General BL Games Discussion Thread

ishibashi · Jan 23, 2026

BL games are pretty niche and I know a lot of people feel awkward posting about BL in a largely otome space, so I figured a dedicated thread for just BL games would help for people wanting to find information about or discuss anything about the genre, including lesser known games that are less likely to sustain their own dedicated threads. Connect with your fellow BL games enjoyers! Ask for recs, rant about games you're excited to play, talk about your fav MCs, discuss the most horrible bad endings, lament the woes of getting the things to run on Windows 11, anything goes!

List of Upcoming BL Games as of 1/23/2026

水都は薄明 (HolicWorks) - 1/30/2026, Japanese devs
PSYCHIC ECLIPSE-サイキックイクリプス- code:green (NEXT-B) - Release date unannounced, a sequel to the original Psychic Eclipse, Japanese devs
東京幻燈─Tokyo Phantasmagoria─ (Procyon) - Release date unannounced, Japanese devs
The Inn Between (Cats on a Lilypad Studios) - Release date unannounced, Western devs
艾尔蒂的晚宴 ALTY'S DINNER (ZEM泽狼) - Release date unannounced, Chinese devs
咒影 Curse of the Shadow (小青蛙妙妙制作组) - Q1 2026, Chinese devs
Once Upon a Throne of Thorns (ebihime) - 2026, Western devs
3 Lines of A Delta (kiviont) - 3/3/2026, Western devs (I think it's BL? it can be hard to tell)
Bifröst: Prelude to the Storm (eccentric studio) - Q4 2026 , Western devs
Double-Sided Aces (Kukui Studios) - Release date unannounced, Chinese devs
Tree's Love Crossing Above (Apes boom) - Release date unannounced, Chinese devs
Elton Manor: Requiem of the Cursed Roses (PlayMeow) - 2026, Chinese devs but with only JP voice acting
万圣节之眼Halloween Eye (环形电CIRCUIT) - Release date unannounced, Chinese devs
黑山羊BlackGoat (HUPIDAN) - Release date unannounced, Chinese devs
Deep in the Forest (Ertal Games) - Release date unannounced, Western devs

Categorization is Dicey:
Project II: Silent Valley (GoldenBlade) - Q1 2026, the MC is an apparently male-bodied NB person, you be the judge of whether you consider that BL. Chinese devs.

To get things rolling: I'm currently thinking about whether to build a list of games that lets you obtain endings or romances with male characters as a male MC, because I think that's within the BL enjoyers' interest zone. Would anyone be interested in this? If anyone has suggestions for new BL games that I don't know about, especially from Korean or Chinese side, I'd also love to know about them!

Vanilla-Sprite · Jan 24, 2026

I at the very least would be interested in the list of games you mentioned! I think it would be super helpful for BL fans who want to find new games to play that they potentially haven't heard of. :) Would you also be including games that aren't exclusively BL, but do contain the ability to play as a male MC and romance male characters? There are plenty of otome/amare and non-VN games that fall into those categories, and I think some players may also be interested in those as well!

Lukeo · Jan 24, 2026

Vanilla-Sprite said:
I at the very least would be interested in the list of games you mentioned! I think it would be super helpful for BL fans who want to find new games to play that they potentially haven't heard of. :) Would you also be including games that aren't exclusively BL, but do contain the ability to play as a male MC and romance male characters? There are plenty of otome/amare and non-VN games that fall into those categories, and I think some players may also be interested in those as well!

Like bara and trap content? Or the oelvn ships that are borderline bl?

Vanilla-Sprite · Jan 24, 2026

Lukeo said:
Like bara and trap content? Or the oelvn ships that are borderline bl?

I more meant OELVN's that let you choose your MC's gender as well as things like the more recent Rune Factory games that allow for same sex romance! I do think both of those you mentioned would probably be of interest to some players as well, though! I would say there probably should be some sort of category divisions or tagging to denote the general genre a game falls into if it's not the typical BL VN fare, though.

Lukeo · Jan 24, 2026

Vanilla-Sprite said:
I more meant OELVN's that let you choose your MC's gender as well as things like the more recent Rune Factory games that allow for same sex romance! I do think both of those you mentioned would probably be of interest to some players as well, though! I would say there probably should be some sort of category divisions or tagging to denote the general genre a game falls into if it's not the typical BL VN fare, though.

