The Best Adult Video Games According To An Expert

[Ed. note: This story is written by adult gaming expert Annie Whitacre, whose YouTube channel Sex Positive Gaming has about 70,000 subscribers. Her videos include recommendations for specific communities and subcultures, full-length reviews of adult video games and visual novels, and deep dives into topics that impact the industry — like this video on how credit card companies contribute to video game censorship. She always ends her videos with her mantra, “No shaming, just gaming.”]

The adult games space is one of the fastest-growing parts of the video game industry. What was once almost exclusively a Japanese product has now become truly global through platforms like Steam, Itch.io, and Patreon. 

For players new to adult-content titles, there are many obstacles to finding the right games. The biggest challenge is, not only do you have to find the genre, gameplay, and story that you like — you also have to find the right assortment of sexual content that you like. Every person has unique sexual preferences, which I like to call flavors. These flavors have a huge impact on which games you’re going to enjoy playing, so for each of my recommendations, I’ll describe the gameplay and genre as well as the primary sexual flavors you can expect. Many adult games let players choose various paths, so I’ll also let you know which flavors can or can’t be avoided. 

Carnal Instinct

Carnal Instinct is an open-world RPG that takes place in an Egyptian-influenced world reminiscent of Conan the Barbarian. This early access title allows you a wide variety of character customization that includes gender and genitals as well as a whole assortment of unlockable scaly and furry forms. The flavors that you will encounter will mostly be shaped by the character you create and how you interact with the world around you. You can have sex with just about everyone and everything in the game as you try to unravel the mystery of the curse of Kethra, God Queen of Lust. 

Platforms: Windows PC

Kaiju Princess 2 

Have you ever played a cooking game and said to yourself, “This needs cute anime-style girls that transform into planet-destroying monsters that you can also date”? Well, then, Kaiju Princess 2 is the game for you. This cosmic adventure is broken up into three main segments: cooking, planetary rampaging, and romancing (with occasional head patting). While this is exclusively a heterosexual male protagonist experience, this lighthearted and sometimes bittersweet story makes for a ridiculously enjoyable romp through outer space. 

Platforms: Windows PC

Fetish Locator

Video games are an amazing medium to explore who you are as a person. Fetish Locator is one of the best games if you are curious to explore the nature of your sexuality. You take the role of a male college student who is introduced to a phone-based dare game, tasking you to complete a series of sexual challenges that encompass one of the widest assortment of flavors available in a game on Steam. Homosexual, heterosexual, cis, trans, cheating, group, sharing, BDSM — the list is pretty extensive. However, everything is optional in this visual novel, which is why Fetish Locator has 18 very different endings. 

Platforms: Android, Linux, Mac, Windows PC

A Summer’s End – Hong Kong 1986 

A Summer’s End – Hong Kong 1986 is a love letter to a bygone time. This visual novel places you in a lesbian romance surrounded by the neon, synth pop, and fashion of 1980s Hong Kong. While there are two endings, this is a more linear tale of sexual awakening in the face of traditional mores and values. If you are looking for an adult game that explores lesbianism and female bisexuality, A Summer’s End – Hong Kong 1986 is a must-play. 

Platforms: Linux, Mac, Windows PC

Subverse

Subverse is the most successful adult game on Kickstarter of all time. This sci-fi shoot-’em-up/tactical strategy hybrid pits a slovenly antihero and his crew against a theocratic space empire bent on destroying all sex and sexuality. Given that this crew is entirely made up of attractive women and genetically engineered monsters (called Mantics), you can expect to see heterosexual, lesbian, group, and enough monster sex that you can qualify as a xenobiologist by the time you’re done playing. Subverse sets the bar when it comes to animations, cinematics, audio, and UI in an adult content game. While Subverse may have failed to meet the expectation of “Mass Effect with porn,” which is how it was discussed in the community, it is still a fun title that shows us how far the adult games industry has come. 

Platforms: Windows PC

Dramatical Murder

While Japan may not be the only place making adult games these days, it is still one of the best countries for yaoi (aka homosexual male)-focused games. Dramatical Murder takes place in a dystopic future that is as visually bright as it is incredibly violent. This visual novel is definitely an exploration of some darker sexual themes as the main character struggles under the oppression of uncaring corporate oligarchs. However, if you are looking for a grittier, more forceful delve into male homosexuality, then absolutely check out Dramatical Murder. 

Platforms: Windows PC 

FlipWitch – Forbidden Sex Hex 

This pixel-art platformer places you in the role of a Flipwitch, a mystical character that can take both a male and a female form. You will find yourself fighting and fornicating with various monsters and magical creatures on your quest to defeat the Chaos Witch. While this is literally a genderfluid game, there is no male homosexual content. However, there is heterosexual and lesbian content, and a whole lot of monster mashing. FlipWitch – Forbidden Sex Hex is a great game with a fantastic soundtrack that anyone who likes platformers should try. 

Platforms: Windows PC 

Projekt Passion 

While visual novels are an excellent way to tell stories, there are very few that manage to successfully combine humor and adult content. Projekt Passion manages to not only combine these two themes, but do so while providing an engaging sci-fi story that never makes the mistake of taking itself too seriously. This male protagonist mystery has heterosexual, group, and monster-girl content with well-developed characters and relationships. Fans of space Westerns like Firefly or Guardians of the Galaxy should give Projekt Passion a shot.

Platforms: Android, Linux, Mac, Windows PC