Recommended Visual Novels?

Hi! I've been enjoying reading visual novels lately, and would like some recommendations for more to play. Over the last two years, I played the main six Ace Attorney games on 3DS. I've also played Professor Layton 1 through 5, plus Layton Brothers: Mystery Room. I'm just about wrapping up Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright right now, and have The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles on Switch in my backlog to play later.
I also completed the Zero Escape trilogy on (3)DS, which I enjoyed a lot, as well as 428: Shibuya Scramble. Some of my favorite games are Hotel Dusk: Room 215 and Another Code. I also imported a European Wii and Another Code R to play the sequel to my favorite game physically.

For my HLTB 2023 Challenge, I included AI: The Somnium Files and Planetarian ~reverie of a little planet~, the former of which I'm planning to start in February after I'm done with Layton v. Wright (in the final trial) and Ys SEVEN (halfway done so far).

Are there any good visual novels that you would recommend?
The Famicom Detective Club duology on switch caught my eye, and I'm interested in trying some of those classic Japanese VNs for PC.
However, a lot of these visual novels are romance driven, have 18+ content, or generally don't pass the "do you hit Alt+F4 when somebody walks in the room" test because of nudity. Though it's not that I won't play a VN with any mature content, as shown by my previously played examples.

I like mystery focused games particularly, and my platforms are (3)DS, Switch, PC, Wii(U), iOS.

Raging Loop is fantastic. A Werewolf style visual novel with a really good story.

Danganronpa and Paradise Killer might strictly speaking not be visual novels but they are similar style and also great games.

I haven't played them myself but I've always heard good things about the Danganronpa series and I actually plan on playing them sometime on Switch because I've heard so many good things.

Reading the ESRB, it is rated M for 17+ but I'm not seeing anything about nudity. Probably some cleavage at worst.

Hi! I've been enjoying reading visual novels lately, and would like some recommendations for more to play. Over the last two years, I played the main six Ace Attorney games on 3DS. I've also played Professor Layton 1 through 5, plus Layton Brothers: Mystery Room. I'm just about wrapping up Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright right now, and have The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles on Switch in my backlog to play later.
I also completed the Zero Escape trilogy on (3)DS, which I enjoyed a lot, as well as 428: Shibuya Scramble. Some of my favorite games are Hotel Dusk: Room 215 and Another Code. I also imported a European Wii and Another Code R to play the sequel to my favorite game physically.

For my HLTB 2023 Challenge, I included AI: The Somnium Files and Planetarian ~reverie of a little planet~, the former of which I'm planning to start in February after I'm done with Layton v. Wright (in the final trial) and Ys SEVEN (halfway done so far).

Are there any good visual novels that you would recommend?
The Famicom Detective Club duology on switch caught my eye, and I'm interested in trying some of those classic Japanese VNs for PC.
However, a lot of these visual novels are romance driven, have 18+ content, or generally don't pass the "do you hit Alt+F4 when somebody walks in the room" test because of nudity. Though it's not that I won't play a VN with any mature content, as shown by my previously played examples.

I like mystery focused games particularly, and my platforms are (3)DS, Switch, PC, Wii(U), iOS.

Some of my favorite games are Hotel Dusk: Room 215 and Hotel Dusk: Room 215 and Another Code.

J.B. Harold Murder Club was written by the writer of both of those, and AC:R (Rika Suzuki). It's on a bunch of platforms, but most people who have heard of it will have played the PC Engine version (personally I played it on Fm Towns), it's also on several of your platforms.

Hi! I've been enjoying reading visual novels lately, and would like some recommendations for more to play. Over the last two years, I played the main six Ace Attorney games on 3DS. I've also played Professor Layton 1 through 5, plus Layton Brothers: Mystery Room. I'm just about wrapping up Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright right now, and have The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles on Switch in my backlog to play later.
I also completed the Zero Escape trilogy on (3)DS, which I enjoyed a lot, as well as 428: Shibuya Scramble. Some of my favorite games are Hotel Dusk: Room 215 and Another Code. I also imported a European Wii and Another Code R to play the sequel to my favorite game physically.

