External Discovery
21 indie games in this list, released 2014–2026, from developers such as MoaCube, Toge Productions, Chorus Worldwide Games, Toge Productions. Pick one to read our editorial note and jump to its store page.
These are editorial pages. The developers and publishers are not affiliated with The Gaming Nest unless explicitly stated.
By MoaCube · Poland
Cinders retells the Cinderella story in the form of a visual novel. Polish indie studio MoaCube developed and published it, debuting it on PC and Mac in 2012; Nintendo Switch received it in 2019, while PlayStation 4 and Xbox One editions came in 2020. The game was built with GameMaker and is listed on Steam as an adventure title with an indie tag.
By Toge Productions · Indonesia
Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly is a visual novel and the sequel to Coffee Talk, continuing the series' focus on conversation and café life. It was developed and published by Toge Productions, a studio in Indonesia, and released in April 2023. It started out as planned downloadable content for the first game, but its story and gameplay grew enough that the team made it a standalone release. It came shortly after the death of series creator Mohammad Fahmi.
By Chorus Worldwide Games, Toge Productions · Indonesia
Coffee Talk Tokyo is a visual novel spin-off that moves the series from Seattle to Tokyo in 2026. You run a cafe late at night, serving humans and yokai who share their stories and work through their conflicts in conversation, with topics such as overwork culture woven in. It was developed by Toge Productions of Indonesia together with Chorus Worldwide, which published it in May 2026, and it was praised for its pixel art and music.
By Yangyang Mobile · Philippines
High Times is a dating sim and visual novel with a cooking twist from Yangyang Mobile, an independent studio in the Philippines. Players work as a Mood Confectioner at The Hotbox, a doughnut shop set in the invented city of San Mazo, baking treats laced with mood enhancers that shift how customers feel. Released in July 2026, it marks Yangyang Mobile's fifth commercial release and was partly funded by a 2024 Kickstarter campaign.
By Winter Wolves · Italy
Loren The Amazon Princess blends a visual novel with fantasy role-playing, pairing story-driven scenes with RPG systems. It was created by Winter Wolves, an independent studio in Italy, using the Ren'Py engine, and first released on April 30, 2012 before its Steam launch in 2014. An expansion, The Castle Of N'mar, came later in 2012, and a 2014 spin-off in the Tales of Aravorn line carried the subtitle Seasons of the Wolf.
By Yangyang Mobile · Philippines
Love Esquire mixes a visual novel, a dating sim and RPG elements in a comedic fantasy tale. Instead of a hero, the player controls a humble squire with only a few months to win someone's heart before being sent off to war, which gives the romance a ticking clock. It was developed and published by Yangyang Mobile, a studio based in the Philippines, and released in October 2019 for Windows, macOS and Linux.
By Nikita Kryukov · Russia
In Milk Inside a Bag of Milk Inside a Bag of Milk, an unnamed woman heads to a nearby shop to buy a bag of milk while struggling with severe trauma, and the player acts as the voice inside her head, sharing her inner monologue. This psychological horror visual novel was made by Russian developer Nikita Kryukov using Ren'Py and released on Steam in August 2020, with a sequel following in 2021.
By Nikita Kryukov · Russia
A direct sequel to its 2020 predecessor, Milk Outside a Bag of Milk Outside a Bag of Milk continues the story of the same unnamed heroine, exploring her unsettling dreams through themes of isolation, trauma and depression. This psychological horror visual novel was developed and published by Russian indie creator Nikita Kryukov using Ren'Py, and it arrived on Steam and itch.io in December 2021.
By Eyeguys, Lorenzo Redaelli · Italy
Milky Way Prince: The Vampire Star is a visual novel about the relationship between two characters, Nuki and Sune, and it deals directly with mental health. Designer Lorenzo Redaelli describes it as a partly autobiographical work. It was developed by Eyeguys in Italy, published by Santa Ragione, and released in August 2020 for Windows and Mac.
By Beautiful Glitch · Spain
Monster Prom is a dating sim in which players play a student at Spooky High, a school whose pupils are all monsters, with the goal of landing someone to take to prom. It was made by Beautiful Glitch, a Barcelona studio started by Julián Quijano, and launched on Windows, macOS and Linux in April 2018. A Second Term expansion followed in 2019, along with a string of sequels beginning with Monster Camp in 2020.
