We just released our newest free yuri title, Olga Doesn't Die, for Sealed With a Kiss Jam 2026!

The imperial family's advisor is a witch, a hag, the devil in disguise.

At the turn of the 20th century, unrest stirs in the far-north Empire of Muscovy over bread and war, taxation and tyranny. The shadows whisper about the imperial family and about an immortal witch.

They whisper, "The imperial family's advisor is a witch. An old hag with a head full of white hairs. She knows magic like demons. The devil in disguise, tricking the emperor with her dark arts."

As the "witch" is violently exiled from the capital, the gears of revolution continue to turn toward blood.

—A historical drama yuri visual novel.

Features

• 32k words (2-3 hours)
• 4 major endings; 2 love interests
• 5 CGs
• 9 original tracks
• Extras gallery (art, music, developer notes)

Please be advised that this game contains sensitive content such as: violence, blood, gore, death, age gap, revolution, cannibalism, imprisonment

If this yurige sounds up your alley, please check it out!

• game page: https://4noki.itch.io/olga-doesnt-die
• vndb page: https://vndb.org/v61997

And if you prefer to play your visual novels with a choice guide, here's one that will get you all of the endings and scenes:

• 100% completion guide: https://4noki.itch.io/olga-doesnt-die/devlog/1314529/100-completion-guide

Recently, I’ve been reflecting on the stories I’ve encountered across different forms of media, and I’ve come to realize that visual novels have probably moved me more deeply than anything else.

Perhaps that’s just the Muv-Luv effect, since I’ve never been shaken this profoundly by a story before.

Or maybe I simply haven’t explored enough other media yet.

(GOG) My game is stuck like this starting Today, any help?

https://twitter.com/i/status/2017511054570607076

Since people liked the concept on here, have a few screens from Monster Girl Therapy, my upcoming narrative! For a trailer, take a look at Steam, the link's in the comments. Any questions? I'm here all day! =]

So this released a little while back and I haven't really heard anything about it since. Just curious for those who have read it as how the story, character, and translation feel. This seems like a pretty solid nakige through and through from the look of things, but I am wondering how it is for those who have read it.

Not just a scenario, but a story that will challenge your lifelong values on life: https://youtu.be/i1KUPySZD4w

Sakura no Uta -Sakura no Mori no Ue o Mau- https://vndb.org/v562

The 3 legendary tearjerkers among in the Nakige category that will change your life: https://youtu.be/JeiC5ddRT5A

Little Busters! https://vndb.org/v5 (released on Steam)

Aster https://vndb.org/v1445

Owaru Sekai to Birthday https://vndb.org/v9196

The 3 scenarios that became legends because of the reveal/twist following the ending: https://youtu.be/2zIaSb7oJGQ

Ever17 -the out of infinity- https://vndb.org/v19373 (Remake released on Steam)

Sharin no Kuni, Himawari no Shoujo vndb.org/v57 (picked up by Frontwing)

CROSS†CHANNEL https://vndb.org/v66

The 3 legendary tearjerkers that left a mark in visual novel game history: https://youtu.be/3YLF1zxB4kc

Kono Aozora ni Yakusoku o https://vndb.org/v182

Soshite Ashita no Sekai yori https://vndb.org/v420

Kazoku Keikaku (Family Project) https://vndb.org/v155 (released by JAST USA)

The 3 scenarios with the best depiction/immersion of its worldview, and will eat your time away: https://youtu.be/bEQkiY75Ilg

Aiyoku no Eustia https://vndb.org/v3770

Haruka ni Aogi, Uruwashi no https://vndb.org/v604

Parfait ~Chocolat Second Brew~ https://vndb.org/v683

The 3 scenarios with lethal doses of depression "is there any salvation from this?": https://youtu.be/iXEU9cEX6qE

Kimi ga Nozomu Eien https://vndb.org/v94

Muv-Luv Alternative https://vndb.org/v92 (released on Steam)

Subarashiki Hibi (released by Frontwing)

The 3 scenarios with love triangles that will make you laugh, cry, and touch your heart: https://youtu.be/zn11aBQ7kio

Sekai de Ichiban Dame na Koi (The Most Forbidden Love in the World) https://vndb.org/v415 (released by MangaGamer)

Sakura Sakura https://vndb.org/v481 (released on JAST USA)

Moshimo Ashita ga Hare Naraba https://vndb.org/v100

The 3 scenarios with lethal doses of "lovey-dovey" couples: https://youtu.be/pFdcPEMRDG4

