Baldur's Gate III has made quite an impact with its latest trailer, where the protagonist gets to romance with a Druid who is in bear form. And this isn't very uncommon when it comes to romance in video games. Especially these days, video games with content geared toward adults are popular among a diverse audience of gamers. There are romance sequences in almost every AAA game we play. This has become an integral part of these games, even games like GTA, The Witcher, Assassins Creed and many more. And then there's a particular subgenre that is increasingly becoming popular while Steam as a platform has become the home to a selection of the very best adult games available in the market today. The number of games that can be found on Steam is truly in the thousands. This subgenre of games attracts a specific kind of attention, even though they mostly come in the form of visual novels.

Truth be told, most of the games in this genre are below average. Poor writing, bad animation and zero gameplay mechanism make them very tiresome to play. Thankfully, however, there are some games that come with a decent gameplay mechanism and they are quite addicting due to their nature. But to find them, you will need to put in some effort, as Steam does not contain a specific section for this purpose. So I completed the legwork necessary to construct a list of the top adult simulation games which you might find interesting.

Before you continue reading, I must warn you that to buy and play any of these games, you need to be at least 18 years old. Additionally, there are sexual topics and references discussed in this piece, which some readers may find offensive.

1. Quickie: A Love Hotel Story

Quickie: A Love Hotel Story by Oppai Games is a fresh take on the genre. Regardless of your decisions in the various narratives, you'll discover that the hotel-building portion of the game is enjoyable enough due to its genuine old-school SimTower simulation flavor. Whether you're looking for a game or a romantic visual novel, you'll find something worthwhile here. The visual style is pleasant, and the animations are well-polished with plenty of variety; new options are unlocked as you progress the rating of your hotels and story with the characters. And not only the animations are top-notch, and the dialogue fits the scene perfectly, adding an air of passionate romance. The story and writing quality are surprisingly high compared to any game you'd play in this genre. However, the plot alternatives don't make a difference since you can't mix up the conversations for multiple endings as the game follows a linear path.

Hotel management is surprisingly entertaining. The overall impression is that the game might benefit from further expansion if they expand on the hotel management situation part. The scene transitions are executed in a way that seems fresh and offers much diversity. While the majority of the narratives are unfinished among the eight interactable characters, and despite being in early access, there is a substantial amount of content, and the game is updated frequently. The game lets you discover and learn certain details about the characters as your relationship with them deepens. Quickie: A Love Hotel Story is a very well-polished game overall, and it's not the typical adult game by any stretch of the imagination. The visuals that are similar to Persona 5 are pleasant, the cast is engaging and memorable with a gorgeous environment design, and above all, the user interface is well-designed and easy to navigate.

2. Paradise Lust

Paradise Lust, developed by Flexible Media, is unlike any usual visual novel we play on Steam, with tons of content and depth in its story and gameplay. It's quite a unique game with puzzles to solve and a world to build on an island with striking visuals and genuine moments of belly-aching hilarity. The game's writing is full of exciting humor with several different interactable characters to romance with. The gameplay isn't particularly complicated, unlike the typical adult games where each character is integrated into the story well enough to avoid the common gameplay stereotype. While the gameplay will surely remind you of Monkey Island, Paradise Lust is full of puzzles, challenges, and mundane tasks to keep you occupied for over 30 hours.

The game's simplified user interface and mission objectives are praiseworthy, as you get into its world quickly and rather easily, which isn't usually the case for games of this genre. Paradise Lust feels like an RPG once you play it for a while, as unlocking romance for each character requires you to perform certain tasks, solve puzzles, and even grinding is required at times. However, you may have to grind for certain activities or relationship points that aren't too long to be tedious. I enjoyed the game's romance building with the characters more than I enjoyed the animations, while there are plenty in that department if you're in for that. Since the game's protagonist is an artist, you get to draw pictures of all the in-game characters, and they speak of the high standards of the visual team. Above all, the game maintains its high standard till its end with extensive detail and intriguing surroundings.