Huh I have the same idea as you just labeling as BL just doesn't feel enough for a wide range of audience.

ishibashi · Jan 24, 2026

Vanilla-Sprite said:
I at the very least would be interested in the list of games you mentioned! I think it would be super helpful for BL fans who want to find new games to play that they potentially haven't heard of. :) Would you also be including games that aren't exclusively BL, but do contain the ability to play as a male MC and romance male characters? There are plenty of otome/amare and non-VN games that fall into those categories, and I think some players may also be interested in those as well!

Whee I thought no one was going to be interested! I was literally the sad mushroomer meme for a bit.

I think we should probably include Amare games and non-VN games that can have M/M pairings, but with a note describing what they are and their actual genre. Some BL players are interested in them, but some are only interested in BL that's written for BL. The dream is to have a masterlist of games that allow for gay content as well as games that prioritize gay content! Bara should be in it too probably, it's not my thing but I know it's a lot of people's thing. (And then we get the ones that straddle the line between bara and regular BL...)

The one that I'm not sure about is trap games. I think some people are def interested in them, but some people are also super offended by them and some people don't want them to be lumped into BL because it's more trans to them. Maybe if they were to be included, it'd be a separate sheet.

Lukeo · Jan 24, 2026

ishibashi said:
Whee I thought no one was going to be interested! I was literally the sad mushroomer meme for a bit.

I think we should probably include Amare games and non-VN games that can have M/M pairings, but with a note describing what they are and their actual genre. Some BL players are interested in them, but some are only interested in BL that's written for BL. The dream is to have a masterlist of games that allow for gay content as well as games that prioritize gay content! Bara should be in it too probably, it's not my thing but I know it's a lot of people's thing. (And then we get the ones that straddle the line between bara and regular BL...)

The one that I'm not sure about is trap games. I think some people are def interested in them, but some people are also super offended by them and some people don't want them to be lumped into BL because it's more trans to them. Maybe if they were to be included, it'd be a separate sheet.

I'm down with you putting it up.

I believe OELVN pairings do line up with trans content as well for at least some of them.

Vanilla-Sprite · Jan 24, 2026

ishibashi said:
Whee I thought no one was going to be interested! I was literally the sad mushroomer meme for a bit.

I think we should probably include Amare games and non-VN games that can have M/M pairings, but with a note describing what they are and their actual genre. Some BL players are interested in them, but some are only interested in BL that's written for BL. The dream is to have a masterlist of games that allow for gay content as well as games that prioritize gay content! Bara should be in it too probably, it's not my thing but I know it's a lot of people's thing. (And then we get the ones that straddle the line between bara and regular BL...)

The one that I'm not sure about is trap games. I think some people are def interested in them, but some people are also super offended by them and some people don't want them to be lumped into BL because it's more trans to them. Maybe if they were to be included, it'd be a separate sheet.

Daww, I'm glad I saw this thread then!! I definitely am interested!!

I pretty much agree with everything you said here and think that all sounds solid! I do also agree on the "trap" games for the reasons mentioned, since I do think they're not quite the same vibe and also absolutely understand why they can be offensive (and I do love and support trans people in general!

)

If you end up trying to work on this as a team effort, I'd be glad to help out!

ishibashi · Jan 24, 2026

It'll probably have to end up being some sort of team effort because it sounds pretty herculean even just to assemble a list of pure BL games! But I'll have to mull a bit on how to organize it. Life's also busy these days.

I haven't even played Ooe and I'm an Adelta fan! I remember the prologue having REALLY good writing but then life got in the way...

(Actually I haven't even finished all of HolicWorks games yet either...)

testeeee · Jan 28, 2026

heeey ty for this initiative !

im taking BL game recommendations, japanese or western! i played : LuckyDog1 games (my all time fav currently), Dramatical Murder and Reconnect, Togainu no chi, lamento, sweet pool, pigeon blood (didnt like it), and im currently playing galtia
same for GL games ! (i currently never played any so im open to anything good)

Fishish · Jan 28, 2026

Eyyyy thanks for starting this thread! we certainly need a BL visual novel space especially when so many are so niche even among more recent or english releses! I love otome and visual novels as a whole but BL games are certainly at the top of my most played listings with I think around 40 or so titles that ive finished! So if anyone wants to talk about something obsure ive probably played it or at least heard of it (and if I havent I want to hear about it regardless because then i have more to add to the list of ones to play!). I love games mainly with darker stories but I have a soft spot for games deemed "bad" too since I often times find them really funny to play.

