The silence is finally broken
Running a couple of days late, so this one covers a slightly wider stretch. Worth the wait though, because Canticle finally broke its silence in a big way.
September 14 and 15, 2026
Canticle
Gay fantasy VN set in a monastery, with a murder mystery underneath.
Update 0.4.7 is out on Patreon and it closes out Chapter 4. Void Mammoth’s exact words were “Enjoy the bonfire!” so make of that what you will.
And if you’ve been playing the free build, this is the part that matters: you finally have a date. Early November.
He posted a long devlog owning the nine month gap, and said it must look like a dead project from where you’re sitting, which “could not be further from the truth.” Some numbers he shared: 16 monthly Patreon updates in 16 months, and the Patreon version is now literally double the length of the public one.
The reason he’s been sitting on it is a big revision that’s already underway. Most sprites redone, a lot of CGs redone, new scenes tied to your class and background skills and to Canticles, updated companion questlines, and a smoother auto read. That revision hits Patreon in two halves, early October and end of October, and then he cuts a public build from it for early November.
His reasoning, which I think is fair: patrons signed up for the messy ride and get a say while it’s being built, but public releases should be polished.
🛒 Get it on itch.io 🎨 The dev’s links
September 11, 2026
Dawn Chorus
Wholesome non linear gay romance VN set above the Arctic Circle in Norway.
There’s a whole second game, and it’s going to be free. It’s called The Waves, and it’s Lake’s side story.
Here’s the part I liked. The dev wrote it back in 2023 and then sat on it for years, because it felt too personal to share outside his friend group, and because the shape of it didn’t fit a VN. Short scenes, more like vignettes, big blocks of text, barely any movement. He’s releasing it anyway.
Five or six chapters, one every two weeks on Patreon, then free here on itch. Chapter II is already out, which is what prompted the public announcement. Lake and Jorgen are both in it, plus two new characters you may remember being mentioned in the main game.
If you’ve somehow not played Dawn Chorus, it’s sitting at 4.9 stars from 2,390 ratings, which is the biggest rating base of anything I track.
September 5, 2026
KemoGemo!
Free browser puzzle game. Combine and upgrade items to level up your guy.
A small bara/furry prototype, v0.1, one orc so far, named Cangqing. Free, runs in your browser, English and Traditional Chinese, about half an hour.
I’m flagging it for one reason. The dev opens the page by telling you over 95% of the content and assets are AI generated. No burying it, no arguing about it, just stated up front in both languages.
Say what you want about the result, and people have, but that’s the most direct disclosure I’ve seen from anyone. 3.5 stars from 11 so far.
👀 On the radar
Those NPC’s Love Stories … still nothing. The late August window is long gone, Steam still says “to be announced,” and the last devlog was April 30. I said last time I wouldn’t bank on September, and I was right, which I take no pleasure in.
Twin Coves … still 78%, still no devlog since April. Sam is holding the date until it hits 100%, so no news is genuinely just no news here.
Bara Blood: The Crimson Heir … the launch discount ended, so it’s back to $10.99. Still only 2 reviews two weeks in, so nobody has really put it through its paces yet. If you bought it, say something, because right now there’s nothing to go on.
Hypermancer … monthly builds were promised and 0.1.1 landed August 17, so build two is about due. Still free while it’s in early development, still explicitly no generative AI.
Ikigai University … quiet build update around September 8 with no devlog attached. Nothing announced, just files moving.
📺 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: One of these men will be found dead in the morning. Can you guess who?
See you Sunday 🐹