sweet instincts

About sweet instincts

sweet instincts is a horror visual novel with art and writing by 3005jin, programming by vistaofchaos and music by Dagan al, made in Ren'Py for the Spooktober 2026 Visual Novel Jam and released on itch.io in September 2026. It plays in the browser, with downloads for Windows, Linux and macOS, takes about 15 to 30 minutes, and the makers state that no generative AI was used.

Bea is spending the summer with her dad, much to her dismay. One morning, with mourning doves outside and sun through the curtains, she wakes with a strange craving and a voice in her head.

The story is told in flat, colourful drawings framed in checkered pixel borders, with small point-and-click moments in between. As the craving grows, the pictures change: bloodshot, glossy eyes, saliva she does not notice, blood on her hands and mouth. The makers tag it creepypasta and warn of blood, cannibalism, patricide and crude language. There is one ending, with two variations.

Players say Bea's dry voice made them laugh even as the ending hit hard. It suits players who like short, gruesome horror visual novels such as Canidae or The Coffin of Andy and Leyley.

How to play sweet instincts

1. Open the itch.io page and play in the browser, or download it for Windows, Linux or macOS (name your own price).
2. Click to read Bea's summer at her dad's.
3. When a scene stops moving, click around it; some moments are point-and-click.
4. Play to the end; there is one ending with two variations.

Tips

• If the story seems stuck, click around the scene; a player found the way on by doing so.
• Read the makers' warnings first: blood, cannibalism and patricide.
• Play with sound on for the original music.

Questions