Chaos;Head: 2 Open Source Clones Compared
libnpengine and NitroSharp are both reimplementations of Nitroplus's visual novel engine, but target different games: libnpengine is built primarily around running Steins;Gate, with Chaos;Head support coming through a separate companion project, while NitroSharp is written specifically to make Chaos;Head Noah playable. NitroSharp is described as close to feature-complete but still missing a reliable save system, several graphical effects, fullscreen mode, auto mode and backlog voice replay, and its Linux build currently has no sound.
Comparison table
Availability
- Status
- Playable
- Platforms
- Linux
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Halted
- Last updated
- 7y ago
- Stars
- 64
- Contributors
- 4
- License
- LGPL-3.0
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- YesCan run Steins;Gate and other Nitroplus visual novel games, implying original game data is required.
Availability
- Status
- Semi-playable
- Platforms
- Windows
- Play in browser
- No
- Mobile
- No
Project health
- Development status
- Sporadic
- Last updated
- 9mo ago
- Stars
- 56
- Contributors
- 4
- License
- MIT
Compatibility
- Requires original assets
- YesRequires game files extracted from Chaos;Head Noah; users must obtain the game and extract nss.npa using nipa.
| Title | libnpengine | Nitrosharp |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Playable | Semi-playable |
| Platforms | Linux | Windows |
| Play in browser | No | No |
| Mobile | No | No |
| Project health | ||
| Development status | Halted | Sporadic |
| Last updated | 7y ago | 9mo ago |
| Stars | 64 | 56 |
| Contributors | 4 | 4 |
| License | LGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Compatibility | ||
| Requires original assets | YesCan run Steins;Gate and other Nitroplus visual novel games, implying original game data is required. | YesRequires game files extracted from Chaos;Head Noah; users must obtain the game and extract nss.npa using nipa. |
| Preview | |
Known limitations
- stability: Close to feature-complete but expect crashes; not a viable drop-in replacement yet.
- features: Missing features include proper save system, motion blur, lens effects, fullscreen mode, auto mode, backlog voice replay, and full controller support.
- audio: Linux version does not have sound.
Frequently asked questions
Are the Chaos;Head clones on this page open source?
Yes — every clone catalogued here is an open-source project. Availability, license, and development-status details for each one are listed in the comparison table above.
What license do these Chaos;Head clones use?
libnpengine (LGPL-3.0); Nitrosharp (MIT).
Do I need to own the original Chaos;Head to play these clones?
libnpengine and Nitrosharp require original game assets to play.
See the full write-up for each clone, or go back to Chaos;Head.