It’s no secret that I love visual novels. They bring character development, good stories, and explore emotions that sometimes are more difficult to handle. In others, they put you in the driver’s seat of a murder investigation, and in others, sometimes, you just get to enjoy a sweet romance. Either way, visual novels are usually a hard sell and it’s not often you see them so front and center at a convention. So I was pleased to see that there were quite a few at Play.NYC 2026.
If missed episode 59 of Girl Pod where I talked all about Play.NYC, never fear, the visual novels I highlighted will also be discussed down below. Of course, you’ll miss some other Play.NYC coverage so it’s definitely still worth watching.
On Love, On Monsters
While I wouldn’t say I am the biggest fan of Halloween, I am quite a fan of the classics. So when I saw On Love, On Monsters on the show floor, I gravitated towards it. What does love look like? How are bonds formed between found family? What if that family is created, literally? In this take on Frankenstein, three protagonists bring Theodora to life and explore an intersection of love and science.
On Love, On Monsters is from Lighthouse Theory Games, a new indie developer made up of a queer duo, March and May Summers. With a focus on the power of love, the duo is taking on important themes in approachable yet interesting ways. On Love, On Monsters promises character driven choice based play with multiple endings, both good and bad. The cast of characters includes a variety of queer and disabled characters who all come with fully voiced acted lines. March and May Summers are responsible for the music, art, writing, coding, and production of On Love, On Monsters so you know that this will be a labor of love. The demo is out on Steam now. You won’t have to wait too long to dive into the full game as On Love, On Monsters releases October 31, 2026.
Memoralysis
Going from creating life to unraveling the mystery of a life lost we have Memoralysis. The dedication here from Mads England who created the project was great to see. At the display table, each day, you’d see Celosia James at the table. At least, someone cosplaying Celosia ready to talk all about the game.
In Memoralysis, you play as a detective coming to investigate the death of Rhys Beaumont. Except you won’t be investigating just like a normal detective. No, as Philon Delancy you have a nice little trick to help your work. You can see small bits of a person’s psyche. Typically memories, which the detective has come to call Memoralysis. However it’s not a perfect system as we learn that memories can be distorted by someone’s perception. You can use it to get a sense of what was happening and dig deeper into the mystery. Memoralysis has only one ending for players to find as you navigate memories and discover the truth behind Beaumont’s death.
Did we also mention that some believe Celosia herself may be possessed? How will that impact your ability? You’ll have to take the dive into Memoralysis to find out. The demo is currently available on Steam with an anticipated release date of later this year.
Ventreville: A Cure for Sorrow Chapter 1
Another murder yet this one has what seems to be a more lighthearted feel. While Memoralysis has one ending, in Ventreville you will find your way to multiple endings based on the clues you uncover. Ventreville is a murder mystery told over the course of six chapters each a bit different than the other. The idea with Ventreville is that you will play as a different protagonist in each chapter until you arrive at the final protagonist, the detective.
The twist with Ventreville is that each chapter will also determine how many clues the detective has to work with at the end of it all. The game looks to build upon each previous chapter with players have differing experiences based on what they’ve uncovered or missed. How many clues will you have available to you when you uncover the murders of Ret and Flaire Avidine?
Chapter one releases on Steam today.
And that’s my visual novel round up! Personally, it was great to see so many visual novels on display for players to peruse. I love visual novels as an interactive storytelling medium and I hope you’ll find a new one to dive into from the list above. Let us know which of the above caught your eye by commenting down below or joining the Gamer Social Club discord server.
