[jquery]

That question is like asking a film lover, "what film is over two hours"? The answer is "lots of them". Branching isn't considered gameplay. And of course fans are against gameplay, the genre is defined by the lack of it. Once it has enough gameplay it's not a visual novel anymore, it's a regular game.

[the_af]

> That question is like asking a film lover, "what film is over two hours"? The answer is "lots of them"

Well, the problem in this case is that the answer isn't "lots of them" but "very few of them". And those that have options, based on reviews I've seen, are mostly cosmetic, the story is "on rails".

Being "on rails" defines the genre, I'd say. That, and terrible writing.

[jquery]

The majority of visual novels have branching paths after a common route that lead to entirely different endings.

I think perhaps you shouldn't speak with such authority on the medium. Many have terrible writing, many have excellent writing. It depends on the author(s) and also to an extent on the localization team if it's being read in English or another language.

[the_af]

> I think perhaps you shouldn't speak with such authority on the medium

What "authority"? I'm giving my opinion; this started with the comment "I'm not a fan of the genre". I don't claim to be an authority.

All of the visual novels I've played were terrible and their plots would have been rightfully mocked had they been books. They also had little to no branching and lacked any meaningful decisions. Note I played many that were highly regarded in websites such as Home of the Underdogs, whose owner was a fan of the genre.

That's just my experience (based on playing games since the Commodore 64). I base my opinions on my experience. I don't push them on you. It entitles me to say I'm no fan of the genre -- no more, no less.

[jquery]

Are there any video games you consider to have good writing?

[the_af]

Yes, at least relative to the visual novels I've pl-- seen-- um, experienced?

I wonder why I seem to have struck such a nerve for multiple users here on HN just because I said I wasn't a fan of a genre. I didn't expect a kind of Spanish Inquisition!

[jquery]

I was just looking for game recs at this point

[Ferret7446]

Nah, the line isn't so clear. The Visual Novel Database has run into this problem categorizing "borderline" games which have significant dialogue in addition to significant gameplay.

[jquery]

Might as well link their criteria: https://vndb.org/d2#1