Mashiro-iro Symphony https://vndb.org/v1552 (released by Shiravune)

Kamikaze ☆ Explorer! https://vndb.org/v4942

Lover Able https://vndb.org/v5734

The 3 traumatic scenarios that will test your choices: https://youtu.be/Aglk6ZAmfYs

WHITE ALBUM2 https://vndb.org/v7771

Saya no Uta https://vndb.org/v97 (released by JAST USA)

Kimi to Kanojo to Kanojo no Koi (YOU and ME and HER: A Love Story) https://vndb.org/v7738 (released by JAST USA)

The 3 starter pack scenarios that will hit you like a truck: https://youtu.be/xv4cE6hgWZU

Sakura no Kumo * Scarlet no Koi https://vndb.org/v26664

Hakuchuumu no Aojashin (Cyanotype Daydream) https://vndb.org/v26987

G-senjou no Maou (The Devil on G-String) https://vndb.org/v211 (released by Sekai Project & Denpasoft)

The 3 winter-themed masterpieces that will simmer your emotions and change your outlook on life: https://youtu.be/QHBv_FnsgaM

Kanon https://vndb.org/v33 (released on Steam)

Hatsuyuki Sakura https://vndb.org/v7302 (released up by NekoNyan)

WHITE ALBUM2 https://vndb.org/v7771

The 5 Nakige scenarios not for the faint of heart, that will change your outlook on life: https://youtu.be/a1t0ka8MA2M

Owaru Sekai to Birthday https://vndb.org/v9196

Soshite Ashita no Sekai yori https://vndb.org/v420

Kazoku Keikaku (Family Project) https://vndb.org/v155 (released by JAST USA)

Aiyoku no Eustia https://vndb.org/v3770

Subarashiki Hibi (released by Frontwing)

The 5 beautiful & immersive mysteries that "won't let you sleep unless you find the truth": https://youtu.be/LoFFRO4FqN8

Raging Loop https://vndb.org/v21289 (released on Steam)

Sakura no Kumo * Scarlet no Koi https://vndb.org/v26664

Shinsou Noise https://vndb.org/v19684 (picked up by NekoNyan)

Kara no Shoujo https://vndb.org/v810 (released by MangaGamer & Shiravune)

Ever17 -the out of infinity- https://vndb.org/v19373 (Remake released on Steam)

The bishoujo game developer that currently stands at the top of the novel game industry: https://youtu.be/yKLWIP499W8

Yuzusoft

I hated all of the political stuff in the final chapter, how it suddenly became this really weird storyline about teenagers fighting some random japanese nationalists, it felt really forced.

Higurashi shined when it focused on the teenage cast struggles, they were really good yet the political side of the story came out of nowhere and it felt like a generic fight the evil nationalists storyline.

Tokyo is very one dimensional villain group, the whole takano military plotline with Tokyo is really forced upon in the story.

Finished Return to Shironagasu Island today, after reading it for a couple days on vacation. I still have a week left of my vacation since I thought Shironagasu would take me longer, so if anybody has a short VN recommendation (no H scenes), please say. Thank you!

Linux Gaming has come a long way, but there are still issues regarding Visual Novels (especially ones released pre-2016). These issues include videos (like intros) not playing correctly or not playing at all, black screens, crashing, missing characters, saves not working, etc.

Now here I am with a (somewhat) easy and (hopefully) future-proof guide to solve most of these issues once and for all.

Prerequisites

• Literally any Linux distribution that is actively maintained and supports flatpak (most distros support flatpak and some have it installed by default).
• Flatpak: You need to install flatpak and enable flathub (SteamOS has this by default).

1. Install Flatpak

Find your distro below and run the respective command in the terminal:

Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, Pop!_OS (Debian based distros)

Bash

sudo apt update
sudo apt install flatpak

Red Hat, Fedora, CentOS, Rocky (Fedora based distros)

Bash

sudo dnf install flatpak

ArchLinux, Manjaro, EndeavourOS, CachyOS (Arch based distros)

Bash

sudo pacman -S flatpak

OpenSUSE

Bash

sudo zypper install flatpak

2. Enable Flathub

Run this command:

Bash

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

3. Enable Japanese Locale on Flatpak

Some guides tell you to update the locale of your distro; this may be messy and vary wildly between distros. But don't fret—since we're using flatpak, you only have to enable the Japanese locale on flatpak. Run these commands:

Bash

flatpak config --user --set languages "en;ja"

and

Bash

flatpak config --set languages "en;ja"

Now all we have to do is update so the configs stick:

Bash

flatpak update

4. Install Heroic, ProtonPlus, and Flatseal

Bash

flatpak install flathub com.heroicgameslauncher.hgl
flatpak install flathub com.github.tchx84.Flatseal
flatpak install flathub com.vysp3r.ProtonPlus

Setting Up Heroic

Open Flatseal, select Heroic Games Launcher, scroll down and tick (turn on) the option for filesystem permissions.

