Katawa Shoujo

[ThePortalGuru]

For those of you who haven't heard of it, Katawa Shoujo is the labor of love of a dedicated group of 4chan users that formed a team they call 4Leaf Studios. It's a visual novel about looking beyond the obvious, and finding your waifu love along the way.

Hisao, the protagonist in the story, is sent to Yamaku, a school for kids with physical disabilities after he has a heart attack and promptly passes out in front of his high school sweetheart. As it turns out, he has a rare heart disease that requires a boatload of medications in order to sustain. He despises everything about this new condition.

But not everything is bad for Hisao. As he gets used to life at Yamaku, he meets a cast of 5 very different girls, each with a different disability.

Rin - An artist girl born with a rare condition that resulted in amputated arms
Lilly - A blind, half-Japanese girl who acts dignified and enjoys tea
Hanako - A timid girl who has severe burns covering half of her body
Emi - A very short track star who runs on prosthetic legs
Shizune - The president of Yamaku's Student Counsil. Needs Misha, her interpreter, around her at all times to relay her sign language to others.

While Katawa Shoujo's validity as a "game" is questionable, it's an incredible piece of interactive entertainment. Each of the girls' paths are very well-written, and the characters have amazing depth to them. I don't normally get very emotional over games, or even books for that matter, but this one certainly hit me hard. I'd highly recommend you give this a shot, even if the art style isn't for you. The sheer amount of polish 4Leaf Studios put into a free thing like this is nothing short of spectacular.