Avid Visual Novel reader here!
Note: These are from the top of my head.
Top 5 of mine. All things that I probably will one day replay. Also following their fandoms.
1. White Album 2 - There is not best girl: there are only best girls. From the author of Saenai and a harem reader, this is a fantastic, dramatised but realistic story of a love triangle between 3 very close friends. The novel consists of 3 segments and heck only 2 segments have been translated and only just of recent. And its still my fav of all time. 50 hours+ of content, including lots of side material to the story. Probably the only story I have ever read that literally made my heart just die. One scene particularly made my heart feel so hollow and empty. It's just such a fu***ing mess. Masterpiece for sure.
Okay, I'm just gonna do these in a random order now. I don't want to waste hours deliberating.
2. Rewrite- What happens when the people behind Clannad, Angel beats!, Charlotte, Kanon, and Air, decide to make an action heartwarming story. Actually this isn't even nakige (story trying to make you cry). It's just very god damn solid. 8.5/10 bias round up to 9/10. Another 50 hour + VN. All the heroines are on a level of being equally great except *COUGH* just one.
3 Fate/Stay Night- "I'm going to read this because I want to see Saber's route." Knowing very well that I will end up playing the other routes despite my intention. Hahahaahahahahahah Fate stay night was amazing. To me it's a biased 10/10. I was always a huge fate zero fan. But I was really meh of Fate/stay night UBW. Hated Shirou too. And its very rare for me to hate a character in a show. But after this, I'm a huge Shirou fan. I don't think I need to go into anything as we all know how insanely popular fate is.
Favourite moments have to be the very few moments where Emiya Shirou actually fights in Rin's and Sakura's route. He goes from zero to HERO. And no no no its not a manner of it being a cliche styled way.
Shirou vs
and Shirou vs
. Are absolutely fantastic scenes that made my blood boil and get goose bumps throughout the whole fight.
4 Chaos;Child- Quite solid, not as solid as Rewrite. 30 hour + VN i think. From the creator of Steins;Gate. Entertaining Pyscho-suspense story. Heroines much like Rewrite are very close when it comes to myself liking them. Tho quality wise, Rewrite was better. With the exception of one. ^^
5. Aokana- YOU LIKE YOUR HIGHSCHOOL ANIMES? BUT YOU GETTING TIRED OF HOW GENERIC THEY ARE? LOOK NO FURTHER BECAUSE AOKANA IS A BREATH OF FRESH AIR. Absolutely stunning visuals, surprisingly great music, and fantastic heroine routes. Also one of the rare stories when the MC feels like he has as much development as he does to a Heroine. (Note all of the above do as well).
Essentially its Air Gear but its a romance highschool visual novel.
Heck I haven't even finished this yet, I must save this for another time.
Fun fact: Sprite, the company who made this have only made 2 visual novels. This is there second. And their company shutdown a few years after making this.
But through the fans support, they have come back.
The story has that generic fluff you want + a fulfilling story.
Honorable Mentions:
Steins;Gate- Greatest anime of all time. Made my visual novel experience kinda weird. But it damn delivers for sure. Masterpiece.
Aiyoku no Eustesia- only 2 out of 6? chapters have been translated. It's god damn good. Potentially may enter above.
Umineko- Extremely long, not my type of novel but Its definitely one of the big ones. I need to finish it.
G-Senjou no Majo. - If death note was a highschool anime (You get what I mean). Unfortunately, I wished it had more focus on the big brain moments as I feel there wasn't enough. It had a much greater focus on the heroines. Need to finish it, but its a great Visual Novel as a starter.
Little Busters/ Tomoyo After/ Summer Pockets. - Do you want to cry? Do you value meaningful stories? Do you like Clannad/Angel Beats?