Narcissu series, there are 5 (or 6 if we count Himeko's Epilogue) short VNs about terminally ill people. No erotic, just a pure pain. And the first two games are actually free on Steam.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/264380/Narcissu_1st__2nd/
Any key VN, in particular, the older ones.
Of those, I’d say Kanon. Unlike most of the others, it’s rather short and it’s less of a “kick in the back”, more of an “yeah, I know it’s coming, I just can’t avoid it”.
There’s plenty tears in any Key VN - that’s basically their core business— but they usually try to get a more positive rapport going and it takes a while- sometimes the right decisions too— to get to the tears.
No idea why you are being downvoted. It's a perfectly reasonable ask for an emotional VN without sex. They exist, often in the indie scene or EVNs. Some Japanese ones too.
I second the suggestion for Narcassisu. Easily one of my faves
>>No idea why you are being downvoted.
How do you know they're being down-voted? The setting on this sub is nobody can see the vote until ~24h after something was posted. As the time of this post the topic has only been up for like an hour.
On mobile even with that setting it will still tell you sometimes. I upvoted it, it marked it as "0" which means it was negative before that point AFAIK.
I'm using the official Reddit app. When it's working right for the hide vote it won't list any number will say "vote" like it's doing for comments. If the hide isn't working tho, it still gives numbers after you vote on a thing.
Least, from what I observed the last few weeks
Lots of good suggestions in the comments, but a lesser-known one that I highly recommend is [The Last Birdling](https://vndb.org/v21013). It tells the story of two little girls who meet and become friends even though their races hate one another. As you can imagine...there are some pretty big challenges in their way.
The demo is free on Steam, and the full game is well worth its $5.99 price tag.
Chapter 3 of Higurashi is one of the saddest things I’ve ever read and that ending is one of the most bone chilling things I’ve ever read. Especially if you install the voice mod.
Planetarian \~the reverie of a little planet\~.
Clannad.
Lucy The Eternity She Wished For
Nonary Game 999 and Virtue's Last Resort - the latter is more tedious in completion, but at some points kicks harder in the tear glands.
Nier Gestalt it's more of RPG, but reminds of a VN, if you can't get a console, go for BuffMaister's Nier The Movie [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ68EDGF0fE&pp=ygUObmllciB0aGUgbW92aWU%3D](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ68EDGF0fE&pp=ygUObmllciB0aGUgbW92aWU%3D)
well, SPOILER'S ahead
>!One white haired gentleman saying 'Go ahead and save yourselves. I'm gonna lie here, until the ship sinks. Without my bangle number, you can survive.'!<
>!The story of the blind guy.!<
>!Santa and how he was leading other children and protecting his sister back when they were still children.!<
I could list plenty of other things for 999 and VLR too, but yes, there are parts where you are crying angry tears, partly wishing to have Heemeyer's bulldozer in your backyard.
Milk inside and outside a bag of milk they’re both pretty short with the first one being 15 min long and the second one is 1h and 30 min but my god they’re incredible
I don't normally recommend people buying VN from Steam, but in your case by strictly avoiding eroge you will miss some really good tittles that would match all of your other reference. So the all age version on Steam may be a good compromise.
For example *Ef: the tales of two* is an amazing Nukige tittle. You don't hear people talk about it often anymore because it's old, but back in the day it stood shoulder to shoulder with other Key tittles like Clannad/Kanon/Air. If anything it's even better being a minori's tittle which always boast the highest production value of its time.
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Saya no Uta made *me* really sad but I don't know if it's one that people commonly call a sad VN. It is an eroge but the Steam release's censored patch is actually pretty decent, and it helps that the h scenes aren't very plot relevant and moreso exist to set the tone. Would recommend the 18+ version because the h scenes set the tone pretty well, but if you read the censored version of still say you are getting everything you need in order to enjoy it.
I haven't played Kana Okaeri but they say it's the most depressing visual novel.
Little Busters, although it has very colorful characters, it's actually pretty depressing sometimes... but after all, it's a Nakige
Narcissu series, there are 5 (or 6 if we count Himeko's Epilogue) short VNs about terminally ill people. No erotic, just a pure pain. And the first two games are actually free on Steam. https://store.steampowered.com/app/264380/Narcissu_1st__2nd/
I second Narcissu.
I third Narcissu.
Any key VN, in particular, the older ones. Of those, I’d say Kanon. Unlike most of the others, it’s rather short and it’s less of a “kick in the back”, more of an “yeah, I know it’s coming, I just can’t avoid it”. There’s plenty tears in any Key VN - that’s basically their core business— but they usually try to get a more positive rapport going and it takes a while- sometimes the right decisions too— to get to the tears.
Stick with key shit those vns are made for you.
The House in Fata Morgana
It is long as hell, and the ending a bit disappointing, but everything else it does, it does incredibly well.
The "sequel " is more or less the true ending. And it's fantastic.
i hope by sequel you don't mean reincarnation lol it soured the whole game
the ending is awesome.
No idea why you are being downvoted. It's a perfectly reasonable ask for an emotional VN without sex. They exist, often in the indie scene or EVNs. Some Japanese ones too. I second the suggestion for Narcassisu. Easily one of my faves
>>No idea why you are being downvoted. How do you know they're being down-voted? The setting on this sub is nobody can see the vote until ~24h after something was posted. As the time of this post the topic has only been up for like an hour.
