By Your Hands

By Your Hands drops you into your first week of college as a sheltered protagonist navigating unfamiliar social terrain alongside two childhood friends. What begins as a coming-of-age story about stepping outside your comfort zone quickly spirals into something far darker—a murder mystery that forces you to grapple with secrets, trauma, and moral complexity. The game's premise hinges on an unsettling question: can you genuinely help others when you barely understand what's happening around you?

This is a murder-mystery visual novel with explicit erotic content woven throughout. Writer Nemo constructs a narrative that treats its adult scenes as character-driven rather than decorative, with each of the game's love interests having distinct intimate preferences that reflect their personalities. The horror elements aren't jump-scares or gore for its own sake—instead, they emerge from the psychological weight of the mystery itself and the darker aspects of your companions' backgrounds. The game maintains atmospheric tension across its investigative sequences, balancing moments of genuine connection with dread.

By Your Hands is built for repeated playthroughs, with the developer pushing updates nearly monthly since its Bara Jam 2022 origin. The team includes major code assistance from Shie, GUI work by Hijiri, and a composed soundtrack by Brkn Hvn that anchors the game's tonal shifts. Currently at version 0.22.1, it's actively in development across Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android. Expect a thoughtfully paced experience that refuses easy answers—both narratively and thematically. This isn't a lighthearted dating sim; it's a investigation into complicity, understanding, and the messy reality of helping people who are struggling.