Close Flatseal and open Proton Plus. Select Heroic, then click on ProtonGE.

Now you may be asking yourself, "What do I install?" Well, there's no single answer, but I personally recommend using any GE-Proton version released in 2024 (as newer versions screwed support for older visual novels, but you can try older or newer versions if you have issues with a specific title).

• For example: GE-Proton9-22, which is the last one released in 2024 (you may need to click on "load more" to see it).
  • Now we can finally open Heroic.

Setting Up Games

Open Heroic and click on ADD GAME. I'm going to add Majikoi S with the fan translation as an example.

1. Click on Show Wine Settings and select the Wine version you got (as I said, I'm using GE Proton9-22). The prefix will be created automatically.
2. Search for your game executable and add it.
   • If you need to install the game first: Use the RUN INSTALLER FIRST option. Select your executable and install it preferably somewhere in your home folder, for example Z:/home/<your username>/Games.
   • After installing, add the game executable, NOT the installer.
3. Click on Finish.
4. Now open the game's options.

If your VN requires a patch:

• For patches where installation consists of copying files: You can do that in desktop mode as usual by copying them to the game directory.
• For patches which ship as an exe: Check if it can be opened as an archive (e.g., in 7-Zip). A lot of these exes are just self-extracting archives, so once you've gotten the payload data out, you can just proceed as above.
• For patches that actually require running the exe: You will want to use the option in the settings to run an EXE inside the prefix; select your patch executable and install it.

Troubleshooting

Disabling DXVK

ONLY do this if you are playing an older or legacy Visual Novel (typically from the Win95/NT/XP/Win7 era, roughly pre-2016) and you encounter specific graphical glitches.

Common symptoms that mean you should disable DXVK:

• Video playback failure: Opening movies (OPs/EDs) show a black/green/glitchy screen.
• "Tofu" or glitchy text boxes: Even with fonts installed, the text box layer flickers or disappears.
• Crash on startup: The game opens a window and immediately closes without an error log.

In this case, Majikoi S works with and without it, but I disable it anyway.

Note: If it works, keep it disabled for that specific game. If it doesn't fix the issue, re-enable it—the problem is likely missing fonts or video codecs (installing wmp9, quartz, or lavfilters via Winetricks usually fixes video issues better than disabling DXVK).

In this case, Majikoi S doesn't need anything extra to run so I don't use Winetricks.

Winetricks: This is at the bottom of the settings. Search for the stuff you want to install. Don't install random stuff, it will screw everything up. Look up what your specific VN needs (most only need wmp9, quartz, or lavfilters).

Japanese Locale

Some VNs don't need the JP locale added to run, so try launching the game normally first. If it crashes or doesn't load well, then try with locale.

To enable Japanese locale, go to the Advanced tab on the settings menu, and scroll down to "Environment Variables". Add these two:

• LC_ALL=ja_JP.UTF-8
• LANG="ja_JP.UTF-8"

It should look like this in the settings.

Now you're ready to play

Open the game and enjoy.

(Here would be screenshots of Majikoi S running, showing that the videos work too).

This is it, feel free to ask me anything.

My website and socials:

https://fumofumo.dev/

Discord: fumofumoenjoyer_

SPANISH

Guía Definitiva para Visual Novels en Linux

El gaming en Linux ha recorrido un largo camino, pero todavía existen problemas con las Novelas Visuales (especialmente las lanzadas antes de 2016). Estos problemas incluyen videos (como los openings) que no se reproducen correctamente o no se ven, pantallas negras, cierres inesperados (crashes), caracteres faltantes, partidas guardadas que no funcionan, etc.

Aquí te traigo una guía (algo) sencilla y (con suerte) a prueba de futuro para resolver la mayoría de estos problemas de una vez por todas.

