Top 10 Free-To-Play Visual Novel App Games to Indulge With

Visual Novel App Games

Unlike the Role-Playing games that we love today, Visual novels are a special type of story-based app games that are mainly designed for players who love to deep dive into the actual plot rather than engaging themselves in some heavy and action-packed battles or adventure. As the term suggests, visual novels are semi-interactive fiction that makes you feel like exploring an animated comic book. The best part about playing a visual novel is that most of them come with multiple endings. Most of the time, gamers will come across some critical decision-making moments that will change the entire progress of the story.

Another common element that you can see in most visual novels is romance. The genre become extremely popular in Japan which gave birth to some popular titles. Some of which were even adapted into other media franchises like anime, movies, and manga. While most of the visual novels today are dominating the PC platform via Steam, there are some decent titles that are made available on mobile devices. Today, we are listing down 10 of the best free-to-play visual novel app games that you should definitely add to your mobile.

Everlasting Summer

Everlasting Summer is one of the visual novel apps developed by the Soviet Games. Generally, it follows the story of a guy named Semyon who is seemingly puzzled by his weird and recurring dream. It was one winter evening when he rides a bus and fell asleep only to find out that he is transported into another timeline. He woke up in an unknown place and was greeted by a beautiful summer. Apparently, Semyon was transported back in time and finds himself in an old Pioneer camp in Russia.

Just like your typical visual novel, Semyon will come across various characters (mostly female characters) that whom he can interact. Each character comes with a different personality and it is all up to the player to decide which one to befriend and which one to develop a romantic relationship with. The game features a point system in which your decision will either add or subtract points for the girls based on the choices you made. There are crucial phases where you need to make critical decisions and choose which path you want to take. The ending will vary depending on the number of points the character earned throughout the game. What really makes Everlasting Summer special is the mystery plot itself. Not to mention the beautiful visuals that are accompanied by a well-fitting piece of soothing music to set the game’s enigmatic atmosphere.

Download Everlasting Summer: Android / iOS

Mysterious Forum and 7 Rumors

Developed by Entabridge Company, Mysterious Forum and 7 Rumors is a well-acclaimed visual novel. Unlike common visual novel themes that mostly centered around romance and drama, Mysterious Forum and 7 Rumors managed to incorporate both mystery and horror. I can personally describe this visual novel as a modern take on the classic text-based adventure games as it utilizes the so-called “Chat stories” format.

The game follows the story of three students in a high school newspaper club, working to unravel local mysteries posted to Mysterious Forum which are initially referred to as rumors. Each chapter follows the basic formula of seeing a post, investigating the mystery, and posting the club’s findings afterward. The very first case revolves around a murderous spirit who texts pictures of her getting closer and closer to her victim, face unseen until she’s close enough for the victim to see her eyes and kill them. This is a multiple-choice visual novel and the endings will vary depending on the decisions you made. Will you be brave and smart enough to solve these mysteries?

Download Mysterious Forum and 7 Rumors: Android / iOS

The Letter

Yangyang Mobile described this game as a Scary Horror Choice Visual Novel game and it seems like this is not a bold claim at all. The Letter follows the story of Isabella, a young Filipina real-estate agent who lives in England. During the sale of a haunted mansion, she finds a bloody chain letter that tells her she has to share it with five other people. A familiar plot that quickly reminds us of movies like The Ring. The focus of the story is much more on the characters than the plot. Character choices affect multiple perspectives, branching paths, and character relationships.

Aside from the typical multiple-choice events in the game, you will also come across some Quicktime events especially when the main character finds herself in some life-threatening situations. The Letter is a well-crafted visual novel that brings you the right amount of horror and suspense. It is also an absolute visual delight that treats players with beautiful yet enigmatic and eerie visuals. The game is also accompanied by a well-fitting piece of scary music that effectively heightens the tension in all the horror sequences in the game. If you are up for another scary visual novel experience, this game is a perfect fit.

Download The Letter: Android / iOS

If My Heart Had Wings

Interestingly, If My Heart Had Wings was originally released by Pulltop (Willplus) as an eroge visual novel (an erotic video game). However, all the sexual content of the novel was intentionally removed when the game was made globally available by MoeNovel in 2013. The game follows the story of Aoi Minase who seemingly lost his direction in life. In an attempt to restore his old self and seek inspiration, he decided to move back to his hometown – the town of Kazegaura.

Here, he will meet all his old friends and companions. The player will interact with various characters including Katori, Ageha, and Amane. Together, they will attempt to restore their old Soaring Club to ride the so-called Morning Glory, a phantom cloud carried on the wind that blows across Aoi’s beloved hometown. Like any other visual novel, the game also comes with multiple endings based on the choices you made throughout the story. It is also interesting to note that this game can be played even without an internet connection. As long as you have downloaded all the required data, you can freely explore the story anytime and anywhere you want. Not to mention that this game features beautiful anime-style characters that you will surely adore.

Download If My Heart Had Wings: Android

The Arcana: The Mystic Romance

Unlike most visual novels in this list, The Arcana: The Mystic Romance comes with a western-style animation. The game embarks you in a magical adventure as it wonderfully merges both fantasy and romance. The game takes you to the fictional world of Vesuvia where you play the role of a young prodigy who knows how to read tarot cards. Due to your incredible skill, you were invited to the Palace to uncover the mystery of some unsolved murders. Here, you will encounter major characters including Arsa, Nadia, Julian, Muriel, Portia, and Lucio. Each character has many hidden secrets that you will discover through your choices. From here, you must carefully decide who will you choose to love and who will you choose to condemn.