For my HLTB 2023 Challenge, I included AI: The Somnium Files and Planetarian ~reverie of a little planet~, the former of which I'm planning to start in February after I'm done with Layton v. Wright (in the final trial) and Ys SEVEN (halfway done so far).

Are there any good visual novels that you would recommend?
The Famicom Detective Club duology on switch caught my eye, and I'm interested in trying some of those classic Japanese VNs for PC.
However, a lot of these visual novels are romance driven, have 18+ content, or generally don't pass the "do you hit Alt+F4 when somebody walks in the room" test because of nudity. Though it's not that I won't play a VN with any mature content, as shown by my previously played examples.

I like mystery focused games particularly, and my platforms are (3)DS, Switch, PC, Wii(U), iOS.

You've already completed some of the most popular ones.

But you should seriously check out Ghost Trick for the DS.

I haven't played them myself but I've always heard good things about the Danganronpa series and I actually plan on playing them sometime on Switch because I've heard so many good things.

Reading the ESRB, it is rated M for 17+ but I'm not seeing anything about nudity. Probably some cleavage at worst.

Probably some cleavage at worst.

Yes, there's no (strong) nudity in Danganronpa, for a Japanese title. Cleavage, upskirt, but nothing else. No need to Alt F4. ;)

There's significant embarrassment potential regarding the spin off Danganronpa Ultra Despair Girls. But that game is anyway not as good as the main titles in the series and should only be played after at least DR1.

I do have finished a lot of visual novel games, here's what I recommend:

Danganronpa Series - My favorite murder mystery visual novel, there are also other gameplay elements that makes it fun.

Science Adventure Series (Chaos;Head, Steins;Gate, etc.) - Visual novels that focuses on various science fiction themes (time travel, augmented reality, etc.). I played Steins;Gate and it was one of the best visual novel that I've ever played.

The Silver Case - A text-based point and click adventure visual novel game. Another murder mystery visual novel, which I haven't played but already have it in my library. You play as a detective. This game is the first part of a trilogy and it's made by Suda51.

Root Letter - A great mystery visual novel in my opinion. In this game, you try to find your pen pal friend from high school who had disappeared for 15 years. It also has some gameplay elements to it but not as big as the other games. And, it has multiple endings.

I also played a game called Corpse Factory and I do not like the writing in that game, and therefore would not recommend it. The premise of the story was interesting but the developers didn't know what to do in the later chapters and it became tedious.

I was gonna suggest Ace Attorney and Zero Escape but I see that you have completed them, and I'm glad that you've enjoyed it.

You've already played most of the popular ones, which I've also played. As other people have already said Danganronpa is a big one you're missing. It has trials like in Ace Attorney although they play out very differently.

I've heard that Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is good. It's also made by Capcom, so you probably can't go wrong.

After finishing VS, you shouldn't forget about Azran Legacy. In my opinion, it's the best game in the franchise.

If you are willing to go run through some hoops and play something older, I'd recommend Hideo Kojima's old non-Metal Gear games Snatcher and Policenauts. Both are classics, and though Policenauts never got an official English release there is an easy-to-find fan translation.

Both are science fiction stories heavily inspired by the movies of the 80s, mainly Blade Runner, Terminator, and Lethal Weapon.

A couple people already mentioned Ghost Trick. While I'm not sure if I'd call it a visual novel, it's close-ish..? and given some of what you've listed here may still fit? It's written by Shu Takumi of the original Ace Attorney trilogy fame and is excellent if you can get a hold of it somehow - DS or iOS. It also ended up being my gateway to Ace Attorney, Layton and Hotel Dusk.

I am too playing through The Silver Case right now and can recommend it despite the rather "bureaucratic" writing at times, Saya no Uta is another good one (it's definitely not for the fainthearted so you've been warned), take that from someone who tends to avoid visual novels.

