Yandere Games on itch

[Astalapetra]

Lately it feels like every week a new yandere/maniac game comes out. i specifically notice it while browsing visual novels section on itch. If you choose top rated vns then in every row of 5 games theres ALWAYS one yandere game. ive been on itchio for a while but lately its like an avalanche. and no offense to ppl who like those but they are kinda the same? Some stranger is super obsessed with you and stalks/kidnaps/eats/gaslights and so on. Do people really find it sooo entertaining? and at such a rapid pace? srry if i sound condescending i maybe am. i just wanna know im not the only one who notices lol

 

[woodypei]

I mean yanderes are popular, and niche topics are the appeal of indie games. While I do agree with you that theoretically it would be better if it is diversified. Previously when I used itch.io, I only exclusively searched and played yandere otome games lol.
Of course, I mostly play commercial games and itch.io yandere indie games are only something I consume occasionally to satisfy a craving.
Maybe to people who aren't familiar with the genre, it seems the same, but the writing and the stories can often be pretty different. The main characters can often have very different backgrounds too.

 

[dogiwall]

Yeah, yanderes are popular in the indie scene, even on DLsite. They don't have to play it safe unlike companies.

And yandere is a character archetype, not an entire genre where people keep on using the same tropes and similiar premise over and over again (such as the otome isekai villainess subgenre). Dunno why you're assuming that they're all the same if you never played them lmao.

 

[TastySweet]

I noticed that, too. I have tried a lot of them lately. A few are very good or have potential, but the vast majority were a big disappointment, so I threw them in the trash.

 

[sum]

I also left Itch, even as a yandere fan. Honestly, I find the storylines way too edgy, and they're cringeworthy to read. Even for me, it's too much because I keep seeing the same character with a different design every time.

 

[Arisara]

I like yandere but maybe more soft yandere. Not fun of when Li kill everyone around or Mc. But recently many yandere games looks similiar. Also i can't understand why so many games about romance cannibals mix yanderes. I'm trying avoid it.

 

[toboa]

Yeah I've actually noticed that too. There are some really good ones though.

 

[Lady otome]

I've noticed that too, but what really gets on my nerves is this:

Okay, I can believe someone who lived in captivity, isolation, the middle of nowhere, etc., with barely any human interaction, would fall in love with the MC for doing the bare minimum. Honestly, maybe even less than the bare minimum. That kind of attachment at least has its own logic.

But when it's a relatively normal person? That's where it starts losing me a little. Like yeah, most people have been teenagers and fallen in love over a smile or some tiny interaction, but even *that* usually has some emotional logic behind it.

After a while, a lot of yandere LIs started giving me the feeling of: "No, you're not actually special." Any half-decent person who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time would've become the object of obsession just the same. And somehow that makes the romance feel less intense instead of more. Even more so when all of them lately have the same bland backstory of insta-love.

 

[toboa]

I think its also a tough topic to revolve a romance around honestly, and should be executed carefully. There's also the topic of stockholm syndrome which is very real, so the question becomes is it leaning more towards horror or romance? I'd prefer to play only horror focused vns of the genre because romance seems unrealistic and too unhealthy. But there are good horror vns (yandere leaning too) on itch

 

[Voleuse]

I was never really a fan of the yandere genre until a few years ago, but its "charm" has kind of worn off since then. There's a few that I keep up with, but any of the newer ones just don't catch/keep my attention the same. I think it's because I like a lot of build-up and backstory, but I also like the ones that keep you guessing.

I haven't really noticed more cropping up, but I also haven't really been looking for them either. It's just the hype and demand after the most popular ones got their traction. I noticed the genre tends to be popular with the younger crowd so they also probably feel inspired to write their own. Heck, even I went through a brief period of trying to draft my own.