Once inside The Arcana, you can roleplay in up to 21 unique otome-inspired stories taken from the 21 Major Arcana tarot cards. To top it all off, the game allows players to play multiple character paths simultaneously. Dorian mainly described this visual novel as an LGBT-friendly novel, an inclusive interactive fiction made for players of all sexual orientations & genders and gives gamers the freedom to build their own love story based on what their hearts truly desire.

Download The Arcana: The Mystic Romance: Android / iOS

Gacha Memories

If you are familiar with Japanese Role-playing games, you should know that the Gacha mechanic is one of the most common elements in the game. Gacha works like a toy-vending machine where players can obtain unique characters that are randomly generated by the system. Gacha Memories by Lunime Games is a spin-off to Gacha World, an anime-styled adventure game. Unlike its predecessor, Gacha Memories is designed to work as a visual novel that will focus more on the story rather than Gacha World’s signature gameplay and combat system.

In this visual novel, you play the role of the Gacha Summoner who decided to live peacefully as a normal being on Earth. However, mysterious disappearances started to occur and you must, once again, unleash your power to save the world from a possible catastrophe. Here, you will meet different characters from the Luniverse and you must choose your own adventure. Depending on the choices you made, the game comes with multiple interesting endings that are absolutely worth exploring. The game features the signature anime-style characters of Lunime and the game also works perfectly even without an Internet connection. If you are up for some amazing magical adventure, feel free to explore this visual novel and see what else this game has to offer.

Download Gacha Memories: Android / iOS

Dangerous Fellows

Otome is a visual novel that is mainly targeted toward women audience. It often features a main female character with multiple men to interact with. Most otome games will mainly focus on romance but Dangerous Fellows took an entirely different approach. The game is just one of the many visual novels developed by StoryTaco. Instead of the formulaic romance and drama plot, Dangerous Fellows takes you to a horror survival world. An outbreak suddenly turned humans into zombies and you happened to be one of the lucky survivors of this nightmarish catastrophe.

Your character was saved by five attractive strangers and that’s where your journey will take place. The game brilliantly combines horror elements and a pinch of romance to the story. Your character will try her best to survive the outbreak while trying to establish a good friendly and romantic relationship with any of the five main male characters. It also comes with multiple endings depending on the choices you made in the game and based on which character you want to be close with. The game also features some customization element that allows you to make various outfits for your character.

Download Dangerous Fellows: Android /iOS

Stellaren

Stellaren by ninedux is yet another unique visual novel. This time, the game takes you on an action-packed Sci-fi adventure. The story will take place in the year 2340 and follows the journey of M, a spaceship mechanic, and his epic journey to save the human race. It features a major conflict between the corrupt government and the colonists who are being treated as lower-class citizens. Unlike most visual novel games, Stellaren doesn’t feature many characters and the story is, somehow, linear in progression.

The game will merely focus on M and N’s relationship and it comes with three possible endings driven by accumulating decision points. Stellaran comes with decent longevity with more than 50 amazing chapters to explore. What really makes the game unique are the minigames that you will encounter in the process. These minigames often involve action-packed shooter adventures that will surely put your skills to a test. It is also interesting to note that the free version of this game gives you full access. It allows you to unlock all the chapters without the need to purchase anything. However, the free version is heavily supported by advertisements that you can only remove by purchasing the Pro version.

Download Stellaren: Android

Carpe Diem

Carpe Diem is another free-to-play visual novel that is absolutely worth exploring. Developed and published by Moonlit Works, Carpe Diem is a relatively short yet super intriguing visual novel. It follows the story of Jung, a young guy who goes out on a date with a girl named Ai. Unlike traditional visual novel games, Carpe Diem doesn’t offer a series of multiple choices. Instead, it offers one decision-making moment and it only comes with one fixed ending. Despite this, the story of the game is unique and well-crafted and it also conveys a great message.

The only decision you make in this game is to choose where you want to take Ai on your first date. You can choose to take her to a mall, a park, or an arcade. Interestingly, despite choosing the first location, the rest will still be explored as you progress. In this game, Ai is described as a perfect girl that every man dreams of. However, the only problem is that Ai is simply a product of technology and doesn’t really exist in real life. Generally, Carpe Diem is a simple and short visual novel yet delivers a well-crafted story and powerful message.

Download Carpe Diem: Android

Argo’s Choice

Buff Studio is known for its extensive collection of visual novels and Argo’s Choice is just one of them. The game is a crime and mystery-related visual novel that tells an interactive story of various characters in an episodic and chatting manner. Since the game is utilizing the “Chat Story” format, it feels like you are exploring a modern text-based adventure game. It is also important to mention that Argo’s Choice is a spin-off to Buff Studio’s 7Days, a mystery visual novel. Argo is one of the main characters in 7Days and Argo’s Choice will provide more depth to his character.

Here, the fate of Argo will depend on the choices you make. It comes with multiple endings and will introduce you to multiple interesting characters. There are also some hidden stories to explore which gives this visual novel a decent replay value and longevity. The game also features stunning noir-inspired visuals that are also accompanied by a well-fitting piece of music to set the right mood. If you are up for some epic crime-solving mysteries, Argo’s Choice is definitely the right visual novel to explore.

Download Argo’s Choice: Android / iOS

If you are looking for some engaging free-to-play visual novel app games, feel free to try any of our  suggested Top 10 Visual Novel App Games!  Have fun!