The Yaoi Game Jam (yaoijam for shorts) is an annual video game jam held on itch.io where creators of all horizons sign up to create a BL-themed game from scratch in the span of 2 month (only 1 in the previous year).
This year we get to see 36 new games, which is almost as much as the previous two years combined!
Some devs are beginners and bust their ass to produce their very first games, some are experienced and may or may not have participated in previous yaoijams. Most games are demos for longer projects but a few are complete and quite long (1+ hour of playtime).
Overall quality and state of completion vary but you’re sure to find at least one game you like in these jams!
Ouija Sleepover by YuTopia
Status: Complete
Playtime: 1-2 hours
Keywords: RPG, horror, established relationship
“Aiden is a 19 years old university student, with a big crush on his friend Dan, who happens to come over for a movie night. While preparing for the evening, Aiden stumbles upon a Ouija board, left by someone in the garbage. As a joke, Aiden decides to bring the spirit board with him, not knowing, what else he just invited into his apartment.”
Remember kids, don’t take random Ouija boards you find in the trash.
Summer at Marisol Bay by Legendex Games
Status: Work-in-progress (demo)
Playtime: 3-4 hours
Keywords: modern day, slice of life, wholesome
Kyro Ivanovski is an actor freshly hired at Marisol Bay Resort where he must take the role of a pirate 8 hours a day. You follow him during the summer as he must entertain guests, maintain his relationship with the staff and maybe find love.
Summer at Marisol Bay is one of the longer entries to the Yaoijam. It contains a whopping 45k words and partial voice acting. Overall a feel-good story you may want to play if you’re looking to relax. My only regret is that it doesn’t contain any CG.
Silver Blue by Bun Bo Soup
Status: Word-in-progress (demo)
Playtime: 20 minutes
Keywords: fantasy, adventure, long game
Probably the most ambitious game in this year’s Yaoijam, Silver Blue tells the tale of Cyan, an orphan goes on a journey to find his dear master and meets new people along the way, face strange events and find the meaning behind the strange dreams he’s been having.
The team behind this game, Bun Bo Soup will launch a Kickstarter on September 5th!
I’m a SIDE CHARACTER in a BL story! by Red/Witpop
Status: Complete
Playtime: 45 minutes
Keywords: school life, parody, wholesome
You play as Jodeci, an Australian high school boy who likes to ship his best friend Peter with other boys. A new transfer student brings painful memories to Peter and it’s up to you to decide whether to help them make amends or keep them apart.
This is a side-story to I’m a love interest in my childhood friend’s reverse harem!!! and contains partial voice acting.
The Ocean at Night by Team Merpus
Status: Word-in-progress (demo)
Playtime: 1 hour
Keywords: modern fantasy, adventure, merman
In which Kova, a workaholic who tries to run away from his past, meets Nero, a curious and adventurous merman who wishes to see the Ocean. The demo contains 3 CGs and 4 original backgrounds.
The final game will feature voice acting. Part of the team, Two and a Half Studios, is also working on The Divine Speaker.
The Seer by Fruci
Status: In-Progress (Alpha version)
Playtime: 30 minutes
Keywords: modern fantasy, established relationship
Every city has a “Seer”, someone who magically gifted who can read the oracles. Coral seeks to be the new Seer and is plagued bya “dark future”. The game focuses on his relationship with his boyfriend Andrew and the world around them.
Our Secret Garden by Yazorius
Status: Complete
Playtime: 45 minutes
Keywords: dystopia, puzzle, 3D
You play as young man called Yan in a 3D environment where he need to run errands for his family.
Asterism: Time & Space by Crystal Games Works
Status: Complete
Playtime: 10 minutes
Keywords: modern fantasy, established relationship
Made by Crystal Games Works, Time & Space is a 10-minutes long side story to the in-development RPG game Asterism, in which the main character, Kotachi goes on a date with is boyfriend Ophi.
