While there is plenty to praise about Microsoft's video game subscription service, one of the biggest strengths of Xbox Game Pass is how there truly something for everyone, no matter what genres they may be into. While some of the Xbox Game Pass' biggest titles are shooters, multiplayer titles, and action games, more niche experiences have been able to carve out a place for themselves.
One of the most underappreciated genres on Xbox Game Pass is visual novels. While Xbox has not had a strong history with the genre, many developers and publishers have found success bringing titles to Xbox Game Pass, and right now it has a strong line-up of visual novels to try.
AI: The Somnium Files
One of the strongest visual novels and detective games in recent years, AI: The Somnium Files is almost everything fans of either genre could want. AI: The Somnium Files centers around Kaname Date, a detective with his right eye replaced by an AI known as Aiba. Together the two are tasked with solving a series of murders where each of the victims eyes have been removed. Date uses a machine called Somnium to travel into the minds of witnesses and gather evidence from their memories.
AI: The Somnium Files comes from the mind of Kotaro Uchikoshi, creator of the Zero Escape series, and features all the strengths of his and developer Spike Chunsoft's previous works. It features a complex, non-linear approach to storytelling with many branching narrative threads. The game also has strong characters, many of whom are lovable and have very interesting relationships. Xbox Game Pass subscribers interested in playing AI: The Somnium Files still have time to catch up before the game's sequel, AI: The Somnium Files - Nirvanna Initiative launches for Xbox consoles on June 24.
Boyfriend Dungeon
While not entirely visual novel-focused, Boyfriend Dungeon blends dating sim mechanics and visual novel gameplay with dungeon crawlers as player build relationships with multiple weapons that can transform into humans. Unlike many games to play with the dating sim genre in recent years, Boyfriend Dungeon is as dedicated to being an enjoyable dating sim as it is a challenging dungeon crawler.
Boyfriend Dungeon is not for everyone, as there are many accessibility options to make players' experiences as comfortable as possible but the game centers a narrative of abuse with themes such as stalking. That said, the game includes a variety of pronoun options and allows players to date any character regardless of their gender. If the darker topics aren't too much, Boyfriend Dungeon is an easy recommendation to Game Pass subscribers fond of visual novels, dating sims, and RPGs.
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Now regarded as a classic among visual novel fans, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc remains a game-changer for the genre. First released in Japan for PlayStation Portable in 2010, Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc continues to explode in popularity.
Danganronpa follows a group of fifteen "Ultimate" students as they are trapped in their high school, Hope's Peak Academy, and forced into a killing game by an evil animatronic bear called Monokuma. In order to escape, one student must kill another and get away with it. The player follows Makoto Naegi, dubbed the "Ultimate Lucky Student," who entered the school out of sheer luck while his classmates excel at a certain talent.
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc set itself apart from other detective visual novels such as Ace Attorney by including intense, dark themes and imagery in its anime-styled storytelling. The game still holds up well as a strong visual novel with memorable characters and a tense storyline, and is an easy recommendation to Xbox Game Pass subscribers.
Paradise Killer
Paradise Killer is one of the most ambitious visual novels released in the last few years, and one of the few indie visual novels to join Xbox Game Pass. In a universe where a council known as the Syndicate is attempting to create a perfect world, the game follows exiled detective Lady Love Dies, who is allowed return to Paradise Island 24 after the council is murdered by one of its inhabitants.
Paradise Killer is a rare example of an open-world visual novel where players are tasked with exploring the secrets of Paradise Island 24. The game includes a memorable and diverse set of characters set around a strong visual presentation taking inspiration from games such as Flower, Sun, and Rain.
The most refreshing element of Paradise Killer is its open-ended approach to detective gameplay in a visual novel. The game is completely open in how it allows players to solve its mystery. Any character can be accused at any point, and players can make a case for anyone being the culprit to receive different endings. Paradise Killer has some of the broadest ideas in a visual novel yet, and has just recently joined the Xbox Game Pass library.
Zero Escape: The Nonary Games
Zero Escape: The Nonary Games is a compilation of the first two games in Spike Chunsoft's franchise - 999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors, which released for the Nintendo DS in 2009, and Virtue's Last Reward, released for the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita in 2012. This is an easy recommendation to fans of games like Danganronpa, even if it is heavier on the exposition and complexity. It comes to Xbox Game Pass on March 22, and hopefully the final entry in the series, Zero Time Dilemma, will come to Game Pass shortly after.
From the mind of Kotaro Uchikoshi, Zero Escape follows a group of strangers who are assigned numbers as they awaken to find themselves in a death game, solving puzzles to avoid execution. It was one of the main inspirations for Danganronpa, but while Danganronpa is more focused on the murder mystery element and detective stories, Zero Escape focuses more on puzzles. Each game features an insanely deep flowchart in which player actions and decisions can wildly change the direction of the story, which makes it perfect for repeat attempts through Xbox Game Pass.