By Beautiful Glitch · Spain
Monster Prom 2: Monster Camp is a visual novel in which players once again try to romance a cast of monsters, continuing the formula of the first Monster Prom. Steam categorises it as a simulation title. Beautiful Glitch, a studio from Spain, both developed and self-published it, releasing it in October 2020 for Windows, macOS and Linux as the second entry in its monster romance series.
By Monkey Moon, BlackMuffin · France
Night Call is a noir adventure co-developed by Monkey Moon and BlackMuffin in France and published by Raw Fury. You drive a taxi through Paris after surviving a serial killer's attack, and must crack a murder case by talking with passengers. Alongside the investigation, a management layer tracks the need to earn a living from each shift. Released in July 2019, it was praised for setting and characters but criticised as repetitive.
By Somi · South Korea
No Case Should Remain Unsolved is a mystery game in which retired Senior Inspector Jean Gyeong revisits the disappearance of a girl named Seowan through memories of past interviews. Players read witness testimonies, rearrange them by order and speaker, and pick out words that trigger new memories. It was created by South Korean indie developer Somi in their spare time during 2023 and won awards at several game festivals.
By Yangyang Mobile · Philippines
Perfect Gold is a brief yuri visual novel with a coming-of-age story following Marion LaRue and Audrey Clary. The two explore a magical city called Castlecoast while being given another chance at friendship and romance, with the player reading through their story. It was made and published by Yangyang Mobile, a developer based in the Philippines, and released in April 2021 for Windows and macOS.
By Winter Wolves · Italy
Planet Stronghold is a science fiction visual novel with role-playing elements and a turn-based combat system. It was developed and published by Winter Wolves, a studio in Italy, using the Ren'Py engine. The game first launched in February 2011 for Windows, Mac and Linux, later came to Android and iOS, and arrived on Steam in May 2014.
By Team Eleven · United States
SC2VN is a free visual novel taking place in South Korea in the first competitive years of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty. Players follow Mach, a hopeful who wants to turn professional, through a story praised for portraying esports honestly, including its emotional cost and the real chance of failing. It was developed by Team Eleven, a studio from the United States, released on Windows in September 2015, and a prequel titled Don't Forget Our Esports Dream came later.
By Torpor Games · Germany
Suzerain is a text-driven visual novel about governing, casting you as president of Sordland, an invented nation in the 1950s. Rather than combat, play revolves around political decisions and dialogue choices that shape how your administration unfolds. It was developed by Torpor Games, a Berlin studio in Germany, and launched on Windows and macOS in 2020. A further expansion, Kingdom of Rizia, moved the action to a different corner of the same fictional world in 2024.
By Yangyang Mobile · Philippines
The Letter is a horror visual novel in which seven people are caught up in a deadly curse and must struggle to survive it. The story places as much weight on the characters' own darker impulses as on the supernatural threat stalking them, asking how far each will go to stay alive. It was developed by Yangyang Mobile, a studio based in the Philippines, and released in July 2017 for Windows, macOS and Linux.
By Blue Tango Street · Saudi Arabia
Backspace Backspace Backspace is a short narrative game about a writer losing the will to create in an age when AI has automated the written word. Told in GBA-style pixel art with a chiptune soundtrack, it offers meaningful choices, two endings and dialogue in nine languages including Arabic. It comes from Blue Tango Street, a remote-first studio based between London and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
By Blue Tango Street · Saudi Arabia
Sips and Sonnets is a visual novel about Ms Meadows, a retired journalist who runs a small tea shop in the English countryside while preparing for a visit from an old friend. You brew different teas, listen to the stories of customers, and turn each day's conversations into a poem at night. The voice cast includes Bethan Dixon Bate and Lenval Brown, and it was made by London and Jeddah based Blue Tango Street.
By Toge Productions · Indonesia
Coffee Talk is a cozy visual novel from the Indonesian studio Toge Productions. You run a late-night coffee shop in a fantasy version of Seattle, listening to the problems of your customers and serving them drinks while their stories unfold. With pixel art inspired by 1990s anime, it is about conversation and warmth rather than challenge.