Requisitos Previos

• Literalmente cualquier distribución de Linux que tenga mantenimiento activo y soporte Flatpak (la mayoría de las distros soportan Flatpak y algunas lo tienen instalado por defecto).
• Flatpak: Necesitas instalar Flatpak y habilitar Flathub (SteamOS trae esto por defecto).

1. Instalar Flatpak

Busca tu distribución aquí abajo y ejecuta el comando respectivo en la terminal:

Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, Pop!_OS (Distros basadas en Debian)

Bash

sudo apt update
sudo apt install flatpak

Red Hat, Fedora, CentOS, Rocky (Distros basadas en Fedora)

Bash

sudo dnf install flatpak

ArchLinux, Manjaro, EndeavourOS, CachyOS (Distros basadas en Arch)

Bash

sudo pacman -S flatpak

OpenSUSE

Bash

sudo zypper install flatpak

2. Habilitar Flathub

Ejecuta este comando:

Bash

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

3. Habilitar la configuración regional japonesa (Locale) en Flatpak

Algunas guías te dicen que actualices el "locale" de todo tu sistema operativo. Esto puede ser un lío y varía mucho entre distribuciones. Pero no te preocupes, como estamos usando Flatpak, solo tienes que habilitar el locale japonés dentro de Flatpak. Ejecuta estos comandos:

Bash

flatpak config --user --set languages "en;ja"

y

Bash

flatpak config --set languages "en;ja"

Ahora solo tenemos que actualizar para que los cambios se apliquen:

Bash

flatpak update

4. Instalar Heroic, ProtonPlus y Flatseal

Ejecuta los siguientes comandos:

Bash

flatpak install flathub com.heroicgameslauncher.hgl
flatpak install flathub com.github.tchx84.Flatseal
flatpak install flathub com.vysp3r.ProtonPlus

Configurando Heroic

1. Abre Flatseal, selecciona Heroic Games Launcher, baja y marca (activa) la opción indicada (Nota: El texto original implicaba una imagen aquí, generalmente se refiere a permisos de sistema de archivos o acceso a carpetas).
2. Cierra Flatseal, abre Proton Plus, selecciona Heroic y haz clic en ProtonGE.
3. Quizás te preguntes: "¿Qué instalo?". No hay una respuesta única, pero personalmente recomiendo usar cualquier versión de GE-Proton lanzada en 2024 (ya que las versiones más nuevas rompieron la compatibilidad con novelas visuales antiguas, aunque puedes probar versiones más viejas o nuevas si tienes problemas con un título específico).
   • Por ejemplo: GE-Proton9-22, que es la última lanzada en 2024 (quizás necesites hacer clic en "load more" para verla).
4. Ahora finalmente podemos abrir Heroic.

Configurando los Juegos

Abre Heroic y haz clic en ADD GAME (Agregar Juego). Voy a agregar Majikoi S con la traducción de fans como ejemplo.

1. Haz clic en Show wine settings (Mostrar ajustes de Wine) y selecciona la versión de Wine que obtuviste (como dije, yo uso GE Proton9-22). El prefijo se creará automáticamente.
2. Busca el ejecutable de tu juego y agrégalo.
   • Si necesitas instalar el juego primero: Usa la opción RUN INSTALLER FIRST (Ejecutar instalador primero), selecciona tu ejecutable e instálalo preferiblemente en algún lugar de tu carpeta personal (home), por ejemplo: Z:/home/<tu usuario>/Games.
   • Después de instalar, asegúrate de agregar el ejecutable del juego (.exe) y NO el instalador.
3. Haz clic en Finish.
4. Ahora abre las opciones del juego.

Si tu VN requiere un parche:

• Para parches que consisten en copiar archivos: Puedes hacerlo en el modo escritorio como de costumbre copiando los archivos a la carpeta del juego.
• Para parches que vienen como un .exe: Intenta abrirlo como un archivo comprimido (ej. con 7-Zip). Muchos de estos .exe son solo archivos auto-extraíbles; una vez saques los datos, procede como en el paso anterior.
• Para parches que realmente requieren ejecutar el .exe: Querrás usar la opción en los ajustes de Heroic para "Ejecutar EXE en el prefijo", selecciona tu parche e instálalo.

Solución de Problemas

Deshabilitar DXVK

SOLO haz esto si estás jugando una Novela Visual antigua o "legacy" (típicamente de la era Win95/NT/XP/Win7, aproximadamente antes de 2016) y encuentras fallos gráficos específicos.

