dorisartdev

[dorisartdev]

Today is the 1 year anniversary of Breathless Winds' release! Thank you all for supporting us, leaving reviews, sharing the game with others, and following Poppy's story. We will have a sale going all week leading into pride month. We're very grateful, and we hope you'll keep an eye out for future game releases.

[dorisartdev]

[dorisartdev]

I'm sorry we gave the protagonist round hair again. I promise this is the last time

[dorisartdev]

There's only 11 days left until Otome Jam starts! Join our annual game jam to make an otome game in 2 months 💜

General Rules:

May 1st-June 30th

18+ OK

no specific theme

visual novels & hybrids OK

finishing previously started games & starting new games OK

Join us:

[dorisartdev]

sprite progress

[dorisartdev]

recommendations of visual novels on sale for the steam spring sale 2025

spring is almost here and with it is Steam's Spring Sale! like usual, it will run for the next two weeks, so if you're looking for a new visual novel to try (or want to get into them), here's a lot that I've played that are on sale on steam.

umineko when they cry

the ushiromiya family returns to the family head's home on an isolated island for their annual conference with the intention of settling how his vast amount of wealth is divided. instead, though, a letter is left from someone claiming to be a "witch". with the ushiromiyas dropping dead left and right, the mystery behind everything remains to be solved by you, the reader.

I can't make a recommendation list without mentioning umineko. it's life changing. it might even trans your gender. it's hard to describe umineko, but just know that it's absolutely deserving of the "cult classic" tag.

notes:

kinetic/linear - no choices

VERY long, 120+ hours (over all 8 episodes)

divided into two games on steam - Questions Arcs is the first 4 episodes and Answers Arcs is the last 4 episodes (8 episodes in total, play Questions Arcs first)

created by Ryukishi07, creator of Higurashi

fantasy vs mystery

ace attorney

follow phoenix wright as he embarks on his career as a lawyer to help people. meet a variety of clients and prove their innocence by collecting evidence, interviewing witnesses, and exposing lies in court.

ace attorney is a classic mystery visual novels, being a blend of point-and-click elements via investigations and visual novel storytelling. the steam port is a massive collection, combining the first 3 games (the original phoenix wright trilogy) as 1 game.

notes:

investigative gameplay segments, a good chunk of the story is point-and-click parts

pretty long for the whole trilogy- each game is around 20 hours long and the steam edition is 3 games

modern murder mystery with supernatural elements

of the devil

in a cyberpunk world where everyone has cameras connected to the police infrastructure, how do you get away with crime? get a killer lawyer.

meet ace attorney with gambling addict lesbians in one of the most stylish games I've seen in years, all made by a very tiny indie team. currently only episode 1 is released, but it's well worth your time if you're a fan of detective-style murder mystery visual novels.

notes:

only episode 1 is out (around 9-13 hours)

lots of interactive segments similar to ace attorney, but with more variety for questioning segments

sci-fi murder mystery

ai: the somnium files

play as detective kaname date as he hunts down a serial killer using a cutting-edge technology which allows him to "psync" with a person, diving into the memories of others to solve crimes in a limited amount of time with the help of his AI assistant/eyeball Aiba.

aitsf is a lot. it's probably the raunchiest non-eroge game I've ever played and despite my low tolerance for dirty jokes I found most of it to be laughable and a fun experience, though I did play this with friends. if it's a miss for you, it's gonna miss you by a wide margin, but if it's a hit for you, you're going to be recommending it nonstop. either way you'll want to hit kaname date with a car.

notes:

long, around 25-35 hours

this game heavily relies on going back to prior choices via their branching menu to try other options in order to get the full story (and true ending). there are several endings to this game but you're meant to play through them all, not just one or two.

a lot of gameplay and interactive segments

sci-fi murder mystery

english voice acting

witch on the holy night

aoko aozaki is a highschooler who has to balance her class president, perfect grades life with her secret afterschool life of being a mage—a secret she has to keep at the risk of death. keeping this balance already isn’t easy but one day she gets a wrench thrown into it with the introduction of a transfer student, soujuurou shizuki, a country boy so out of touch that he’s never seen electricity before.

