This collection contains some of my personal highlights of Bara content on Itch — though, to be honest, I use "Bara" very loosely here. I mean it in the sense of "containing gay content and masculine-presenting characters to a significant, appreciable degree."
You'll find works where all characters neatly fit "Bara", while some others will have only a part of the cast matching it. They can be action-heavy games, slow visual novels, books, comics, zines and all kinds of things. Some will have lots of on-screen sex, others might only be suggestive or fully safe for work. Some may be light-hearted, others literary or experimental. There's a lot of diversity and I'm actively trying to showcase that. As much as possible I'll try to describe the game and, quite importantly, who it appeals to.
If you like what you see, consider giving a good rating to some of these games. It really helps the devs feel appreciated. And if you'd like to thank me for my work curating this list, check out the game I work on, Minotaur Hotel and follow us for more news on our projects!
A wolf mechanic sets out to get back at his ex-wife for being a neglectful mother the only way he can: a petty revenge plot that'll have him fucking her latest boyfriend!
This simple, sitcom-esque premise kickstarts a story of surprising emotional depth. Miles and "Boomer's" story is full of heartfelt moments that might just leave you wistfully looking at the screen.
Extracurricular Activities is one of the older Western furry VNs. It follows a dating sim-esque format, allowing you to get to know seven men your character can get close with. Most but not all of them are from your tennis team, and each one gives a different kind of experience — you can go with Spencer, your childhood friend, or Darius, the "slut with a heart of gold", and so on.
As one of the most long-lasting Western gay visual novels, is absolutely packed with content. Some would say it has too much, however, and that the game can be too slow at times. Still, it has a lot to give and it's made a lot of people happy for many years, so I recommend it if you're craving for a straightforward experience of getting to know big, beefy men and falling in love.
Endless Bounty is from the same creator of Extracurricular Activities, a slice of life dating sim. In contrast, Endless Bounty is a puzzle adventure game made with the most precious pixel art and an extraordinarily relaxing original soundtrack. It's like playing with a little toy box, which — surprise! — was made with Ren'Py of all things.
It's a small and enjoyable game. Good for relaxing during a cozy night.
Lustful Desires is a hybrid of RPG, visual novel and potion-brewing/alchemy game. You take control of a young alchemist, taking over his master's position, and get entangled in a number of erotic scenarios. It plays more or less like an erotic sandbox RPG, with some story progression.
It has a lot of content, enough for every taste. There's so much, in fact, that it's hard to keep track of. Thankfully the game lets you cheat so you can get started quicker, if you just want to do a playthrough for the porn.
I do recommend this game if you're looking for a lot of horny content.
I'm grouping Tavern of Spear and Lustful Desires closely because they both harness the same sandbox-esque structure, offering combat encounters and quests entwined with erotic content.
My recommendation is the same; if you want horny content, go ahead, you may like it.
To quote a friend, who's helped me with reviewing Brokowski's comics:
"It's everyone's favourite rectangle-dad in a rhapsody of goofy indulgence and dad-bod appreciation-- that is to say: Bandit Heeler gets his back blown out by all the other daddies of the neighborhood, and also solves a little scuffle. What more could one want?...
But even with its modest aims, the page layouts are consistently lively, thoughtfully composed, and often very funny in and of themselves-- making for some great background-jokes throughout."
Lord, Take These Words Away is a comic about a young kangaroo-man's experiences in navy boot camp, the people he met there, the petty foibles of himself and others, and a little crush he harbored for a heterosexual friend.
It is a roman-a-clef that ranks amongst the zeniths of autobiographical writing in the medium of comics, such as American Splendor by Harvey Pekar or Alex by Mark Kalesniko. The level of guileless honesty is both charming and penetrating, as well as rare in furry works. There is no concern with seeming "cool" in the author, but only to present people as they are (well, aside from being manimals), including himself-- drawing a lot of depth from an unflinching examination of himself, and an affectionate examination of his bootcamp friends. On top of its aesthetic seriousness, it is also very funny, and as willing to indulge in real life's silliness as real life's seriousness.
