an incomplete list of indie romance visual novel recommendations
‣ these are all indie titles, many of them made by a single person or a small team, and several were put out there for free (or quite cheap). if you choose to play them, do so with an open mind and consider supporting indie devs financially whenever possible.
‣ most of these feature gender neutral or gender selectable player characters, and predominantly male or nonbinary romantic options. i've specified per game for convenience.
Blooming Panic by robobarbie
free*
4 routes, gender selectable PC, male & nb ROs
fave route: nakedtoaster, but xyx gets an honourable mention
the GOAT, honestly. i think most people who play games in this niche (especially in the chatsim subgenre) have come across bloomic at some point, and it's loved enough that other games reference it pretty frequently. what i love about bloomic is that it doesn't shy away from telling interesting and emotional stories while also delivering on the cutie romance aspects. i return to bloomic often as a comfort game, and it gets me in my feelings as a creator.
Rewritten by Weird Little Beasties
free (pay what you want)
5 routes, gender neutral PC, male ROs
fave route: nightshade
inkheart if it was a really cute dating sim. the art and music are super nice, the routes are all short and sweet, and there's a little bit of something for everyone. ironically, it really did feel like sinking into a cozy book. this is one i got a little unwell about (positive), so i have to recommend it.
(more below!)
A Date With Death by Two and a Half Studios
free, with purchasable expansions
1 route, gender selectable PC, male RO
legally required to rec this one because 1) it basically introduced me to chatsims, and 2) i own merch for it (say hi to azrael for me when you see him). it's just really good and fun. grim is so lame (complimentary) and i love a kind of loser boyfriend in games like this, so he delivers for sure. plus the CGs are just stupid good. i haven't played the expansion (yet), but i still recommend it for the base game content alone.
Ace in Space by Cadaver Carnival Studios
CDN $7.99
5 routes, nb PC, male and nb ROs
fave route: forge is my favourite, but zipper is the best route
this one's a little different on this list for reasons that are difficult to get into without turning this into a novel. it's structured like a dating sim so it makes the list, but the story is more about the player character, and you can choose to pursue romantic or platonic relationships as part of their journey. this one made me cry a few times, but that's sort of inevitable when the main themes so heavily involve grief and illness. proceed with caution, but i do urge you to proceed. if it helps sweeten the pot, most of the ROs are robots, and i'd like it a lot if you supported this game because it's from a somewhat local-to-me dev duo.
Fledgling Manor by In Secret Places
CDN $15.18
3 routes, male PC, male/nb/female ROs
fave route: stefan (but eight i love you please call me back)
y'all didn't think you were getting out of this list without an FM mention, did you? i'm obsessed with this game. i'm going to shill this game until the day i die. reality tv + sexy vampires? how could i resist. i was waiting for this game waaay before it came out and i was not disappointed. plus, usually predetermined protags are a turn off for me in these games but rocky is my ride or die (and my profile picture). i went over this game with a fine-tooth comb and i'm still hungry for more. play fledgling manor.
SeekL by robobarbie
free*
1 route, gender neutral PC, nb RO
another chatsim, and so, so good. odxyny is a really interesting RO that i think resonates with a lot of people, and the other server members are super fun to hang out with. also, the gameplay of the coding as part of the story is so fun and innovative while never being an obstacle. really makes it stand out, and it's another one that hits emotionally.
Hustle Cat by Date Nighto
CDN $22.79
6 routes, gender selectable PC, male & female ROs
fave route: graves bc i can't resist an older goth 😔
this one's cute. cats and coffee and magic, with a villain and everything. each of the routes resolves more or less the same story with different twists along the way, and you learn a little more every time. i could talk a lot about this game, but this isn't meant to be a review. why don't you play it and tell me what you think?
Pirated Code: Admin Edition by Hollowmend
CDN $14.99 (a version with less content is available as pay-what-you-want here)
1 route (lots of endings!), nb PC, male RO
i like this one a lot (enough to painstakingly 100% it myself). It's not as heavy on the relationship (which can be romantic or platonic) as some of the other entries on this list, but it's definitely there and extremely cute, and the story happening around it is really good too. it definitely sucked me in and got me really invested in finding answers to the mystery of your PC's past, and dex, the RO, is an absolute sweetheart.