You have AI: The Somnium Files in your backlog already, but I figured I'd recommend the sequel as well. Probably my favourtie murder- mystery VNs that I rarely see getting any attention.

I second the Science Adventures recommendations!! Though careful with Chaos Head, I've heard that one is a bit graphic in the violence/bloody side. Steins;Gate (the original) is a safe pick though!
I can also recommend two otome games that are lighter on romance and heavier on mystery, which are Collar x Malice and BUSTAFELLOWS!
Bustafellows in particular has a side A to each route where you solve the mystery and a side B which is an epilogue with more fluff and romance, which you can skip if you so choose.

Edit: forgot to add, you can't go wrong with Danganronpa

Probably some cleavage at worst.

Yes, there's no (strong) nudity in Danganronpa, for a Japanese title. Cleavage, upskirt, but nothing else. No need to Alt F4. ;)

There's significant embarrassment potential regarding the spin off Danganronpa Ultra Despair Girls. But that game is anyway not as good as the main titles in the series and should only be played after at least DR1.

Yeah, Ultra Despair Girls had some interesting ideas but is really gross with the handling of several serious topics.

I thought I'd never played a visual novel, but after reading you, I realized that I have. I've played the first Laytons, the first Ace Attorney and both Hotel Dusk Games. But I haven't played a typical decission text visual novel. Are the ones you recommended a good one of that type to try?

It does seem like you played the most famous and western friendly titles, but there are a couple of good ones out there that I can recommend if you are willing to look past the "explicit" content. That, or just straight-up play the censored "clean" versions.

Master Magistrate - This game wholesale copied the trial gameplay of Ace Attorney, so that would be familiar ground. It is worth mentioning that the courtroom drama is nowhere near as complex or strong as in AA, expecting that is not recommended. Though that wouldn't be that fair of a comparison, Master Magister does its own thing and it does it fairly well. The steam version is also "clean". In fact, all the romance can be considered "post-game" content, as it takes place after the main story proper, so that can be entirely skipped.

Baldr Sky - It's a very engaging, somewhat dystopian, sci-fi story that is very good. There's also a lot of gameplay in this one. There are action-filled mech battles that are quite fun. There is a romantic edge to every chapter but that is not the focus. The steam version here is also "clean". That being said, the story has an unfortunate tendency to try and enhance the drama with sexual violence (usually done by one particular villain), and even if you don't get an explicit illustration for it, it's still there. I mostly just rolled my eyes and you can mostly stop these scenes from escalating too.

Full Metal Daemon: Muramasa - This is one of those big "epics" of the genre, though there's no gameplay in this one. It's a meticulously written tale that's engaging the whole way through. It has a cool alternative history setting with mechs, when it delves into politics it's absolutely dripping from intrigue, and the protagonist is amazing. The writing for its fight scenes deserve special mention due to their slow and tactical delivery, which I found quite unique. This is a very serious piece with sparse moments of levity and a generally bleak atmosphere. There are two caveats, however. The first one is the first chapter. It's not all that good, in fact, it does this bait-and-switch thing and is not really representative of what the rest of the story is going to be like. The other problem is rape. This title seems to believe that rape is going to give the story its dark and gritty edge, using them for maximum shock value, but honestly, I just found them to be gratuitous and needlessly edgy. While I wouldn't say it's a dealbreaker, it was bad enough for Steam to wholesale reject this title, although I do believe the GOG version to be censored.

+1 - Chicken Police - I just recently played this one, and while it's not Japanese and neither exactly a visual novel (though the lines can be blurry, honestly, I wouldn't even necessarily consider Ace Attorney to be a visual novel, but I digress...), but it kinda fits the bill of the previously mentioned and recommended titles in that it's a detective story with very minimal interaction. Indeed, it's mostly just clicking through the story, reading text and advancing dialogue. It's a noir detective story with animal-headed characters, which looks surreal and might look silly, but it's very much a serious story. The plot might not be particularly original or unpredictable and the game is in love with the genre tropes, but it handles those tropes with such earnestness, that outcome was actually a ton of fun.

