While I would personally love (and make extensive use of) a please don’t show this to me ever again-checklist, using it would be tedious for most users.

Exclusion filters seem the way forward to me. I happen to know that the search once had exclusion filters. Unfortunately, at some point in the last 60 days they stopped working it seems. I’m sure that fixing them is already on some to-do list, but right now, the admins seem to be overwhelmed by Mac users buying Among Us and them complaining that they want their money back because their machine doesn’t run windows games natively (pure speculation on my part).

You have my upvote, but I think that customer wish is already on their radar. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going browsing for homoerrrotic visual novels now. ;)

I think your suggestion of adding ways to exclude certain content is good and I would like to see something of the sort implemented. I'm not sure what would be the ideal solution, but for starters I think that adding the exclusion filter already in place as an option in the UI would be easy, quick and an uncontroversial first step. As it stands few people will ever learn about it. Plus using it is a chore since I have to dig out that thread to copy/paste the sequence to add to the URL. (FYI at the time of writing this comment it seems to be working fine for me.)

Most likely more tools are justified. Maybe blacklisting games with a certain tag from ever appearing to you (the filter, meanwhile, is just temporary and needs to be reapplied). Or just manually picking a game to never be displayed again. Maybe both or neither — it's not out of the question that there are better ways we haven't mentioned. Nonetheless I think the discussion would be worthwhile and productive.

Mind you I am developing a furry visual novel. You used exactly the kind of game I am making as an example of what you'd rather not see and I think you are perfectly valid in your request. Speaking only for my team and I, we know that our content is fundamentally niche and not up everyone's alley. We don't want to annoy people. As far as we are concerned adding options to filter out content would just improve the experience for everyone because your navigation would be just objectively better, it would be easier for everyone to find the games they want, and we the developers would relax knowing we aren't being a nuisance and bothering anyone. It's probably a safe bet that most, if not all users of Itch have a few things they'd like to filter out (particularly those who use it a lot.) I can't speak for other developers, but it wouldn't surprise me if many (particularly those making adult content) agreed with what I just described.

I grew tired of there not being an option.. so i made a "solution". it is tedious, but it will hide any game you dont wanna see. install tampermonkey, and copy my code from the pastebin to a new script. add or remove games from the list as you please.

