Katawa Shoujo 1.0

Visual novels are one of the most popular genres for indie developers to make games for, due to there being a fantastic free engine out there that helps people easily make visual novels, as well as the low amount of resources required relative to other genres. As a result, indie developers need to do something unique in this genre to stand out. Katawa Shoujo tackles this with a unique concept.

To install Katawa Shoujo, simply run the executable.

On paper, this game is much like any other visual novel dating sim. You have a couple of girls that you can pursue and each of them has an ending. What makes this game unique is the premise. Every one of the girls are disfigured or disabled in some way, and the setting is in a hospital where you're all forced to stay.

The game's route is also locked in towards the end of the first act, meaning that the first act stays relatively static, which is probably the worst part about this game. Of course, each of the girl's storyline involves heartbreak or hardship in some way, and if you mess up, you can easily lead to a bad ending. 

Despite the game being free, the animation quality is actually quite high and the art style is clean and consistent. The worst part about the visuals is how the photo backgrounds and anime characters clash. If any of this sounds interesting to you, then you should definitely give Katawa Shoujo a download.