The yandere horror visual novel scene has absolutely exploded in the last three years. What started as a weird little niche on itch.io has turned into one of the most talked-about indie genres of 2025. These games take the “dating sim” formula, rip out the sweetness, and replace it with stalking, psychological manipulation, reality-warping, and endings that will make you question if you should ever talk to strangers again.
If you just finished John Doe (or John Doe+) and felt that empty, slightly nauseous feeling… congratulations, you’re exactly the target audience.
Here are the 10 best yandere/obsessive-love horror visual novels you can play right now, ranked by how long they’ll live rent-free in your head. All of them are free or pay-what-you-want unless noted otherwise.
1. John Doe+ (2024–2025 Enhanced Version) – mortisfox
The one that started it all for most people in 2025. A 15-minute descent into a gas-station cashier’s worst day on endless repeat. Your “admirer” has yellow eyes that never blink, too many teeth, and a t-shirt that bleeds when he’s in love. Seven endings, zero of them happy in the traditional sense. Why it’s #1: It’s the perfect gateway drug — short, free, and somehow more disturbing than games ten times its length. Play it here: itch.io (original still available, + version highly recommended)
2. Your Boyfriend (Day 1–4 + upcoming Day 5) – Black Shepherd Games
The current king of long-form yandere horror. You play as a completely average person being slowly destroyed by YB, a man who decided you’re soulmates and will burn the world down if you ever try to leave. The writing is viciously realistic — no supernatural excuses, just pure human obsession.
Warning: Heavy themes of abuse, stalking, and SA. Not for the faint of heart.
Status: Still in development, but the available days are already longer than most full VNs.
3. It Gets So Lonely Here – bitshiftgames
2024–2025’s breakout lesbian yandere hit. Two girls in an isolated forest cabin. One of them isn’t what she seems. Gorgeous watercolor art paired with some of the most gut-punch dialogue ever written in the genre. Two routes, both devastating in completely different ways.
4. My Dear Hatchet Man – CaptainHowdie
Axe-wielding childhood-friend-turned-stalker in the middle of winter. The dev leaned hard into the “soft yandere who snaps” trope and somehow made it scarier than the openly psychotic ones. The sound design alone will make you paranoid about footsteps.
5. 14 Days With You – cutiesai
The slow-burn champion. You meet a charming pink-haired guy at the library. Fourteen in-game days later you realize he’s been orchestrating your entire life for years. Currently the longest yandere VN available (30+ hours if you explore everything). Still in active development.
6. Dead Wishes – VIOLET
Dark, gritty, and deliberately ugly art style that fits the tone perfectly. You owe a debt to a very bad group of people. They send someone to collect… in every possible sense of the word. Eleven love interests, every single one terrifying.
7. The Price of Flesh – Gatobob
From the creator of “Boyfriend to Death.” Kidnapped and auctioned off in an underground flesh market. Two of the four routes are full-on obsessive-love horror (Celia and Mason). Extremely graphic — definitely check the content warnings.
8. Duality – Nemlei
Duality is Brand-new in late 2025 and already climbing everyone’s lists. You wake up in a time-loop with your “perfect boyfriend” who remembers every single reset… and uses that knowledge to make sure you never leave him again.
9. Mushroom Oasis – SofDelux
Deceptively cute art style hiding one of the most unhinged yandere protagonists of the year. You find an injured mushroom-person in the woods and nurse him back to health. He decides you’re his god now. Short, free, and will ruin mushrooms for you forever.
10. Where Winter Crows Go – The Tender Grave
Still in demo, but the demo alone cracked top-10 lists. You offer shelter to a wounded stranger during a snowstorm. He repays you by never leaving. Beautiful painterly art + voice acting that somehow makes sweet nothings sound like death threats.
Why Are Yandere Horror Games Blowing Up in 2025?
- They’re short and free → perfect for TikTok/YouTube let’s plays
- They scratch the same itch as true-crime content but with supernatural twists
- The community is insanely creative (fan art, animation memes, full covers of the nonexistent soundtrack)
- Devs talk directly to players on Twitter/Discord → feels personal in the best/worst way
Final Warning
Almost every game on this list contains stalking, violence, non-consensual themes, abuse, and psychological horror. Some cross into outright extreme content. Always read the trigger warnings on the itch.io page.
If John Doe made you uncomfortable… good. That’s just the beginning.
Which one are you playing first? Drop your favorite (or most traumatized) ending in the comments — we all need therapy together.
You may also line the horror card game, if you are a horror fan.
