The monk is back, the jam is cooking (and a capybara walked in)
Busy one. Canticle broke its silence, there’s a jam running that some of you should be entering, four new things landed, and I have a correction to make.
October 11, 2026
Canticle 0.4.8 is out, and November is still on
Gay fantasy VN set in a monastery, with a murder mystery underneath.
Last week I told you I was watching this one nervously. I can stop.
0.4.8 landed on Patreon with the first round of graphical revisions, and Chapters 1 through 4 are all in. Void Mammoth’s own line: the Patreon version is now about three times the size of the public version. Last month he said double. It is moving fast.
And the bit that matters most: the public demo is still coming in early November, and it will include part of Chapter 3. That is the first time he has said what’s actually in it. If you have only ever played the free build, which has been stuck at v0.3 since last December, that’s your update.
He signed off with “hope to see you back in the priory soon if you’ve been away,” which, same.
A correction, and it’s mine. Last week I told you Hypermancer was still on 0.1.2. It wasn’t. 0.1.3 shipped on October 8, the day before I posted, adding an Anomaly Spawn system and something called R.I.S.K. I checked the devlog and read it wrong. Sorry.
Running until December 1
🎮 BARA JAM 2026 is running
The big annual bara game jam, now in its ninth year.
If you have ever thought about making something, this is the one.
Hosted by bobcgames and Rob Colton, submissions opened October 1 and close December 1, so there is a month and a half left. It is deliberately a long jam, two full months, rather than a weekend sprint.
The brief is simple: your game has to focus on queer relationships between men or the queer male experience, with the Bara influence. All genres, explicitly not just visual novels. NSFW is fine, just flag it.
Here’s the thing though. 78 people have joined and there are 3 entries so far. That is normal for a long jam, everything arrives in the final fortnight, but it does mean there is a lot of room right now. If you’ve got a half-finished Ren’Py project sitting in a folder, this is the excuse.
We’re already seeing entries show up in the wild. Midnight Cocktail, further down this post, is one of them.
October 13, 2026
The Demon Lord Needs To Get Laid!
Exactly what it says. You are a general with a very specific assignment.
New, and the premise made me laugh out loud. You’re the general of the Bloodbanished Army. Many things stand between your army and its unholy goals, and it is your job to quash them. The newest obstacle is your Lord Alfrodam’s shameful, submissive desires.
So you do what the job necessitates. You get your superior laid.
In development, Windows and Mac, 5.0 from 2 very early ratings, no generative AI. The page opens with a blunt NSFW warning that ends “please do not play if you are below the age of 18, or are homophobic,” which is a content note with a spine.
October 12, 2026
Midnight Cocktail
18+ BL visual novel, and a BARA JAM 2026 entry.
A neon-lit underground bar. Hansol wants a quiet drink. Seojun, the bartender, proposes a game he calls “Special Service”: best of five Rock-Paper-Scissors. If Hansol wins, he drinks free.
He does not get a quiet night.
Ren’Py, Windows, Mac, Linux and Android, a few minutes long, English and Thai, no generative AI. Same dev as The Bad Boy Defeated by Fluff.
October 16, 2026
Arthur’s Quest: The Holy Trail
Lane tower defense where you purify monsters before they reach Arthur’s crew.
Brand new prototype, up about a day. Combine spells, purify monsters, complete the mission Priest Hothos handed you. The demo has 3 enemy types, 3 H-animations, one skill and an upgrade system.
Early days and clearly labelled a prototype, Windows only, no generative AI. From Male Doll, the Bara Blood and Baracop people, who have now done platformers, a point-and-click and a tower defense in about a year.
October 14, 2026
Himbo Hymns
Short Christmas VN where your reindeer plushie turns into a giant himbo.
Got an update this week, and yes it is October, and no I don’t care.
Christmas is here, there’s nobody you can call near or dear, and then your plushie becomes a very large man. About 4,000 words, 10 to 15 minutes, two epilogues after the main ending, and a six-track OST.
The feature list includes “super cute himbo that loves you unconditionally” and “brief himbo therapy session (not actually therapy plz don’t sue),” which tells you the register.
4.7 from 17 ratings, no generative AI, Windows, Mac, Linux and Android, and there’s a separate EPILOGUE page if you finish it and want more.
🛒 Get it on itch.io 🛒 The epilogue
October 15, 2026
Serious Bara, which is not what you think
A cozy capybara puzzle game that showed up in my bara sweep. I’m telling you so you don’t wishlist the wrong thing.
This is not a bara game. “Bara” here is short for capybara.
It is a connect-the-flow puzzle game in which capybaras are the secret custodians of history, slipping through hot springs from their mountain onsen to quietly fix the past. 600+ missions, 2,500 maps, and historical figures reimagined as capybaras: Tutbarahamun. Florence Nightinbara. Albara Einstein. Joan of Bara.
It is wholesome, family-friendly, explicitly no dark themes, and genuinely charming. $8.99 with 10% off until October 28.
On AI, since it matters here: the dev discloses that some character and venue art, some 3D props, all the cast voice lines, the intro films and the translations were made with AI tools and reviewed by hand. That’s a fairly broad disclosure. Your call.
👀 On the radar
Hypermancer now has an official SFW Edition. The itch page was retitled this week. 0.1.3 from October 8 is the current build, 4.4 from 8 ratings, still free while it’s in early development, still no generative AI. If the content was the thing keeping you away, that’s resolved.
🏆 The Gaymies are taking nominations, and the clock is running. Not new news, the nomination window opened back in June, but it closes at the end of November and I’d rather tell you now than the week after. You can nominate up to six visual novels for Best Visual Novel of 2026. Plenty of things in this post deserve one.
Twin Coves … no change. Still 78%, still nothing on itch since April 27.
Those NPC’s Love Stories … unchanged, Steam still says “to be announced.”
Dawn Chorus … The Waves is rolling out a chapter every two weeks on Patreon. The full free version lands a month after all seven are done.
💸 On sale right now
Four things, all introductory offers on recent launches rather than a real sale. Each on its own clock, so watch the dates:
・Fappy Plane 20% off, $3.99, ends October 19 (this Monday) ・Alpha Impact 20% off, $4.79, ends October 23 ・Serious Bara 10% off, $8.99, ends October 28 ・Where’s My Lewd Deck? Deep ‘n Dive 50% off, $1.49
📺 Catch me live
I stream every week, usually Sundays around 3PM EST. Bara and gay story driven games, plus whatever horror indie catches my eye.
Newest video: Flirting My Way Through a Forest Full of Handsome Diplomats 🦊🐺🐻 | Crown Of The Forest Folk
See you Sunday 🐹