Cannot decide what to read next - looking for recommendations.

[adamstan]

Hi there,

Recently I've hit a wall, or rather stumbled upon a crossroad - completely cannot decide what to read next.

Here's my current backlog: https://vndb.org/u145694/list?c=all;v=0;t=0 (meaning, VNs that I already own, but haven't read yet)

What should I pick now? (let's stick to the above list)

Edited October 6, 2018 by adamstan

[DSKS]

I think that grisaia no kajitsu is a masterpiece and you definitely should play it, eventualy koiken otome is pretty good too

[Dreamysyu]

Daresora is very short. I finished it in forty minutes or so, that including the time when the game was playing and I wasn't paying attention and considering the fact that I'm typically a slow reader. Completing it to 100 per cent took me a bit more time, but it definitely can be done in one go.

For a longer read I recommend Ever 17.

[alpacaman]

It really depends on what kind of story you want to read. Seeing what kind of VNs you rated highly, Grisaia really might be right up your alley, but in my opinion (I'm currently reading it) it takes a good 10-20 hours until you get anything resembling some sense of conflict (which I personally need to keep reading for longer stretches of time). If you can motivate yourself to read something without any any actual plot for some time, but just painting really detailed personalities by means of SoL (at least for the first hours), it's a really good read.

Dengeki Stryker is a fun to read action story mocking many action manga tropes while having an interesting enough plot and cast (very cliché though, but that's part of the fun) to be entertaining beyond being just a parody.

Steins;Gate's is a great scifi thriller/drama imo, but the first half is paced rather slowly and your enjoyment of that part depends on how much you enjoy the characters and the science. What I love about the pacing in general is that it really knows when to give the reader and the protagonist some time to breath inbetween action, comedy and exposition. This gives the whole experience a really quiet vibe despite it being quite a ride. Just don't expect too much romance since the VN makes it pretty clear who the main heroine is and all the other character endings are clearly supposed to be bad endings since they are all pretty short and end on depressing notes.

[r0xm2n]

Grisaia is a masterpiece imo, strongly recommended. Off the wall comedy ....... while exploring some psychological themes when it gets serious (and it gets more serious then most VNs). And that soundtrack! It does have a rather long common route.

Symphonic Rain has a unique art style, and a unique world. And some interesting plot twists. It's one of the few VNs (that I know of), that ditches the moe elements (for the most part).

 

For a suggestion not on your list....

* ef - a fairy tale of the two . Multiple love stories (which are somehow connected). Quite a lot of feels too....

 

[snowbell55]

I'd agree with alpacaman in that it does depend on what kind of story you're looking for, but there are several really good titles on your list - several have mentioned Grisaia (I'd recommend that as well) but there's also Fate/Stay Night, and Steins;Gate (both of which are very good reads if you're into something a bit more serious) as well as a bunch of others I don't know enough about to comment, so I'll stick to a more general recommendation for choosing what to read when. 

Maybe you can read one or two of the shorter VNs to help you get into the flow of things, before tackling some of the longer VNs - all three of the ones I mentioned above do have some SoL parts that (depending on your tastes and mood) can be slow to get through. If you want to get stuck into a particular world/story for a long time right now I'd recommend Grisaia since the first is on its own quite long and you have both expansions so assuming you like it you can keep reading afterwards. Given your comments in the anime thread, I'd probably put Toradora Portable further away, so you have time to digest the anime before diving in to [what is probably] the more story-dense VN. Other than that I think pick one and commit to reading it and think about the other options as little as possible (easy to say but hard to do) while you read the one you've picked. 

[Sparteh]

Well, I won't bother repeating and explaining stuff, just join the group which suggest reading Steins;Gate, Fate/Stay Night and Grisaia Series. Furthermore, I would recommend to read them in this order because of their length. S;G is the shortest of them all, then follows Fate. Grisaia on the other hand, is long. You cannot simply stop after reading 1 part or you will lose excitement. From personal experience I recommend reading all of Grisaia VNs one after another in order to complete the experience. That is why I also recommended reading S;G and F/SN before Grisaia.

[littleshogun]

I would like to seconded Koiken Otome here, and perhaps you may as well try Koi Resort in case if you want something lighter. Also in case you want some sci-fi, then you can try both of Ever17 and Steins Gate. Lastly if you want some all age VN other than sci-fi, then you may as well try Symphonic Rain. I hope that my recommendations here would be helpful to you.

[Funyarinpa]

Ever17 is my favorite in that list, I think. Not well-paced, but worth your time, and has one of my favorite VN heroines.

[adamstan]

Thanks everybody. Some really nice advice and pointers here

[Testarossa]

+1 for Koiken Otome and Steins;Gate

[adamstan]

So it look like Grisaia and S;G are leaders now, with Koiken Otome and E17 tied in the second place

I think that I'll try to get back into reading mood going with something short (Harmonia or Lucy) and then pick up one of those bigger titles.

Edited October 8, 2018 by adamstan