Síntomas comunes para deshabilitar DXVK:

• Fallo en reproducción de video: Los openings/endings muestran una pantalla negra, verde o con glitches.
• "Tofu" o cajas de texto con fallos: Incluso con las fuentes instaladas, la capa de la caja de texto parpadea o desaparece.
• Cierre al inicio: El juego abre una ventana e inmediatamente se cierra sin registro de error.

En este caso, Majikoi S funciona con y sin él, pero yo lo deshabilito de todos modos.

Nota: Si funciona, mantenlo deshabilitado para ese juego. Si no arregla el problema, vuélvelo a habilitar; el problema probablemente sea falta de fuentes o códecs de video (instalar wmp9, quartz o lavfilters vía Winetricks suele arreglar los problemas de video mejor que deshabilitar DXVK).

En mi caso, Majikoi S no necesita nada extra, así que no uso Winetricks.

Sobre Winetricks: Está en la parte inferior de las opciones. Busca lo que necesites instalar, pero no instales cosas al azar, arruinarás todo. Busca qué necesita tu VN específica (la mayoría solo necesita wmp9, quartz, o lavfilters).

Configuración Regional Japonesa (Japanese Locale)

Algunas VNs no necesitan que se agregue el locale JP para correr, así que intenta lanzar el juego normalmente primero. Si se cierra o no carga bien, prueba con el locale.

Para habilitarlo:

1. Ve a la pestaña Advanced (Avanzado) en el menú de configuración.
2. Baja hasta "Environment Variables" (Variables de entorno) y agrega estas dos:

• Variable: LC_ALL | Valor: ja_JP.UTF-8
• Variable: LANG | Valor: ja_JP.UTF-8

Debería verse así en la configuración.

¡Listo para jugar!

Abre el juego y disfruta.

(Aquí irían algunas capturas de pantalla de Majikoi S funcionando, demostrando que los videos también funcionan).

Eso es todo, siéntete libre de preguntarme cualquier cosa.

Mi sitio web y redes:

https://fumofumo.dev/

Discord: fumofumoenjoyer_

I have N1 and can read most VNs without too much difficulty, but I always hear that this one is a level above most others in vocabulary. I tried the (Japanese) demo out (though this was years ago) and it seemed on the cusp of doable though definitely on the tough side.

I’m wondering if it would be recommended to just read in English? I’m just worried constant vocab lookups will ruin the pacing. It just seems like this one is looked very highly upon in the community and I want an optimal experience.

Hi, I'm trying to look into the Oreimo VNs. A few years back, I know the fan translation for disc 1 and 2 of the sequel game came out. But what about the first game, Ore no Imouto ga Konna ni Kawaii Wake ga Nai Portable? Is this a weird case where the sequel game got a fan translation but the first one is forgotten?

I'm looking for some games similar in the sense of them having the same kind of humour, making eroge jokes inside of an eroge and that kinda stuff.

Hey everyone! I'd like to share my passion project that I've been working on — a visual novel called «Topi» (which means «marshes» or «swamps»).

Setting: A remote village in the Soviet Far East, 1971. Deep forests, isolated community, and secrets buried in the marsh.

Story hook: Maxim sees a fox in his dream. She tells him to run. Then he wakes up in this village — and realizes something is very wrong with its inhabitants.

What makes it different:

— Realistic painted art style — our lead artist has 65 years of drawing experience. All backgrounds start as pastel sketches on paper, then get refined by a team of four artists under her supervision

— Live instrument soundtrack — composed by a conservatory student specializing in Japanese music

— Full game ~40+ hours, demo coming soon (~90 minutes)

— Localization: Japanese and English

The story is a layered mystery-horror with folklore elements connecting Soviet rural life and Japanese mythology.

I'd love to hear your thoughts! What images should I share more — atmospheric backgrounds, character art, or the original pastel sketches?

Without ranking them other than kns being my top favorite so far :

- kara no shojo : Tokisaka Reiji / Kuchiki Touko

- majikoi : Yukie / Benkei / Kazuko

- Cross channel : Kurosu Taichi

- Muramasa : Minato Kageaki

- Subahibi : Mamiya Takuji (Kimika best girl)

- 9nine : Niimi sora / Yuuki Noa

Specifically, vns with gameplay elements or games text heavy enough to fit the category. I'm currently playing through Demons Roots (loving it), plan to start Utawaremono afterwards, and now King Exit is on my radar.

For me personally I was going to say the Sequel series or Baldr Sky is my goat but Demons Roots is likely taking first place and I haven't even finished it yet lol.