https://pastebin.ai/sczkf85tcl

// ==UserScript==
// @name         ibil tampermonkey version
// @namespace    nonamespace
// @version      1
// @description  itch browse ignore list - barebone tampermonkey version
// @author       https://redonihunter.itch.io/
// @match        *://itch.io/*
// @run-at       document-end
// @grant        GM_setValue
// @grant        GM_getValue
// @grant        GM_listValues
// @grant        GM_deleteValue
// ==/UserScript==
// setup: copy into tampermonkey, edit configs, save
// usage: hover thumbnails, press buttons
// off styles are used when toggled off or in library
// import and export should be compatible to the full ibil extension
// issues: will slow down when toggling 1k+ items. works on ids, so does not catch reuploads with different id. does not work on all pages.
(function () {
if (!document.querySelector('.game_cell')) { return; }
// configuration start
const l1on = '{display:none}';
const l2on = '{display:none}';
const l1off = '{outline:auto blanchedalmond}';
const l2off = '{outline:auto purple}';
const key1 = '1';
const key2 = '2';
const dev1 = '3';
const dev2 = '4';
const togglek = '5';
const export_l1 = '6';
const export_l2 = '7';
const import_l1 = '8';
const import_l2 = '9';
const deleteallkey = '0';
// configuration end
const hks = key1 + key2 + dev1 + dev2 + togglek + export_l1 + import_l1 + export_l2 + import_l2 + deleteallkey;
const ibil1on = document.head.appendChild(document.createElement('style'));
const ibil2on = document.head.appendChild(document.createElement('style'));
const ibil1off = document.head.appendChild(document.createElement('style'));
const ibil2off = document.head.appendChild(document.createElement('style'));
ibil1on.innerText = '.ibil1on' + l1on;
ibil2on.innerText = '.ibil2on' + l2on;
ibil1off.innerText = '.ibil1off' + l1off;
ibil2off.innerText = '.ibil2off' + l2off;
document.addEventListener('keydown', event => {
    if (!hks.includes(event.key)) { return; }
    switch (event.key) {
        case togglek:
            toggle(); break;
        case import_l1:
            importlist('1'); break;
        case import_l2:
            importlist('2'); break;
        case export_l1:
            exportlist('1'); break;
        case export_l2:
            exportlist('2'); break;
        case deleteallkey:
            deleteall(); break;
        default:
            setTimeout(() => {
                var cell, hovered = document.querySelector(':hover');
                while (true) {
                    if (!hovered) { return; }
                    if (hovered.classList.contains('game_cell')) { cell = hovered; break; }
                    hovered = hovered.querySelector(':hover');
                }
                key_on_cell(event.key, cell);
            }, 50);
    }
});
const observer = new MutationObserver((mutationsList, observer) => {
    const temp = [];
    for (var i = 0, ii = mutationsList.length; i < ii; i++) {
        mutationsList[i].addedNodes.forEach((node) => {
            if (node?.classList?.contains('game_cell')) { temp.push(node); }
        });
    }
    if (temp?.length) { update_cell_styles(temp); }
});
observer.observe(document, { childList: true, subtree: true });
update_cell_styles(document.getElementsByClassName('game_cell'));
function do_not_ignore_here() {
    const state = GM_getValue('onoff', 'on');
    if (state == 'off') { return true; }
    if (document.URL == 'https://itch.io/library/recommendations') { return false; }
    return (/^https\:\/\/.+\.itch\.io\/$/.test(document.URL) || document.URL.startsWith('https://itch.io/profile/') ||
        document.URL.startsWith('https://itch.io/my-collections') || document.URL.startsWith('https://itch.io/c/') ||
        document.URL.startsWith('https://itch.io/my-purchases') || document.URL.startsWith('https://itch.io/library') ||
        document.URL.startsWith('https://itch.io/my-feed'))
}
function update_cell_styles(cell_list) {
    const page_dnih = do_not_ignore_here();
    var game_id, author_id, sg, sa;
    for (var i = 0, ii = cell_list.length; i < ii; i++) {
        game_id = cell_list[i]?.getAttribute('data-game_id');
        author_id = cell_list[i]?.querySelector('div.game_author>a')?.getAttribute('data-label');
        cell_list[i].classList.remove('ibil1on', 'ibil2on', 'ibil1off', 'ibil2off');
        sg = GM_getValue(game_id, null);
        if (sg) {
            if (sg?.s == '1') { cell_list[i].classList.add(page_dnih ? 'ibil1off' : 'ibil1on'); }
            if (sg?.s == '2') { cell_list[i].classList.add(page_dnih ? 'ibil2off' : 'ibil2on'); }
        } else {
            sa = GM_getValue(author_id, null);
            if (sa) {
                if (sa?.s == '1') { cell_list[i].classList.add(page_dnih ? 'ibil1off' : 'ibil1on'); }
                if (sa?.s == '2') { cell_list[i].classList.add(page_dnih ? 'ibil2off' : 'ibil2on'); }