GAYTOR MAGAZINE by Monsieur Banane is a short art zine made for the appreciation of alligators, crocodiles and scalies.
And that's it. The concept is simple, short, to the point. But I like it a lot more than that description would suggest. I see it as a very free-spirited and uncompromising exploration of an erotic subject. I have a soft spot for that kind of attitude, and I think it deserves respect.
I highly recommend GAYTOR MAGAZINE. Giving it a look won't take more than a few minutes of your day and I hope you can appreciate it. I wish more artists did things like these.
...And here's the 2021 edition of GAYTOR MAGAZINE.
What I said about its 2022 installment applies here just the same. Give it a go!
I did just say that I hoped more artists would do zines, didn't I? And then I stumbled on this little gem.
It's exactly what the name says, a whole zine revolving around underwear bulges! Simple and straightforward, but also very compelling.
I do recommend checking it out, you won't regret it.
Two early works of Brokowski, featuring the couple Romulus (pontificating kangaroo) and Ralph (straight-man bottom koala). These comics feature an overall tone and tenor not unlike a very very gay Hanna-Barbera cartoon. Both of these play around with themes of self-actualization and acceptance in ways that are deceptively sweet, underneath the raunchiness.
Laundry Day is a work of pure musk-huffing goofiness, with Romulus fancying himself a kind of Socratic educator on matters of sexuality and self-understanding (but he may just be a horny asshole).
Wishful Stankin' is a great work of erotic whimsy, culminating in a paean of reassurance to submissive bottoms everywhere (complete with a Walt Whitman quote).
PunishmenTV is one of the more unique games on this list by far. Though it uses a visual novel format, it's actually more of a sexy, erotic obedience trainer.
When you start the game you pick which dominant you want bossing you around, what kinks you like and how hard you prefer it, then you're sent through a rotation of horny commands.
People who like getting bossed around might appreciate this game!
Of all projects in this list, Incubus Realms is one of the most "monster fucker-ish"/teratophiliac in nature. It's an exploration-based 18+ visual novel where you'll navigate an environment full of horny, sexy dangers, trying to save yourself and your friends.
If you like unorthodox designs, monstrous characters, a dark setting, then I highly recommend it. For those who don't fit this bill I still recommend it as a very solid showcase of how a visual novel format can be used to tell a more branching narrative, which I'm sure was not easy to craft.
Overall a very respectable project and I wish it got more attention.
Many of Maririn's comics are on Itch and I chose a few to highlight in this collection — after all, a "Bara" list wouldn't be complete without them.
Two coworkers fuck!
A series of comics about Tobias the leopard and Tyson the black jaguar adopting Elias, an arctic wolf, and their life as a family.
A story about two rough men in the middle of a war.
Hero of Minotaurs is a very short and simple visual novel. The focus is on a kinky scenario involving transformation and delivering a sex scene, with only a little bit of variation branching off from an earlier choice.
There's not much plot to it, and the characters don't have much depth, but it's a finished little visual novel that might please some people — particularly if you are into transformation and bovines, and want something to get your rocks off.
Psychic Connections follows the framework set by games like Morenatsu and Extracurricular Activities, in the sense that it's a slice of life story with a cast of young men.
It distinguishes itself, however, by adding a little bit of spice with its supernatural twist — the cast of dateable bachelors are all psychics, whose particular gifts play a role in the story. The experience, overall, should be both familiar, in how its built on a tried and true formular, and fresh with its twist.
In Limits, you play as a young man in a quiet but lonely life that is transported into a world not dissimilar to his own but populated with anthropomorphic creatures and steeped in some form of magic embodied by mysterious orbs. Through pure chance or a twist of fate, he is aided by friendly strangers and comes to learn that, sometimes, those you thought gone might just be in another world. Follow his journey as he tries to adapt to this new world, learn of his past and the mysterious orb he has, and maybe, find someone to love.