*robobarbie has requested that those who wish to financially support their games donate to charity, instead.
quick little rant thingy because DMC reddit just pissed me off
I hate how so many people in the DMC fandom fall for Dante's party guy shtick and genuinely believe him to be as dumb as a rock . For example an argument i see often for this is his inability pay off his debts/rant . People believe he's simply too dumb to manage any money when in reality it's stemmed from the fact that he has little to no consideration for his well being and puts others' needs before his,rather than his own lack of intelligence. Like Grue's daughters,whom he sends money to support them--or Enzo,his ex middleman. Even in the anime he goes on his way to save his client's brother,without getting proper payment.
Other than that,again in the anime he proves himself to be a worthy-occult detective and how great he can be at reading people. His office also has a decent amount of books lying around showing that yes,he does read and value knowledge
Not saying he's smartest out there,but he is in no way as stupid as people make him out to be.
A/N : Okay so not the first time I've written any sort of fanfic but it's the first time I'm posting it so sorry if it looks dorky. I'm still learning how to be a super sick tumblr user. But it's crazy there's not that much Jamie content, I plan to change that! Not today though, this is just to butter y'all up. But just so y'all know there are Ed and Jamie (separate) one shots in the works.
There's no romantic ones in here but if y'all want a pt.2 ...
[CW] None! Just fluff (for now).
He probably did the thing in middle school where guys would roll up long socks and fold it at the toe to keep his shoe from creasing.
But he'd forget to do it after a day so his shoes were creased.
Shockingly NOT dirty though.
Definitely got his earlobe pulled.
Definitely pissed that Luke is taller than him.
Saw the Chinese "oh no my husband/ mother in law is coming home and the place is a mess!" temu ads and bought at least one organization shelf because of it. He uses it to store his makeup and skincare!
I bet he smells great, I'm no smell expert but I think he'd have a floral scent while still having a masculine hint to him?? Does this make sense?
It's better than Luke's 15-in-1 shampoo and Axe deodorant.
Cried while watching Hamilton.
Likes 2nd gen K-pop, proud boy group listener.
He'll complain about his tummy hurting but ignore the fact he's only had his special "chi enhancing tea" and shrimp chips.
Got his jacket tailored to be cropped.
Loves spicy food, will devour a whole thing of buldak noodles.
His rice cooker is 2 decades old.
Luke compared him to Jacob from twilight and Jamie didn't get the reference, Luke had to show him the movie.
Off topic but it reminded me of Nigahiga's 'how to act like your favorite actors' video and the Taylor Lautner section.
His first introduction to breakdancing was the sesame street breakdancing pencil.
He's picky with which color straw he gets with his boba.
Total nerd for early 2000's movies, specifically martial arts movies.
On that note his favorite movie is probably Rush Hour, I would suggest an actual old martial arts movie but I haven't seen that many (yet).
Brain rot king, don't say hawk near that man.
Not actually a headcannon but he reminds me of Daredevil (sigh Matt Murdock <3) a little bit cause, Chinatown cannot possibly be that big. He watches over that small section of the city like a vulture, he knows his boundaries. Respect.
Will get on your ass for dirtying his shoes.
Curses in mandarin, if Luke asks Jamie to teach him stuff he'll do the thing where it's like:
"Oh how do I say I'm so handsome in tagalog?"
"It's putang ina mo hehe."
Buys stuff from Instagram marketplace.
His shower routine is more like a regimen, very strict rules, takes exactly an hour and 45 minutes.
One time an employee at Sephora was like "Looking for something for your girlfriend?" and he turns to her, super loud eyeshadow look, and is like "Pfft yeah I wish." and then walks away.
annaxmalina
jbbartram-illu
theartofmadeline
turnnoffyourmind
kianamaiart
romaincrisis
origamiaround