It does seem like you played the most famous and western friendly titles, but there are a couple of good ones out there that I can recommend if you are willing to look past the "explicit" content. That, or just straight-up play the censored "clean" versions.

Master Magistrate - This game wholesale copied the trial gameplay of Ace Attorney, so that would be familiar ground. It is worth mentioning that the courtroom drama is nowhere near as complex or strong as in AA, expecting that is not recommended. Though that wouldn't be that fair of a comparison, Master Magister does its own thing and it does it fairly well. The steam version is also "clean". In fact, all the romance can be considered "post-game" content, as it takes place after the main story proper, so that can be entirely skipped.

Baldr Sky - It's a very engaging, somewhat dystopian, sci-fi story that is very good. There's also a lot of gameplay in this one. There are action-filled mech battles that are quite fun. There is a romantic edge to every chapter but that is not the focus. The steam version here is also "clean". That being said, the story has an unfortunate tendency to try and enhance the drama with sexual violence (usually done by one particular villain), and even if you don't get an explicit illustration for it, it's still there. I mostly just rolled my eyes and you can mostly stop these scenes from escalating too.

Full Metal Daemon: Muramasa - This is one of those big "epics" of the genre, though there's no gameplay in this one. It's a meticulously written tale that's engaging the whole way through. It has a cool alternative history setting with mechs, when it delves into politics it's absolutely dripping from intrigue, and the protagonist is amazing. The writing for its fight scenes deserve special mention due to their slow and tactical delivery, which I found quite unique. This is a very serious piece with sparse moments of levity and a generally bleak atmosphere. There are two caveats, however. The first one is the first chapter. It's not all that good, in fact, it does this bait-and-switch thing and is not really representative of what the rest of the story is going to be like. The other problem is rape. This title seems to believe that rape is going to give the story its dark and gritty edge, using them for maximum shock value, but honestly, I just found them to be gratuitous and needlessly edgy. While I wouldn't say it's a dealbreaker, it was bad enough for Steam to wholesale reject this title, although I do believe the GOG version to be censored.

+1 - Chicken Police - I just recently played this one, and while it's not Japanese and neither exactly a visual novel (though the lines can be blurry, honestly, I wouldn't even necessarily consider Ace Attorney to be a visual novel, but I digress...), but it kinda fits the bill of the previously mentioned and recommended titles in that it's a detective story with very minimal interaction. Indeed, it's mostly just clicking through the story, reading text and advancing dialogue. It's a noir detective story with animal-headed characters, which looks surreal and might look silly, but it's very much a serious story. The plot might not be particularly original or unpredictable and the game is in love with the genre tropes, but it handles those tropes with such earnestness, that outcome was actually a ton of fun.

While I wouldn't say it's a dealbreaker, it was bad enough for Steam to wholesale reject this title, although I do believe the GOG version to be censored.

I've not played the game, but Steam are, or at least were being very inconsistent with mature visual novels, happily blocking games that should have been allowed and allowing games that should have been blocked or at the very least, censored as the default.

Here some examples of what I would recommend

Raging Loop (PC)
Higurashi When they Cry, Umineko and Ciconia ep 1 (all PC)
Root Letter
Muv-Luv (PC) -> first one is a slice of life, but game two and three things get sooo good. The steam version does not have +18 scenes, but has some spicy CGs.
Aviary Attorney (PC) if you liked Ace Attorney
Played the 999 franchise? If not, I almost sure you will love it.
Jake Hunter (has ds games, 3ds and one for pc) is a good call with good and quick detective cases
(Planetarian, Harmonia, Lucy: The Eternity She Wished For all for pc) if you like to have a great cry
Camp W (PC)
fault - StP - LIGHTKRAVTE (PC)
Gothic Murder: Adventure That Changes Destiny (PC)
Jisei: The First Case (PC) (if you like, there is other two games)
Return to Shironagasu Island (PC)
Forgotten, Not Lost - A Kinetic Novel (PC)
The House in Fata Morgana (pc)
World End Economica (pc)

