reading a beautifully-animated book, this is the perfect choice for you.
The House in Fata Morgana tells a story about an amnesiac spirit that awakens at the titular location. She then looks back at the mansion's long history to try and remember her identity, witnessing events from 1603 to the late 2000s. It will take over 20 hours to finish Fata Morgana, but the story consistently finds new ways to surprise you and makes you want to keep reading until sunrise.
8 Danganronpa Trilogy
Danganronpa is one of the most well-known series of visual novels in the genre. In each game, you play as a student at a high-end high school who's been kidnapped by an evil teddy bear and forced to face off in a battle royale with other students.
The Danganronpa series elegantly combines horror and dark comedy, which is perfect for anyone who prefers quirky stories with a sprinkle of nihilism. The three main games are included in this pack so that you can enjoy the full story from start to finish, but there are spin-offs worth looking into if you want more Danganronpa in your life.
7 Kentucky Route Zero
If you're a fan of George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, you know what it feels like to wait a long time between entries. That's kind of what playing Kentucky Route Zero originally felt like when the first act dropped in 2013. It was so bizarre and fascinating that waiting for the next chapter was a test of patience, but the final act finally launched in 2020 and put a magnificent bow on one of the most thought-provoking adventures ever developed.
Containing a range of themes from loneliness to the impact of debt, Kentucky Route Zero can be heavy at times, but it's also full of hope and powerful character moments that shine through the darkness. All five acts are unique from one another, and continue to change the gameplay and introduce new characters to keep you hooked until the very end.
6 Ai: The Somnium Files
Launched in 2019, AI: The Somnium Files is equal parts Observer and Professor Layton. You'll solve mysteries, wander in an abandoned amusement park, hack into people's memories, and be menaced by your artificial eyeball. All in a day's work for Detective Kaname Date of the Advanced Brain Investigation Squad!
While the game didn't gain much traction when it first launched, it began rapidly increasing in popularity thanks to a cult following that is still growing in size. The game itself is going to take you around 25 hours to beat and 30 hours for those who want to complete all the extras. If you enjoy Somnium Files, a sequel launched in 2022 that continues the story in clever and surprising ways.
5 The Silver Case
The Silver Case is a game brought to you by legendary developer Suda51. The game was originally published in 1999 and revolves around a serial murder case. You will need to look into the game world's perplexing 24 wards to unravel the puzzle and eventually capture the murderer.
The victims aren't the only ones you need to worry about, however. The closer you get to the case, the more you put yourself in danger. The Silver Case is another medium-sized visual novel that will take you around 14 hours to beat with a couple of hours of extras.
4 Punch Line
Punch Line is an outrageous game that is fueled by over-the-top powers and raunchy comedy. You have been separated from your body and wind up haunting a house full of girls while you try to figure out just what happened to you. You must explore the apartment and upgrade your ghostly abilities to finally unlock the power to return to your body.
It's based on the anime of the same name but features a special ending to keep older fans guessing. The game will take you only around 12 hours to beat, making this a perfect short title for those looking for a sillier brand of interactive comedy.
3 Steins; Gate Series
Steins; Gate is a story fueled by pure science fiction. You play as a scientist who has discovered time travel and uses this power to unravel interesting events. This, of course, doesn't go as planned as messing with the past can have harsh implications for the future.
The games have become a hit and are some of the most popular visual novels in the world, to the point where it even has its own anime adaptations and several spin-offs. It's a bit of a commitment to get through all the chapters, but it's worth it for the excellent twists and turns along the way.
2 Code: Realize - Bouquet Of Rainbows
Code: Realize - Bouquet of Rainbows comes with two of the first games in the Code Realize series. The game revolves around a young lady who has been ostracized by her community, although this isn't entirely without cause. After all, her touch has the power to kill. Still, she's rescued by a bunch of characters from history and fiction, like the master thief Arsene Lupin.
With few memories of her past, you'll help her find the right man and uncover the mystery surrounding her life. Every route in the Code: Realize games takes around 12 hours to beat; to experience the whole story, you will need to pay for around 50 hours.
1 Zero Escape: The Nonary Games
Zero Escape: The Nonary Games is a dark visual novel series that focuses on a group of strangers forced to play a game of life or death. Each game focuses on a roster of new and returning characters that must make critical decisions and escape deadly rooms to make it out in one piece. All three games feature multiple endings that help uncover the truth behind these strange events.
The Zero Escape games are not for the light of heart — each one features gruesome deaths, strong language, and tense scenes between characters. But there is also a decent amount of humor and heart to balance out the experience, which is one worth taking whether you've played visual novels before or are still looking for the right one to capture your attention.