Ive been keeping an eye on Suito wa Hakumei (水都は薄明) for ages and ive already saved up for its release on DL site in a few days, my weekend is so gone, that company has a track record of long ass games XD. If anyone else has plans to play it feel free to message since its always fun to discuss games as your playing them or soon after finishing!

ishibashi said:
I haven't even played Ooe and I'm an Adelta fan! I remember the prologue having REALLY good writing but then life got in the way...

(Actually I haven't even finished all of HolicWorks games yet either...)

Ooe is one of my favourite visual novels of all time! (as you might be able to tell from my avatar picture...). Adelda has some really special games up their sleave and their art and story telling has improved so much since their initual titles. But ooe ticked every box for me from characters to art to music to setting!

I know the feeling of life getting in the way, unfortunately work stops for no one and ive gotten slower with my reading as adult life catches up XD

Regardless I look forward to chatting and having a nose at upcoming BL talks!

blackflag · Jan 29, 2026

Stickied thread if you want to keep updating it with upcoming releases or such

yukari13 · Jan 30, 2026

ishibashi said:
I think we should probably include Amare games and non-VN games that can have M/M pairings, but with a note describing what they are and their actual genre. Some BL players are interested in them, but some are only interested in BL that's written for BL.

Thank you so much for the list!
I'm a person who prefers BL written as BL, Amare games rarely appeal to me because it hardly feels like gay romance most of the time. There are exceptions of course: Our Life had special lines and dialogues to acknowledge MC's gender and how it affected their life for example. But most Amare games only change pronouns and nothing else.

When I play BLVN, the protagonists are often the highlight. They're interesting and full of personality, in both Eastern and Western games. But Amare games have so many silent/average Joe MCs, I have hard time caring about them. And that's just one of the reasons I think mixing BL and Amare won't work for other people.

Sorry for the rant, just trowing my 2 cents in support of BL only thread.

ishibashi · Jan 31, 2026

yukari13 said:
Thank you so much for the list!
I'm a person who prefers BL written as BL, Amare games rarely appeal to me because it hardly feels like gay romance most of the time. There are exceptions of course: Our Life had special lines and dialogues to acknowledge MC's gender and how it affected their life for example. But most Amare games only change pronouns and nothing else.

When I play BLVN, the protagonists are often the highlight. They're interesting and full of personality, in both Eastern and Western games. But Amare games have so many silent/average Joe MCs, I have hard time caring about them. And that's just one of the reasons I think mixing BL and Amare won't work for other people.

Sorry for the rant, just trowing my 2 cents in support of BL only thread.

Hello hello!

MCs are also very important to me! I really don't enjoy a game that much without an MC I enjoy, and I agree that they're a pretty special genre highlight for BL games. They're pretty much always voiced (even if the main reason is for the porn lol), and after a certain point in the genre evolution, they're pretty much 100% characters in their own right who have something interesting to contribute to the story that the player would want to explore. I think BL devs also have an arms race of sorts about who can make BL game protags with the most UNIQUE narrative voice too!

Like, if you take a random line from the game, you wouldn't confused Gian for Tamamori lol.

As far as Amare games go I'm partial to the Royal Heir/Royal Alchemist series, since they also have fixed designs for m/f MCs that go into CGs and the MCs have a defined personality and backstory. I honestly haven't played a lot of them though....

Fishish said:
Eyyyy thanks for starting this thread! we certainly need a BL visual novel space especially when so many are so niche even among more recent or english releses! I love otome and visual novels as a whole but BL games are certainly at the top of my most played listings with I think around 40 or so titles that ive finished! So if anyone wants to talk about something obsure ive probably played it or at least heard of it (and if I havent I want to hear about it regardless because then i have more to add to the list of ones to play!). I love games mainly with darker stories but I have a soft spot for games deemed "bad" too since I often times find them really funny to play.

Ive been keeping an eye on Suito wa Hakumei (水都は薄明) for ages and ive already saved up for its release on DL site in a few days, my weekend is so gone, that company has a track record of long ass games XD. If anyone else has plans to play it feel free to message since its always fun to discuss games as your playing them or soon after finishing!