Thank you everyone for your recommendations! These are some that I'm going to be checking out:

Already in Backlog:
AI: The Somnium Files
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles
An Octave Higher
Planetarian ~reverie of a little planet~
Trauma Center Under the Knife
Paradise Killer

PC Releases I'm Interested In:
Will: A Wonderful World
THE SILVER CASE + 25th Ward
Killer7
J.B. Harold Murder Club (Emulated)
Steins;Gate
Root Letter
Root Double -Before Crime
Aviary Attorney
Lucy -The Eternity She Wished For-
Gothic Murder: Adventure that Changes Destiny
Return to Shironagasu Island
AI: NirvanA Initiative
Saya no Uta (on the fence about this one cause of the horror elements, if it's just pulsating organs and Lovecraftian homunculi I'll pick it up, if there's like detailed flesh dissections and stuff probably not)
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim


Console VN games (generally more expensive which will take a while to get around to buying):
Last Window: The Secret of Cape West
Flower, Sun, and Rain
Jake Hunter (Detective Story: Memories of the Past) (Ghost of the Dusk)
Trauma Center Under the Knife 2
Famicom Detective Club Duology (Switch)
Ghost Trick

Some VNs that I've played also, but didn't mention in the initial post:

Bad End Theater
Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk
Milk outside a bag of milk outside a bag of milk
If found...
The Midnight Sanctuary
Lux-Pain (This one's really weird, the localization seems really rushed and doesn't flow well. Though they got like professional anime dub voice actors to do voiced scenes for it?)

Serial Experiments Lain
This VN (or interactive audio-drama) is a companion piece for the anime of same name. This was originally Japan-only game for PS1, but it can nowadays be played on browser with English subtitles. Some content warning though: the game deals in mental illness, so if the subject matter hits too close home I'd recommend to either skip the game or have someone to play through it with. The game handles the topic surprisingly well for a Japanese game of its era. Also watching the anime is also highly recommended (but not necessary) before jumping into the game.

The game can be found here:
https://laingame.net/

Thank you everyone for your recommendations! These are some that I'm going to be checking out:

Already in Backlog:
AI: The Somnium Files
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles
An Octave Higher
Planetarian ~reverie of a little planet~
Trauma Center Under the Knife
Paradise Killer

PC Releases I'm Interested In:
Will: A Wonderful World
THE SILVER CASE + 25th Ward
Killer7
J.B. Harold Murder Club (Emulated)
Steins;Gate
Root Letter
Root Double -Before Crime
Aviary Attorney
Lucy -The Eternity She Wished For-
Gothic Murder: Adventure that Changes Destiny
Return to Shironagasu Island
AI: NirvanA Initiative
Saya no Uta (on the fence about this one cause of the horror elements, if it's just pulsating organs and Lovecraftian homunculi I'll pick it up, if there's like detailed flesh dissections and stuff probably not)
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim


Console VN games (generally more expensive which will take a while to get around to buying):
Last Window: The Secret of Cape West
Flower, Sun, and Rain
Jake Hunter (Detective Story: Memories of the Past) (Ghost of the Dusk)
Trauma Center Under the Knife 2
Famicom Detective Club Duology (Switch)
Ghost Trick

Some VNs that I've played also, but didn't mention in the initial post:

Bad End Theater
Milk inside a bag of milk inside a bag of milk
Milk outside a bag of milk outside a bag of milk
If found...
The Midnight Sanctuary
Lux-Pain (This one's really weird, the localization seems really rushed and doesn't flow well. Though they got like professional anime dub voice actors to do voiced scenes for it?)

You cited Lux-Pain, I remember another good vn for ds:

Time Hollow

Vampire: The Masquerade - Coteries of New York
Vampire: The Masquerade - Shadows of New York