3. Love & Sex: Second Base

Love & Sex: Second Base by Andrealphus Games is a completed game, unlike many others in this genre. If you're willing to shell out the cash and make the digital download, you'll receive a fully realized game with branching paths and several "endings" that don't crash or leave you wondering where the rest of the tale is. There are around 150 hours of playtime, various story branching pathways with some of the girls, and two separate romance paths for most, giving you the freedom to choose between being a straight-laced innocent or a clever dominant. Rather than taking the form of a typical simulation, this one plays more like a traditional game, complete with the necessary mechanics, timing, and crucial plot components to access the game's secret sequences.

The game is a full-scale simulation mechanism. The protagonist has requirements, such as being clean, eating, feeling good, and getting enough sleep. These can be ranked according to cleanliness, appetite, entertainment value, and vitality. Attributes are a part of your chosen character, influencing who likes you and what you can do. There are Personality, Health, and Brains. The calendar keeps track of the days of the year, allowing you to schedule events that can only occur at specific times of the day or year. There are love and kink points, but you can also choose to act cleanly. To cut a long tale short, there are an absurd number of tools at your disposal to monitor whichever events or preferences strike your fancy.

The romantic illustrations are good overall. It could be more polished and professional, but it's still quite good. Though some of the game's irregular visual style is its sole real flaw. The character arts in some sequences aren't that well drawn, and the game doesn't feature a gallery that players can explore. But Love & Sex: Second Base isn't just about unlocking new scenes; it's about managing your character in a massive romantic world.

4. Tame It!

Tame It! from Manka Games is a blend of survival and crafting games that offers a lot of fun. While it may seem boring at first, the game quickly becomes engaging as you not only have to survive on a harsh island but also get to romance with humanlike creatures. The game has a highly distinctive visual style, and I can't recall ever seeing anything else made with quite the same method. They are well-organized and visually pleasing, with some particularly vivid characterization. Since you'll need to find food and water for yourself and the new allies you acquire, the game's grindiness and repetitive nature can wear on your nerves, in addition to gathering materials for use in crafting new things and advancing the plot. But isn’t that what crafting games is all about? If it wasn't for the game's genre being a point-and-click dating sim, this might have never raised any complaints. But it gets bearable when you figure out how to progress your story without much grinding.

Aside from the protagonist, you only get to know two other characters and the third at the end of the game. While finding the third character remains the primary goal from the very beginning of the game, the writers actually did a fine job with the narratives to keep you attached till the end. The game has the look of both hand-drawn and 3D animation, and it's quite nicely done. Even though romance with two characters in this game isn't like the other games, since the dialogues are all done in sign language, interestingly, this process gets very engaging, and the way you get to build up chemistry with the characters makes them grow on your very fast. There are a few mini-games that you can attend; fishing among them will surely take a toll on you, but none of these are mandatory. Tame It! lets you test your survival skills with varying degrees of difficulty, and despite the grinding, I actually played the game in the hardest difficulty due to its engaging nature. Sadly, the story remains incomplete for a sequel, and we'll find out what Tame It Too! adds to this interesting odd survival game.

5. MILFs of Sunville - Season 1

MILFs of Sunville - Season 1 is a recently released AVN and the game features stunning female protagonists, a romantic plot, ethical dilemmas, and some steamy animations. Even though the game doesn't feature a story that's entirely unique for this genre, there's more to the game than it may initially appear. The story follows a protagonist who's compelled to return to college in the sleepy village of Sunville after living an extravagant life. Life only starts to get more engaging for him with the struggle to earn money and maintain relationships with the people he cares about. While the game's visuals aren't the most photorealistic compared to some other games of this subgenre, they are generally lively, and all character designs and animations are captured in 3D with fine details.

Not only in the animation but while interacting with a character, especially when they're waiting for your decision, they look very realistic with their eyes blinking and lifelike expressions, something I haven't seen in a visual novel so far. A feature called RRMeter in the game works as a gameplay mechanism that accumulates all your decisions for the endgame content. So, throughout the game, you make some interesting choices, and your decisions always have consequences. And having the option to participate in various activities, such as attending college, going to work, etc., keeps the gameplay engaging. The game takes around 10 hours to finish with lots of content to explore, and you'll have to play through the game twice to find out the different conclusions and consequences depending on your decision to follow the rabbit who is protective of his charges or the rat who is reckless and manipulates others, to see everything that happens.