I love witch on the holy night so, so much. it's one of the most beautifully directed visual novels ever made with so much love and care put into each frame. the cast is wonderful (touko my beloved) and it's a must-read for anyone who likes modern-ish fantasy.

notes:

kinetic / linear - no choices

long, around 25-30 hours

originally written by kinoko nasu, one of the co-founders of type-moon and creators of fate/stay night. has some relation to tsukihime and garden of sinners but you don't need any knowledge of those going in

modern-ish (1980s) fantasy with lots of talking about magic

ghostpia

a snowy town filled with "ghosts" is where the young woman sayako finds herself trapped, feeling like she doesn't belong and wants to leave this town where no one dies.

it's hard to describe ghostpia. it's a surreal-ish story about "ghosts" where every character is quirkier than the last but every part is made with so much heart behind it. you never really know where the story is going, but unfortunately only 1 season is currently out on steam.

notes:

medium length, around 10 hours

very innovative and unique use of visuals and paneling

surreal-ish (sometimes violent) fantasy

please be happy

as a shapeshifting fox called a "gumiho", miho has traveled the world in search for a traveler who showed her kindness many years ago. afraid of sticking around in one place for too long, miho has never stayed anywhere for more than a few nights- but all of that changes when she arrives in wellington, new zealand and meets the barista/writer aspen and the vampire archivist juliet.

okay I did work on this one but hear me out. please be happy was a labor of love for our team that took over 3 years to make and is a slice of life story about love, trust, and what it means to be human. and you get to play as a gay fox girl voiced by dottovu.

notes:

medium to long, about 20 hours

2 romanceable ladies, aspen and juliet, and a plethora of side characters to meet via a map system

modern slice-of-life fantasy

english voice acting

WE KNOW THE DEVIL

find yourself back at summer camp with all the queer religious horror of it.

WE KNOW THE DEVIL is a short, atmospheric and slightly surreal story about 3 teens at a religious summer camp waiting for the devil. if you want something that feels familiar and otherworldly at the same time, this is right up your alley.

notes:

very short, about 2 hours

3 endings and 1 true ending

isolation, psychological horror

fate/stay night

seven mages known as masters summon heroic and fictional characters from the pantheon of history to fight it out over the ultimate magical item - the holy grail.

fate/stay night is one of the most well-known visual novel properties out there and it's finally not only available in english officially but on steam! this remaster is a treat and done with a lot of care put into it, it's a great way to get into the fateverse if you've never tried it before.

notes:

pretty long, 70+ hours

3 routes / heroines to be with with lots of bad endings

modern fantasy, battle royale

mamiya

the end of the world is near. what will you do in the final months? and who is this "MAMIYA" who proclaims their love for you?

MAMIYA is a dark mystery visual novel about a group of guys who meet during the funeral for a friend, a stranger, a passerby, and become entangled in the web of an entity known as "MAMIYA". the presentation and style feels fresh.

notes:

check out the content warnings before reading

medium length, but is segmented into a lot of chapters that make it easy to pick back up

dark modern mystery with supernatural elements

a date with death

the grim reaper contacts you saying he wants your soul. naturally, you respond...with flirting??

a date with death is a free game but it does have paid DLC so I'm including it here because I want to. it's a comfy chatsim romance visual novel about, well, courting the grim reaper.

notes:

short, around 8 hours for the base game

customizable protag

1 male love interest

cute modern supernatural romance

twofold

Olive has 1 last chance to graduate college - pass a filler class. when their situation comes to light, 2 club presidents agree to help them but end up dragging them in the middle of their feud...

