Metafiction in visual novels is interesting because it’s a very novel, cool, amazing concept when you’re first introduced to it, but as you consume more and more of it, it all starts to feel sort of repetitive and dull? Does every other VN need to have some meta element to it? This is specifically because so many of them throw all of their eggs into the “metafiction basket” and expect that single element to carry their work and make it interesting all on its own without actually trying to create something meaningful or new with it - or it just feels like a hamfisted and unnecessary inclusion.
But despite my general skepticism when it comes to works that seem to go in too hard on a meta gimmick now, the ones that actually use it as a tool to enhance the rest of the story are the reasons why it’s still one of my favorite tropes. Whether it’s as a love letter to the medium of visual novels like Totono, a very personal deep dive into mental health like Milk Inside a Bag of Milk Inside a Bag of Milk and its sequel, different approaches to the relationships stories have with the author/reader like in Subahibi and Umineko, or a unique exploration of what makes up an individuals “self” as in Remember11. I still adore the works that use meta storytelling as a way to elevate their ideas to a whole another level.