2ha Gaccha by Toki
Status: Complete
Playtime: 10 minutes
Keywords: minigames
A fangame to the Chinese BL novel “The husky and his white cat shizun” (shortened “2ha” by fans) made by tokihey in less than 3 days. There is no plot, just a bunch of minigames.
Deep in the Forest by Ertal
Status: In Progress (Demo)
Playtime: 45 minutes
Keywords: fantasy
The protagonist Jan needs to win the trust of his uncle in order to inherit his apothecary shop. Meanwhile, there have been rumors strange sightings in the forest. Available in English and Spanish.
UNISTAR by Ohisashi
Status: In Progress (demo)
Playtime: 30 minutes
Keywords: school life, magical boys
A young man is forced to become a senior class president and chaos ensues when he discovers that he and his council are… magical boys.
Gay Zodiac by Pomegranate Club
Status: In Progress (alpha version)
Playtime: 1 hour
Keywords: Urban fantasy, established relationship
A game about dating the Zodiac Signs. You attend a party where you can either mend your relationship with your boyfriend or find someone else. Playable in Spanish with partial English translation.
Deep Inside by Banya
Status: Complete
Playtime: 1+ hour?
Keywords: RPG, horror
“Nobody talks about the fire incident at Estmour mansion. As the new servant, you’re bound to keep silence. Things take a strange turn when you find a message from your pyromaniac predecessor… deep inside, there’s a truth to uncover.“
Lilian – the beginning of the end by Xiri
Status: Complete
Playtime: 10 minutes
Keywords: fantasy
A forbidden love story between an angel and a boy who talks to the skies.
Snake Charmer by Overtired_Fox
Status: Complete
Playtime: unknown
Keywords: fantasy, desert settings
A snake charmer rescues a wounded snake, who turns out to be the runaway Prince of his kingdom.
Space Explorer Iyo!! by Ohisashi
Status: Complete
Playtime: 20 minutes
Keywords: space opera
A space explorer named Iyo wants to explore Starbius, a planet infamous for its Shooting Star. To do so, he must gain the trust of its owner, Atom.
Fleeting JKT by xxmissarichanxx
Status: Complete
Playtime: 5 minutes
Keywords: space opera, rock-paper-scissor, strip game
The crew of the Battleship Nimue is stranded in space. To kill time, they decide to play Jan Ken Tease. Despite the game theme, there is no actual explicit content.
Doggy Style by Sinnia
Status: In Progress (Alpha version)
Playtime: 30 minutes
Keywords: 18+, modern day, catboys and dogboys
A spinoff of KitPupPOM!, a story where a virus has turned all cats and dogs into humans.
Heart is Muscle by Heiden
Status: In Progress (no build available yet)
Playtime: unknown
Keywords: RPG, medieval, MUSCLES!
Borislav is a candidate to be the next mayor of Swoleville. You choose his actions for the next 24 hours.
Heart is Muscle unfortunately didn’t make it to the Yaoijam deadline, but it’s estimated to be released on December!
Onefold Crush by TheJayDuck
Status: Complete (Alpha version)
Playtime: unknown
Keywords: catboy, modern day
The creator’s experiment with Unity engine. You have a date with a catboy.
Way to a Vampire’s Heart by Akane Hayashi
Status: Work-in-progress (demo)
Playtime: 30 min (6800 words)
Keywords: fantasy, vampire
The story of Lucian Lockhart, a young vampire hunter who meets a vampire who may be too beautiful to kill.
Final game will be ~2 hours long. Demo is available in English and Brazilian Portugese.
Second Chances by Namaeli
Status: Work-in-progress (demo)
Playtime: 20 min (4000 words)
Keywords: modern day, omegaverse
Andrew Williams is an alpha who tries to forget a bad breakup by dedicating himself to his job at a daycare. You help him navigate his relationships. Available in English and Spanish.