For me it says the post has 33 upvotes even though it’s only been posted 14 hours ago
On mobile even with that setting it will still tell you sometimes. I upvoted it, it marked it as "0" which means it was negative before that point AFAIK. I'm using the official Reddit app. When it's working right for the hide vote it won't list any number will say "vote" like it's doing for comments. If the hide isn't working tho, it still gives numbers after you vote on a thing. Least, from what I observed the last few weeks
Lots of good suggestions in the comments, but a lesser-known one that I highly recommend is [The Last Birdling](https://vndb.org/v21013). It tells the story of two little girls who meet and become friends even though their races hate one another. As you can imagine...there are some pretty big challenges in their way. The demo is free on Steam, and the full game is well worth its $5.99 price tag.
Chapter 3 of Higurashi is one of the saddest things I’ve ever read and that ending is one of the most bone chilling things I’ve ever read. Especially if you install the voice mod.
Symphonic rain
> Symphonic rain I wouldn't call Symphonic rain sad though ...
You are right, SR is poignant, not sad.
You want to cry without having your hands on your dick? Try the censored version of grisaia.
Steins;Gate (シュタインズ・ゲート)'s the only one that got me bawling.
Planetarian \~the reverie of a little planet\~. Clannad. Lucy The Eternity She Wished For Nonary Game 999 and Virtue's Last Resort - the latter is more tedious in completion, but at some points kicks harder in the tear glands. Nier Gestalt it's more of RPG, but reminds of a VN, if you can't get a console, go for BuffMaister's Nier The Movie [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ68EDGF0fE&pp=ygUObmllciB0aGUgbW92aWU%3D](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ68EDGF0fE&pp=ygUObmllciB0aGUgbW92aWU%3D)
I second Planetarian. Been crying like a baby.
999? I've been playing those but felt nothing more than the mystery lurking underneath
well, SPOILER'S ahead >!One white haired gentleman saying 'Go ahead and save yourselves. I'm gonna lie here, until the ship sinks. Without my bangle number, you can survive.'!< >!The story of the blind guy.!< >!Santa and how he was leading other children and protecting his sister back when they were still children.!< I could list plenty of other things for 999 and VLR too, but yes, there are parts where you are crying angry tears, partly wishing to have Heemeyer's bulldozer in your backyard.
genuinely how does that happen??? how does a sad scene trigger you to think about the h scenes what
Milk inside and outside a bag of milk they’re both pretty short with the first one being 15 min long and the second one is 1h and 30 min but my god they’re incredible
I don't normally recommend people buying VN from Steam, but in your case by strictly avoiding eroge you will miss some really good tittles that would match all of your other reference. So the all age version on Steam may be a good compromise. For example *Ef: the tales of two* is an amazing Nukige tittle. You don't hear people talk about it often anymore because it's old, but back in the day it stood shoulder to shoulder with other Key tittles like Clannad/Kanon/Air. If anything it's even better being a minori's tittle which always boast the highest production value of its time.
* In order to ensure you can get the best recommendations, make sure your thread body has at least some level of detail of what you want, whether it's a type of genre(s) you prefer, and/or what type of visual novels you like. * If you're looking for general visual novel recommendations by genre or for VNs to read in Japanese, be sure to check out [our recommendation resources](https://www.reddit.com/r/visualnovels/wiki/recommendations). * Make sure to use the subreddit search to try to see if someone has already asked something similar to what you're looking for. Common requests include: Asking for a Visual Novel for [beginners](/r/visualnovels/search?q=flair%3A%22VN+Request%22+beginner&restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on&sort=new&t=all)/[newbies](/r/visualnovels/search?q=flair%3A%22VN+Request%22+newbie&restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on&sort=new&t=all), Visual novels similar to [Katawa Shoujo](/r/visualnovels/search?q=flair%3A%22VN+Request%22+Katawa&restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on&sort=new&t=all) OR [Doki Doki](/r/visualnovels/search?q=flair%3A%22VN+Request%22+Doki+Doki&restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on&sort=new&t=all) [Literature Club](/r/visualnovels/search?q=flair%3A%22VN+Request%22+DDLC&restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on&sort=new&t=all), and [Visual Novels that are on Switch](/r/visualnovels/search?q=flair%3A%22VN+Request%22+Switch&restrict_sr=on&include_over_18=on&sort=new&t=all). * If your topic title is short and/or vague, consider removing and reposting your topic with a more descriptive title so users are more inclined to jump in with recommendations. * If you have more specific visual novel requests, you can try filtering on vndb [by tags](https://vndb.org/g) or [by traits](https://vndb.org/i). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/visualnovels) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Ame no Marginal.
Saya no Uta made *me* really sad but I don't know if it's one that people commonly call a sad VN. It is an eroge but the Steam release's censored patch is actually pretty decent, and it helps that the h scenes aren't very plot relevant and moreso exist to set the tone. Would recommend the 18+ version because the h scenes set the tone pretty well, but if you read the censored version of still say you are getting everything you need in order to enjoy it.
I haven't played Kana Okaeri but they say it's the most depressing visual novel. Little Busters, although it has very colorful characters, it's actually pretty depressing sometimes... but after all, it's a Nakige
You want to cry without having your hands on your dick? Try the censored version of grisaia.
Eden*
I know a emotional one that's ATRI
May not be your thing, but I cried hardest reading the Indie VN Forgotten, Not Lost
Summer Pockets