I also worked on this one. the writing and art is truly charming and heartfelt. it's a story about romance but also relationships in general - friendships, platonic relationships, familial bonds, etc. this visual novel took several years to be completed and the final result is one made with a lot of love.

notes:

medium, around 15-20+ hours for both routes

nonbinary protagonist, 2 female love interests

modern slice-of-life, college setting

english voice acting

slay the princess

you're tasked with a simple goal - slay the princess, or else she'll destroy the world.

talk about taking a simple premise and running with it. slay the princess is a mind-bending psychological horror about love and repeating things a lot of times. after all, all you have to do is slay the princess, right?

notes:

short to medium, around 10 hours for a full run

lots and lots and lots of branching paths

psychological horror, does contain gore

english voice acting

canvas menagerie

Niko is a trans man and lifelong actor who's been down on his luck until he gets the lead role in a major TV show. there, he starts to fall for his annoying celebrity costar.

well I wrote and drew and programmed this one by myself so I can't really give an indepth recommendation for it but I think it came out pretty nice and currently only has positive reviews. it's a comfy gay romance about actors.

notes:

medium length, around 10-12 hours

boys love romance

modern slice-of-life, adult cast

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note that most of the indie visual novels listed are also available on itchio as DRM-free versions. there's a ton of VNs on sale over there right now as well.

[dorisartdev]

I deeply appreciated reading your thoughts on our game. I'm glad it reached you! Thank you for sharing.

Why does this fantastic trans visual novel only have 23 reviews on Steam??

Breathless Winds is an island-fantasy visual novel that mostly focuses on an impending metaphorically-ecological magical disaster, with a strong romance side plot centered on a pre-transition trans girl protagonist. The art is GORGEOUS, the artist has a really distinctive and evocative style.

This is the CG where I fell in love with Lantana

The worldbuilding is also very good and immersive, and the writer does a great job doing something that I don’t think is required in a branching visual novel, but I still appreciated, which is making all of the different routes be operating in the same reality—problems that crop up mainly to serve one route will appear in another as well, but with different focuses that make it fresh. Characters’ personalities are very consistent whether they’re acting as a love interest or as a supporting character or even an antagonist.

Romance plotlines I think take a backseat to the fantasy adventure, but they’re very fun and enjoyable. The romance is very much a bisexual dream, with two men and two women with equally weighty plotlines. Two of the love interests are also trans (one man and one woman), which made my little t4t heart extremely happy.

I have A LOT of thoughts about the trans representation, which, again, is not the main plot. Thoughts below:

I’m a sensitivity reader for trans representation, and as someone with that experience, I was pretty shocked because this visual novel pulls off something that I’ve never seen any other narrative do before. Namely, writing long-term about pre-transition with a high level of empathy and compassion.

My advice to writers whose projects show up in my inbox is usually to not set scenes in pre-transition because writers tend to have a lot of problems there. But reading Breathless Winds has taught me that writing about pre-transition is not the problem—the problem is the level of compassion.

Breathless Winds has this compassion in spades. Where many works would get caught up finding edginess in the contradictory nature of pre-transition, Breathless Winds is concerned with Poppy’s inner world and her mental health. Where many works would have her be “walked in on” wearing dresses and use that for humor or conflict, Breathless Winds allows Poppy to experiment in private and come out when she’s ready. Where many works would treat her upcoming transition as something that disqualifies her from romance, Breathless Winds’ romantic options all validate Poppy’s real gender even when she’s pre-transition.

Maybe this is because that my pre-transition days are 11 years in the rearview mirror, but I’m kind of shocked that it never even occurred to me that a romantic fantasy for a pre-transition person is something that could/should exist. I love that this exists not just for pre-transition people (or people unable to transition, etc.), but also for those of us who have transitioned, to imagine a compassionate fantasy for the ways we used to live our lives.

I do just want to advise the reader that Poppy is misgendered and deadnamed by the narrative by necessity, so if that would be troubling for you to read, I would say consider this one carefully.

I also thought that they did a great job with the portrayal of Prince Valerian, a trans man (who transitioned a long time ago in the plot), to be A+, chef’s kiss. I may be biased, but I thought that his route was the crown jewel (ha ha) of the routes, and I’m really glad I did it last.