Ooe is one of my favourite visual novels of all time! (as you might be able to tell from my avatar picture...). Adelda has some really special games up their sleave and their art and story telling has improved so much since their initual titles. But ooe ticked every box for me from characters to art to music to setting!

I know the feeling of life getting in the way, unfortunately work stops for no one and ive gotten slower with my reading as adult life catches up XD

Regardless I look forward to chatting and having a nose at upcoming BL talks!

I just bought Suito wa Hakumei.

I'm super busy this week though and have a surgery scheduled so no idea when I'll even be able to touch it XD I did fire it up for a few minutes to check if everything works out fine though (since it says it only supports W11 and I use W10), the writing seems pretty nice. A different style from Nakajo Rosa's but it reads pleasantly and feels punchy. Not as impressive from the get go as Ooe but I think that was the most well written opener I've seen in a while lol.

Holicworks is one of my fav BL devs and I hope they stay in business for a long time...

I've been thinking about ways to improve the readability of the upcoming games list (that was slapped together in the moment from my Steam Wishlist >_> ) and the BL/gay game database which hopefully will be carried out in the next few weeks, hopefully it'll be pleasant for everyone!

As a side note, has anyone been following this game called Kigetsu no Yoru (虧月の夜)? It's a general audience game, has a heroine, but the marketing goes HARD on the MC's obvious yandere BL brother (seriously his name is in the game's title and the writers gush about him whenever they interview about the game) and I've been hearing the grapevine that there's an ending with him and 'yandere twincest lovers should play it', but I'm not sure about the overall thrust of the game so I'm looking for more information....

Fishish · Jan 31, 2026

ishibashi said:
I just bought Suito wa Hakumei. I'm super busy this week though and have a surgery scheduled so no idea when I'll even be able to touch it XD I did fire it up for a few minutes to check if everything works out fine though (since it says it only supports W11 and I use W10), the writing seems pretty nice. A different style from Nakajo Rosa's but it reads pleasantly and feels punchy. Not as impressive from the get go as Ooe but I think that was the most well written opener I've seen in a while lol.

Holicworks is one of my fav BL devs and I hope they stay in business for a long time...

I also got it and tested I installed it right but I have been trying to speed finish Bad egg before I really dive into it. I need to break my awful habbit of reading too many things at once and finishing none! I had no problems with booting it up and clicking around on windows 10, as far as I know my computer cant even download windows 11, its missing some bullshit needed for their crap AI I would never use regardless XD. And yeah ooe has a strong start that only gets more banger as you read on!

I also hope it sticks around for the long run, visual novels are already pretty obscure, add BL as a sub genre and its more obsure still! I like to see new creators making a jump into the medium but I try to suport older companies too just because I want to keep the genre around for the long run! Ill buy a game on release in japanese and then buy it again if they translate it to english XD.

ishibashi said:
I've been thinking about ways to improve the readability of the upcoming games list (that was slapped together in the moment from my Steam Wishlist >_> ) and the BL/gay game database which hopefully will be carried out in the next few weeks, hopefully it'll be pleasant for everyone!

As a side note, has anyone been following this game called Kigetsu no Yoru (虧月の夜)? It's a general audience game, has a heroine, but the marketing goes HARD on the MC's obvious yandere BL brother (seriously his name is in the game's title and the writers gush about him whenever they interview about the game) and I've been hearing the grapevine that there's an ending with him and 'yandere twincest lovers should play it', but I'm not sure about the overall thrust of the game so I'm looking for more information....

List isnt too bad so far especally since its just a general list for upcoming titles! I know a few more TBA titles but Im actually not sure if theyll ever see the light of day! (Like the cage remakes, caricature camera, Tokyo Gentou, Banana ranch ect).

And unfortunetly not a game I had heard of until now but it looks interesting! I might have to look more into it since it has themes that I usually tend to enjoy.

PS. I hope your surgury goes well! Certainly makes for a busy week! I thought I had it bad starting a new job but I think you win this round!

BLFan · Feb 2, 2026

Well now I start my discussion here I did not know this thread

Speaking of omerta, here are some funny moments from omerta; there are many those more for who't played both games.

