Frequently asked questions.

Yandere: Love & Madness is a single-player anime-style game focused on narrative, exploration, simulation and sandbox gameplay. You play as Nanami in interconnected hub-based locations rather than one seamless open world. The project mixes psychological drama, suspense and slice-of-life elements with systems that let you explore and interact freely outside story sequences.

No. YLM exists completely outside the Yandere Simulator universe. It does not share its story, characters or canon. Yandere games are an obvious general inspiration, but YLM is its own game and narrative.

It is a narrative adventure with exploration, simulation, sandbox and slice-of-life elements, with psychological drama and suspense. It is not a fully open-world game and it is not purely a sandbox or purely a linear narrative game.

Preview 1 is available now and focuses on technical systems and sandbox gameplay. You can explore the available environments, interact with NPCs, test limited interactions involving Airi, experiment with gameplay systems and trigger End of Day sequences. Alpha 0.1.1.1 adds performance improvements, gameplay fixes, partial gamepad support and expanded Sky App controls for time of day, the day/night cycle and weather. Full story progression is not the focus of this build.

The current Preview 1 build targets Windows 10/11 64-bit and supports DirectX 11/12. Linux support is not official. Compatibility layers may work, but some libraries depend on Windows. Android testing is experimental and performance is not yet suitable for normal release.

YLM is currently free to download and play. The long-term plan is for the project to eventually become paid, or supported through donations, once it reaches a much more advanced narrative and technical state. That is not happening yet.

Visit the official Download page and select “Download from Google Drive” to open the download page in a new tab. You can also view the game on itch.io. Alpha 0.1.1.1 Preview 1 is the latest release and replaces the outdated Alpha 0.1.0 Patch F build. Go to downloads →

Alpha 0.1.1.1 is a performance, optimization and quality-of-life update to the Alpha 0.1.1 Preview 1 foundation. It remains a technical and sandbox preview, rather than the complete Alpha 0.1.1 update. More previews are planned as development continues.

There is no useful percentage right now. YLM has a large technical foundation, but much of the final narrative progression and production content is still being built. Alpha 0.1.1 is a complete rebuild from scratch. Alpha 0.1.1.1 Preview 1 is the current playable build on that foundation.

Absolutely. Videos, streams and other content about YLM are welcome. If you publish on platforms with strict content rules, use the game's censorship options when appropriate to reduce the risk of moderation or demonetization.

Please use ⁠📁・bug-reports on the Discord server. Include the game version, what happened, what you were doing, whether you can reproduce it, and a screenshot/video if possible. Open Discord →

The project is developed by JeremiasDev.

Development began in February 2025.

Several technical limitations, PC hardware constraints, creative changes and level-design problems caused delays and redesigns. The direction is now much clearer: YLM uses a hub-based structure combining narrative progression, sandbox gameplay and, eventually, more substantial slice-of-life/free-mode content.

Current goals include adding real NPC routines, increasing the NPC population, fixing issues discovered in PREVIEW 1, adding more narrative content, cinematics and voice lines, improving parts of Town and City, and expanding areas of the School. Some of this may be divided across PREVIEW 2, 3 and 4 rather than forced into one update.

The goal is to introduce the beginning of the actual narrative while completing most of the technical foundation required for progression: initial story content, progression, a more complete save system and a more sophisticated school simulation.

The target is roughly one larger update per month, with previews and hotfixes between larger releases when useful. This is a development goal, not a guaranteed deadline.

Yes. Technical improvements, activities, sandbox ideas and even narrative suggestions are welcome. Suggestions still need to fit YLM's scope, tone and overall vision, so not every idea can or should be implemented.

Yes! YLM is open to people who genuinely want to contribute to the project. Developers, artists, voice actors, translators, testers and other contributors are welcome to reach out. Please keep in mind that all contributions are currently voluntary and unpaid, as the project does not currently have a budget for paid positions. This may change in the future if YLM begins generating revenue, but there is no guarantee or estimated date for paid positions.

The best support right now is simply playing the game, reporting useful feedback and sharing it with people who may enjoy it. If you want to support development financially and are able to do so, there is also a Ko-fi page: Ko-fi Financial support is completely optional.

The main places are the official Discord server and my YouTube channel, where development updates, previews, announcements and new releases are posted. YouTube channel Open Discord →

Ask in the 💬・ask-the-dev channel on the official Discord server. Please check the FAQ first in case your question has already been answered. Open Discord →

Nanami is YLM's main character and the game's yandere protagonist.

Sumika is Nanami's Senpai and primary love interest.

Airi is Nanami's friend. She becomes involved in Nanami's plans and can help her commit crimes.

Miya is the first rival and one of the first major obstacles in Nanami's story.

Nanami is, in many ways, a normal girl. She is playful, shy and not constantly creepy or openly obsessive. She plans to confess her feelings to Sumika, but everything changes when Miya begins showing romantic interest in her. From that point on, Nanami becomes willing to do almost anything to avoid losing Sumika. The story explores how far that love can push her, and what happens when genuine affection becomes mixed with obsession, fear and increasingly dangerous decisions.

Yes. The main romance is Nanami × Sumika.

It has been planned and explored, but some design decisions still need to be resolved before it can be fully implemented. It is not guaranteed yet.

Important decisions will. Not every small action will create a completely different branch, but choices can be reflected through dialogue, actions, consequences and major story outcomes.

Not as a full alternate gameplay system right now. The sandbox gameplay is intentionally harsher. For the narrative, a more peaceful route is being considered, but it would be handled mainly through story choices rather than an entirely separate gameplay framework.

The story is intended to become very dark because of what Nanami may be willing to do to keep Sumika. The exact intensity may still be adjusted. One important part of Nanami is that her love is genuine: she may try to avoid unnecessary harm, or avoid actions that could make Sumika reject her.

No. PREVIEW 1 is primarily a technical and sandbox preview.

Yes. Multiple endings are planned, mainly around major decisions and key outcomes. The entire game will not be a constantly branching decision tree.