Valerian performs an impressive "asserting dominance while short" maneuver

While not a big part of Valerian's route, a struggle that pervades his relationships with other men from his country is that even though they gender him correctly, there's a sense he will never be in the "boy's club." This subtle nuance in many relationships between cis and trans men is such a real phenomenon that a lot of writers writing about trans man characters don't explore, and I was impressed to see it here. (It's more common to see writers only interested in overt, misgendering transphobia.)

The writer also did a great job avoiding another pitfall many writers fall into, which is sort of “damseling” the trans man character and exploiting (what a writer might presume to be) his “natural” physical weakness—Valerian is portrayed to be as physically capable and powerful as the other male characters, and a worthy adversary.

If you want to do all of the routes, my recommendation for route order would be to do Gallardia’s route first, then the girls, and then Valerian last. Just a note that outside of picking the route, all of the choices are “for fun”, so don’t stress about your choices! I did Rue’s route first, which had a bit of a goth, downery vibe, and I was like “Oh god, I’m picking bad choices,” but no, that’s just the route, lol.

If you are interested in visual novels or fantasy or romance at all, I really recommend playing this game and giving it a review on Steam!

[dorisartdev]

Canvas Menagerie is out now!

After 3 years of development, my gay romance visual novel Canvas Menagerie is now fully playable!

Canvas Menagerie is a comfy slice-of-life boys love romance about a group of actors going through their mid-20s together while filming together. Follow Niko, a transmasc TV actor as he falls for his celebrity costar who plays his rival.

The final game is over 135k words long with 15+ CGs and 10+ characters spread out over 3 main Acts, so around 10+ hours of playtime.

While the story is mostly cute and meant to be a comfy experience, there are some content notes to be aware about as this game features:

Adults drinking and being inebriated

Adults smoking

Mentions of gender dysphoria

Cursing

Play it on...

Steam - itchio

An artbook is also for sale on Steam, itchio, and Ko-fi, featuring 75 pages of artwork, sketches, concept notes, and more for the story. It does contain spoilers, though, so please only read it after finishing the game.

I'm also having a Winter Sale on our merch store! It's 10% off all merch if you use code WINTER2024... including the physical copy of the game! It's a deluxe edition which means the CD contains the full game + artbook PDF as well as a Steam or itchio key for both.

Thank you for all the continued support the past 3 years!

[dorisartdev]

Canvas Menagerie, my comfy boys love visual novel about actors going through their mid-20s together, releases in just 2 weeks on Steam & itchio! Play as Niko, a trans actor who gets the lead role in a major TV show—only to fall in love with his celebrity costar.

Here's some new screenshots for you 💙

🎞️ Play the demo 🎞️

[dorisartdev]

[dorisartdev]

Canvas Menagerie is part of Steam Next Fest!

The updated demo for my comfy boys love visual novel is now live 💙

Play as Niko, a transmasc actor who gets the lead role in a major TV show and slowly falls for his celebrity costar—who happens to play his rival in the show. Together, they go through their mid-20s while on set.

Try it now on Steam or itchio~

[dorisartdev]

I drew Poppy for the first time in months(?) earlier when I used to be drawing her almost every day... it's like she's moved out and gone to college

[dorisartdev]

Weekend sale!! Breathless Winds is now 20% off until October 14th!

[dorisartdev]

4 Slots Open, I've been in quite a bit of pain for all of 2024 and I really want to figure out what is causing it.

[dorisartdev]

[dorisartdev]

I'm sorry you had to find out this way

[dorisartdev]

Breathless Winds is on sale for 20% off this weekend! If you haven't picked it up yet, now's the perfect time! Check it out now on Steam and itch.io!

Breathless Winds is an LGBT Visual Novel about a trans woman discovering her gender and finding true love in an island-fantasy setting. The game has four unique routes, each full of mystery and romance!