What it is
Sweet Instincts is a short visual novel about Bea, who is spending the summer with her dad and wakes up with a strange craving and a voice in her head. The story blends horror themes such as blood, cannibalism, and patricide into a compact narrative with original artwork and music. It was made for a game jam and takes about 15–30 minutes to read.
From the developer
In the developer’s own words, from 3005jin.itch.io.
UPDATE - The audio issues should be fixed ! Check dev logs for more info
Warnings: Blood, Cannibalism, Patricide, Crude Language
Bea is spending the summer with her dad, much to her dismay. One day she wakes up with a strange craving and a voice in her head.
Read more
Sweet Instincts is a short Visual Novel for the Spooktober 2026 Game Jam
Estimated playtime: 15-30 minutes
Original artwork and music
1 ending (2 variations)
Art and Writing by 3005jin
Programming by vistaofchaos
Music by Dagan al
Kinetic Text by wattson
Optimized Shader for RenPy by Grimumu
Backgrounds from Pexels
Submission for
Editor takes
“A short, sharp devourer's tale: the body-horror voice in Bea's head lands well, but one ending leaves the mythos hungrier than the creature.”
“No hitboxes to judge here; click-through pacing is smooth, but the single fixed path means there's no difficulty curve to speak of.”
“One ending with two variations isn't much of a run back; if you're chasing repeat playthroughs, this is a one-and-done appetite.”
“Original art and music carry the unease, though the stock photo backgrounds break the hand-drawn spell whenever they pop up.”
How to play
Players experience the story by reading through dialogue and narrative text, advancing at their own pace. The game is a visual novel, so interaction mainly involves clicking or tapping to progress. It features one ending with two variations, keeping the experience mostly linear.
Tips
- Play with sound on; the original music and ambient audio are part of the atmosphere.
- If you're sensitive to gore or family-violence themes, note the content warnings before starting.
- The game is short; plan to play it in one sitting of about 15–30 minutes.
- Check the dev logs if you experience audio problems; a patch has been released.
- Consider replaying once you finish, as the single ending has two variations.
Questions
Is Sweet Instincts free?
It is a pay-what-you-want game on itch.io, so you can download it for free or support the creators.
What platforms does it run on?
It runs in the browser (HTML5) and as a downloadable game for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
How long does it take to finish?
The estimated playtime is 15–30 minutes.
Does it have multiple endings?
It has one ending with two variations.
What are the content warnings?
The game lists warnings for blood, cannibalism, patricide, and crude language.
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