            }
        }
    }
}
function key_on_cell(hk, cell) {
    const game_id = cell?.getAttribute('data-game_id');
    const game_link = (cell?.getElementsByClassName('game_link')?.[0] || cell?.getElementsByClassName('title')?.[0])?.href;
    const game_title = give_me_title(cell);
    const game_author = cell?.querySelector('div.game_author>a');
    const author_id = game_author?.getAttribute('data-label');
    const author_link = game_author?.href;
    const author_name = (game_author?.innerText || cell?.querySelector('.user_link')?.innerText ||
        cell?.parentElement?.parentElement?.querySelector('.author_link')?.innerText || author_link || game_link);
    var value, new_s, key_s = (hk == key1 || hk == dev1) ? '1' : '2';
    if (hk == key1 || hk == key2) {
        if (!game_id || !game_link || !game_title || !author_name) { return; }
        value = GM_getValue(game_id, { s: '0' });
        new_s = (value.s == '0') ? (key_s) : (value.s == key_s ? '0' : key_s);
        if (new_s == '0') { GM_deleteValue(game_id) } else { GM_setValue(game_id, { s: new_s, a: author_name, l: game_link, t: game_title }); }
    }
    if (hk == dev1 || hk == dev2) {
        if (!author_id || !author_link || !author_name) { return; }
        value = GM_getValue(author_id, { s: '0' });
        new_s = (value.s == '0') ? (key_s) : (value.s == key_s ? '0' : key_s);
        if (new_s == '0') { GM_deleteValue(author_id) } else { GM_setValue(author_id, { s: new_s, a: author_name, l: author_link }); }
    }
    update_cell_styles([cell]);
}
function toggle() {
    const state = GM_getValue('onoff', 'on');
    GM_setValue('onoff', state == 'on' ? 'off' : 'on')
    update_cell_styles(document.getElementsByClassName('game_cell'));
}
async function importlist(letter) {
    if (!confirm(`Import an exported list and update all items to list ${letter}?`)) { return; }
    var input = document.createElement('input');
    input.type = 'file';
    try {
        input.addEventListener('change', function listener() {
            let fr = new FileReader();
            fr.onload = async () => {
                try {
                    for (const [key, data] of Object.entries(JSON.parse(fr.result))) {
                        if (Object.hasOwn(data, 's')) {
                            if (Object.hasOwn(data, 't')) {
                                GM_setValue(key, { 'l': data.l, 't': data.t, 'a': data.a, 's': letter });
                            } else {
                                GM_setValue(key, { 'l': data.l, 'a': data.a, 's': letter });
                            }
                        }
                    }
                    update_cell_styles(document.getElementsByClassName('game_cell'));
                } catch (e) { console.log(e); alert('Could not parse. Need an exported file, not css or game lists.'); }
            };
            fr.readAsText(this.files[0]);
        })
    } catch (e) { console.log('error while trying to read a file:', e) }
    if (navigator.userActivation.isActive) { input.click() } else { alert('Not allowed or too slow (5s)'); }
}
function exportlist(letter) {
    var blob, value;
    const timestamp = new Date().toLocaleString();
    const filename = `ibil_tampermonkey_export_${letter}_${timestamp}.txt`;
    const temp_data = {};
    for (const key of GM_listValues()) {
        value = GM_getValue(key, null);
        if (value?.s == letter) { temp_data[key] = value; }
    }
    blob = new Blob([JSON.stringify(temp_data)], { type: 'text/plain' });
    try { save_a_blob(blob, filename); } catch (e) { console.log('exporting failed:', e); }
}
function deleteall() {
    if (confirm('Delete all stored items? Remember to export both lists before.')) {
        for (const key of GM_listValues()) { GM_deleteValue(key); }
    }
    update_cell_styles(document.getElementsByClassName('game_cell'));
}
async function save_a_blob(blob, name = 'ibil_export.txt') {
    const a = document.createElement('a');
    a.download = name; a.href = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
    a.addEventListener('click', () => { setTimeout(() => URL.revokeObjectURL(a.href), 300 * 1000); });
    a.click();
}
function give_me_title(cell) {
    if (!cell) { return 'Not a cell'; }
    var node = cell;
    var n, c = 0, t = '';
    const where_to_look = ['title game_link', 'game_title', 'title'];
    const ww = where_to_look.length;
    search_title: while (++c < 7) {
        for (var w = 0; w < ww; w++) {
            n = node.getElementsByClassName(where_to_look[w]);
            if (n.length == 1) { t = n[0]?.innerText; break search_title; }
            if (n.length > 1) { break search_title; }
        }
        if (node.parentElement != document) { node = node.parentElement; } else { break search_title; }
    }
    return t || 'Title not found';
}
})();