The visual novel is a genre of video game that plays like a… novel. Thus there are certain features common to visual novels, and through these metrics we can deduce the extent to which a video game is a true visual novel. We will use the following rubric:
Rubric
1 - Not present |
2 - Fails to meet expectations |
3 - Meets expectations |
4 - Exceeds expectations has exactly the same size and shape |
|
Config |
User cannot customize any settings, or config isn’t in the title screen |
Config is present, but not called "Config" |
Config is present but limited |
Config is present and has a bunch of settings that you’d literally never use |
Text boxes |
No in-game text |
In-game text, not formatted in ADV or NVL mode |
In-game text, formatted in either ADV or NVL mode |
In-game text is formatted in either ADV or NVL mode and almost always on the screen |
Number of save files |
0-1 save files |
2-4 save files |
5-19 save files |
20 or more save files |
TIPS screen |
No TIPS screen |
Contains a screen with information/items accessible on-demand |
Contains some pertinent information |
Contains tangentially important information, i.e. cultural context, explaining an inside joke, etc. |
Lack of interactivity |
Virtually everything relies on a player’s choice, i.e. open-world games |
The game has a strictly ordered set of objectives the player has to follow |
Most of the player’s inputs are monotonous button presses, i.e. advancing text |
Almost all of the player’s inputs are monotonous button presses, i.e. advancing text |
Quality of Life |
Has none of (backlog, autoplay, skip, save/load on-the-fly, hideable text) |
Has 1 of (backlog, autoplay, skip, save/load on-the-fly, hideable text) |
Has 3 of (backlog, autoplay, skip, save/load on-the-fly, hideable text) |
Has a backlog, autoplay, skip, save/load on-the-fly, hideable text |
And now… the ranking!
| A perfect score is 24. Congrats to Umineko for being a perfect visual novel. |
| Title | Config | Text boxes | Num. saves | TIPS | Lack of Interactivity | Quality of Life | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Umineko no Naku Koro ni |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
24 |
AI: The Somnium Files series |
3 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
21 |
Danganronpa series |
2 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
21 |
Zero Escape series |
2 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
20 |
The House in Fata Morgana |
3 |
4 |
4 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
20 |
Ace Attorney series |
2 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
16 |
Prof. Layton series |
2 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
14 |
Elden Ring |
2 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
12 |
2D Mario |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
10 |
Super Mario Sunshine |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
10 |