The two terms are similar yet different, however, the fact that they look and 'feel' the same outweighs the technical differences. For clarification, visual novels are considered a sub-genre of adventure games and the term does not cover simulations. While the two genres often share a common visual presentation, dating sims are sometimes considered to be more statistically based than the "choose your own adventure" style of visual novels; basically, the choices you make might change something else than just the story arc (or your next porn pic). Dating sims can involve several technical elements such as a time limit, several statistics such as looks and charm which can be boosted through exercise, or an "attraction meter" which can increase or decrease depending on one's decisions.