L7team is also working on a new game called Breeze of Passion, which is in Early Access now, and the game has a similar mechanism when it comes to gameplay, but not much has been revealed yet in terms of the game’s overall narrative. During my trial, I didn’t come across the RRMeter or any similar mechanism. Perhaps more will be revealed in the coming days. The game looked good in terms of character design which is somewhat similar to MILFs of Sunville.

6. Leap of Love

Leap of Love by Andrealphus Games is yet another dating simulation that takes on the role of Kaheroux, a frog who is transformed into a prince by a questionable sorcerer. A princess must be found and married within a month, or he will turn back into a frog. This is not the usual AVN that we play on Steam, but rather a lighthearted adventure game with a single, optional romantic scene at the end. The game's aesthetics are superb. The art style is beautiful, with attractive figures and pretty to spectacular settings. Chibi art that appears here and there is also adorable. The scene changes are especially well done, thanks to the use of moving curtains. They help to create a theater-like atmosphere and add to the game's overall fairytale vibe.

The difficulty of the game exceeds initial expectations. You need to prioritize which skills to develop and which activities to engage in during your limited free time. The difference between achieving your happy ending and not is sometimes as simple as being in the right location at the right time. Thankfully there are a lot of save spots, so don't worry about running out of space. When compared to the average visual novel, which only has roughly 60 save slots, the ability to save at least once each day is a huge boon. If you make a huge error at the beginning of the game and don't realize it until long later, you can go back as far as you like. Playing through the game is a ton of fun, and there's a lot to pick up along the way. I think it's great and recommend it to everybody who asks.

7. Prince of Suburbia - Part 2

Prince of Suburbia - Part 2 continues the story from where it left off in the first free-to-play episode. It's a point-and-click visual novel that thrives because of some of its particularly likable supporting characters. As a basic sandbox game, it has a very linear story to follow, a comical tale, and plenty of risqué animations. However, the plot doesn't have much tension because it is simply too straightforward. There are no alternate endings to the narrative; thus, there is no development in the character's pursuit motives or anything like that. Which obviously takes some of the excitement out of the story. While all the games I've discussed above are on this list due to their gameplay features, Prince of Suburbia, on the other hand, is simply because of its gorgeous visuals.

Yes, the game is visually stunning and leaves you wanting more once it ends. ViM Studios deserves much praise for their effort with the game's presentation. The addition of mini-games, such as solving puzzles or progressing the character's story through some sort of development, would've made things more engaging. Nonetheless, Part 1 being free to play, and Part 2 only costing a few dollars, it's an interesting experience for those who are into AVN.

8. EmyLiveShow: S&M story

EmyLiveShow: S&M story developed by Team Emily is an interesting take on the visual novel genre with some RPG element in the mix. The story has elements of a mystery and a travelogue as you're a journalism major who writes about supernatural activities on your own blog. The story takes you to a village where actual vampire streamers are said to reside to provide content for your writing. This is where the game starts to get interesting with its leveling system and an item database that allows for branching storylines. While you learn the real story behind Emy and Nia, there are five possible conclusions to the game; however, you'll have to put in much effort to get there.

Unlike other AVN games, EmyLiveShow: S&M story lets you choose your character's pronouns, gender, skin tone, etc. This is somewhat connected to the game's multiple endings, but it's an interesting take on the genre, something I haven't seen before. Graphically it's very beautiful and vibrant, with all the characters clearly drawn with care. While there aren't too many animations as many would expect from the game, it won't make much of a difference if they dig into the game's narrative as the story has elements of a mystery and a journal of travels, which keep you asking for more. Sadly there's no save option in the game, so if you make a wrong choice, you need to carry on to that decision and move forward. Surprisingly though, the music is totally unlike what you hear in such games, but it fits perfectly fine with the game's settings. Even though there’s a bit of grinding in terms of going over the dialogue options when you intend to see all the story endings, it’s fun nonetheless.