100 Degrees by magicfluffnugget
Status: Work-in-progress (demo)
Playtime: unknown
Keywords: modern day, school life, cooking
Yuuma Fujiwara is a shy and introverted high school boy who gets dragged into the cooking club my his friend Kyo. You follow Yuuma through his new activity and budding relationships.
Autunm is His Favorite Season by Franciszek
Status: Work-in-progress (demo)
Playtime: unknown
Keywords: modern day, supernatural, school life
Thomas Cotard has always been the “genius kid”, a boy with little connection to others until he meets Patrick, a math genius. During the game, he also talks with the “King of Death”.
Moonlight, Memory and Ashes by BurnedOutGames
Status: Work-in-progress (demo)
Playtime: 15 min
Keywords: modern day, supernatural
“Dara, plagued by nightmares of his childhood sweetheart, returns to Dublin after a long absence to discover what happened to the man he loved the most.”
Splash! Tournament of Love
Status: Complete
Playtime: 15 min
Keywords: modern day, sport, school life
A game about “paint dodgeball” and rivals-to-lovers that’s heavily inspired by sports anime.
The Serpent Prince by artsdahl
Status: In Progress (alpha version)
Playtime: 10 min
Keywords: arranged marriage, fantasy
“Exchanged for a debt, Momiji must attempt to uncover the mystery surrounding his new husband’s desire for revenge against Momiji’s own family.”
La Vie en Rose by Abyss Team
Status: In Progress (demo)
Playtime: 2 hours
Keywords: modern day, drama, some adult themes
“La Vie en Rose is a sweet tale of the relationship between two young men; from the start of their romance, their daily lives, to the conflicts they experience.
In their beautiful rose-coloured world, which path will their love lead to?”
Franken Tutor by Foleso
Status: In Progress (demo)
Playtime: 10 minutes
Keywords: school life, fantasy
Law enrolls in a magic school to find his childhood crush Ein, a boy built like Frankenstein who rescued him from bullies.
Ein’s grades are falling apart and to help him, Law offers to give him tutoring.
Hart of the matter by Pixels and Pins
Status: Complete
Playtime: 4 hours
Keywords: fantasy, mini games
“Guillame, Paul, and Alba of the Hart Mercenary Company have been sent on a seemingly simple job: go to the Bi-Annual Inter-World Professional Mage Convention (the Squall) and recruit a new artificer, Tien. When petty fights start breaking out between the people in power, what’s stronger: friendships or guildmates? Can they impress their target with their magical (and otherwise) prowess?”
Unearth Your Gays by ParrotWatcher
Status: In Progress (Alpha version)
Playtime: 2 hours
Keywords: modern day, zombies
“A story about (un)dead boyfriends.
Max (name changeable) finds himself in need of accommodation when he goes to university, and ends up sharing a house with four men who seem to be hiding something…”
Hard 2 Swallow
Status: Work-in-progress (demo)
Playtime: unknown
Keywords: 18+, modern day
Transfer student Jaden Jiménez arrived to Japan in order to work under the mentorship of the famous Dr. O-renji. He has to collect data from 6 handsome men in order to develop a drug that strenghen one’s personnality traits.
Unbirthed By My Beefy Trans Tiger Boyfriend by TastyAce
Status: Complete
Playtime: 20 minutes
Keywords: text adventure (Twine), furry, 18+
Title is pretty self-explanatory. You can look up the definition of “unbirth” here. A couple choices are Patreon-locked and cater to some more specific kinks.
Bara Beach Bear by Sanctioned13
Status: Complete
Playtime: 10 minutes
Keywords: furry, 18+, 3D models, sex simulator
A short game you can play online where you use both hands to give your bear friend a “happy ending” (understand: make him cum) while he’s sleeping.
Whoa, you reached the bottom of this post. :o
If you liked Yaoijam entries, then you may be interested in the upcoming barajam, a jam for “bara”-type games.
If you want to check the previour years’ entries, here are the links:
