After 12 years, legendary visual novel Katawa Shoujo is coming to Steam in a “modified” SFW version for those who want it

The acclaimed visual novel Katawa Shoujo, originally released in 2012, is coming to Steam and Itch for the first time on August 16.

From developer and publisher Four Leaf Studios, the free-to-play visual novel takes place in modern Japan at the fictional Yamaku High School for disabled children, where Hisao Nakai is forced to relocate after being diagnosed with a congenital heart defect. Here he meets five girls who each present a separate branching storyline and timeline in which romance blossoms if Hisao (you) plays his cards right. There’s also the opportunity for things to sour with each of the five romanceable girls, encouraging multiple playthroughs to achieve the desired result.

The bishōjo-style (literally translated to beautiful girl) visual novel has been praised for the sensitive handling of its setting, characters, and the original release’s eroge (erotic) elements, which have been cleaned up for the Steam release. 

Four Leaf Studios notes in a follow-up tweet that there’s a key distinction between the Steam release and the Itch release. Namely, the Steam version doesn’t have the erotic elements of the original release or the Itch version, but if Steam players would prefer to play the game in its entirety with those NSFW parts still in-tact, they can download a patch on Itch that modifies the Steam version. Four Leaf also confirmed that the Steam and Itch version is a straight port with no changes beyond the SFW version for Steam. “Changes are limited to what was required to get it onto Steam,” the studio said.

It’s never a bad time to peruse our list of the best visual novels to play today.