In addition to the fact that the game is a jewel in design and music the game shows more the dark side of narco more than luckydog here is JJ in a clandestine host club *working* for a boss

Poor my tsundere uke dog also tease him a lot in the game as if he were a woman... He having put up with harassment from gang members reminds me of the time when they have harassed Luchino by yelling "gay" at him of a Grave Digger member lol. It's such a hilarious scene because the gang member says, "You messed with Shinigami too *JJ*," and he knows that JJ was in bed with a bunch of guys xD

After the NTR scene between these two they have a constant *ego clash* is between a seme character and the more uke character in the game

Riou1 · Feb 2, 2026

From people who started playing the game which routes from Suito wa Hakumei have unavoidable non-con H scenes if any ? Bad ends non-con don't matter to me as I play all my VNs with a walkthrough to avoid them.

ishibashi · Feb 2, 2026

Omerta is more into the grungy, dark and decadent aspects of organized crime than Lucky Dog's respectable mafia family for sure! IIRC the mafia dude in that game was also more idealistic though.....it's the triad that's a bit lol.

I think way back when I played that game I kept getting distracted by the fact that Azusa's hair form cat ears though. I was too young for fake cat boys....

Deleted member 258555 · Feb 3, 2026

XD92 said:
Well now I start my discussion here I did not know this thread

Speaking of omerta, here are some funny moments from omerta; there are many those more for who't played both games.

In addition to the fact that the game is a jewel in design and music the game shows more the dark side of narco more than luckydog here is JJ in a clandestine host club *working* for a boss

View attachment 88853
View attachment 88854

Poor my tsundere uke dog also tease him a lot in the game as if he were a woman... He having put up with harassment from gang members reminds me of the time when they have harassed Luchino by yelling "gay" at him of a Grave Digger member lol. It's such a hilarious scene because the gang member says, "You messed with Shinigami too *JJ*," and he knows that JJ was in bed with a bunch of guys xD

View attachment 88855
View attachment 88856
After the NTR scene between these two they have a constant *ego clash* is between a seme character and the more uke character in the game
View attachment 88857
View attachment 88858

Is this MTL or is it tl?

Fishish · Feb 3, 2026

Riou1 said:
From people who started playing the game which routes from Suito wa Hakumei have unavoidable non-con H scenes if any ? Bad ends non-con don't matter to me as I play all my VNs with a walkthrough to avoid them.

I haven't started playing properly yet thought I plan to at the end of the week. if someone doesn't answer by then definitively I will keep and eye out in my playthrough and share if any routes contain non con

Riou1 · Feb 3, 2026

Fishish said:
I haven't started playing properly yet thought I plan to at the end of the week. if someone doesn't answer by then definitively I will keep and eye out in my playthrough and share if any routes contain non con

Alright, thank you

.

BLFan · Feb 3, 2026

yomidark said:
Is this MTL or is it tl?

Is MTL now it is the best way to translate from Japanese to English you don't have to wait for patches or tl from anyone

AlisaPandora · Feb 4, 2026

Well, I'll start. I play both otome and BL - in a word, I'm omnivorous, I'm not shy about it. I can even play Yuri, ahah.
My favorite game is Lamento. I am delighted with it, I have read it 4 times. The music is awesome, and the story about the villain is right in my heart, I cry every time. That's why I recommend it to everyone.

My second favorite game is Hashihime old book. This doji is a novel, but it's gorgeous. Kurosawa is the creator of the goddess game, I pray for her, I hope she will release something else. I don't like the last game, but not because it's bad, it's just not my type... And yes, i hate is there Ariake, I love Daiba, Shimbashi, Shiodome, Takeshibu. Oh, back to Hashime. She kept me in suspense all the time, and Rue Kawase and Minakami. I can't stand Hanazawa, ahah.. But I don't really think it's a bad thing. If I get emotional from it, then the game is singing something and it's a success. Because I'm not particularly emotional. Oh, I'm tired of writing to be continued, ahha

AlisaPandora · Feb 4, 2026

XD92 said:
Is MTL now it is the best way to translate from Japanese to English you don't have to wait for patches or tl from anyone

Oh, is MTL = lunatranslator? or something else?

Deleted member 258555 · Feb 4, 2026

Did anyone play Suito wa Hakumei ? How is it?

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