Narrat is a free, open-source game engine for creating narrative games, RPGs, visual novels, and interactive fiction. Its scripting language supports branching choices, functions, variables, and conditions, while built-in systems cover skills and checks, inventory, quests, achievements, saving and loading, audio, and notifications. The engine can show interactive visual screens, character portraits and poses, animations, and video backgrounds. Users can theme its interface with CSS and configure it through editable YAML settings. Localization includes syntax for translated strings and a language switcher. Developers can extend Narrat with TypeScript code, Vue components, custom commands, menu tabs, data stores, and lifecycle hooks; documentation also lists a Godot 4 integration plugin. Games can be built as static websites or desktop applications for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Steam build support is experimental, and mobile games are delivered as HTML5 web games. Narrat uses the MIT license and may be used for personal or commercial projects without restrictions. Help is available through documentation, a troubleshooting guide, a community forum, and Discord.
Who it is for
Narrat suits creators making story-led games who want scripting, built-in game systems, and visual presentation tools. Its plugin API and Godot 4 integration may also suit developers seeking ways to extend or connect the engine.
What is good
- Free for personal and commercial use under MIT
- Built-in quests, inventory, skills, and save/load
- Includes localization syntax and a language switcher
- Can publish static websites or desktop applications
- Plugin API supports TypeScript and Vue components
What to know first
- Steam build support is experimental
- Mobile games are delivered as HTML5 web games
Verdict
Narrat brings narrative-game scripting and built-in RPG systems together with localization and customization options. It is free under the MIT license, though Steam support is experimental.
Narrat plans and pricing
All plansCompared on game narrative design software
- Free plan
- Yes
- Branching dialogue
- Yes
- Quest design
- Yes
- Authoring model
- document-based
- Game engine support
- Godot 4
- Localization workflow
- Yes
