Happy Pride Month! There are many ways to celebrate identity, love, and connection this month, and one such way is by playing some video games. The gaming industry has come a long way since its early days, which has only made it more representative of its overall audience.
However, good representation is more than just inserting an LGBTQ+ character and not defining them further. Good representation is defined by how real and relatable a character is, and thankfully, there are many games out there with representation that goes above and beyond. Here are ten of the best that achieve this.
The Outer Worlds
Obsidian's The Outer Worlds took a step away from conventional AAA RPGs by not including a third-person view of their character, as well as not including romance mechanics. However, this step away also allowed them to write characters that hadn't been written before - in particular, Parvati Holcomb, who is canonically and openly asexual.
She brings this up while trying to pursue her crush, Junlei Tennyson, because in the past, her asexuality has put off potential romantic partners. This is a very real struggle for asexual people, and it was refreshing to see such blatant and honest dialogue in a video game. (And yes, they can get together, and they are incredibly cute as a couple once they do.)
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Every Dragon Age title has had an option for players to pursue same-sex romances, but Inquisition in particular had a level of realism and tact that the past titles lacked. For the first time, there are characters (Sera and Dorian) who will only romance of the same sex, and they are not treated poorly for these decisions.
Rather, their lead writers took a page from their own lives and attempted to write these characters in a way that felt true to life and raw. And while their experiences aren't universal for all LGBTQ+ folks, these stories still broke barriers in the gaming world.
The Last Of Us
There has never been a point in any did a pretty great job with writing Ellie.
Her relationships are taken seriously and shown a depth that even most TV shows fail to create when depicting lesbian relationships. Both with her first love, Riley, and her current girlfriend Dina, Ellie is written respectfully and candidly in her dynamics with them.
Life Is Strange: Before The Storm
Similarly, every Life Is Strange title is LGBTQ+-friendly and known in particular for depicting same-sex and bisexual relationships. However, this entry will specifically focus on Before The Storm, because the focal point of this game was Chloe's burgeoning sense of sexual identity as she grows closer with Rachel Amber.
The struggles of teen girls are often misrepresented in media, let alone their struggles regarding gender and sexuality, yet Before The Storm did these struggles justice and then some. There's a reason why so many people love Chloe and relate to her: her story is incredibly real and players can't help but root for her as she and Rachel grow closer.
Tell Me Why
Produced by Dontnod, the same studio that created Life Is Strange, this game was a huge step forward for the transgender community because it was the first AAA game in history to feature a trans character as one of its main playable characters. As well as this, Dontnod made sure to communicate with knowledgeable sources to really make sure they did this character justice.
In a world that can feel divided over gender politics, this was a massive win, as well as a heartening sign that things are looking up. since it's free this month to celebrate Pride, it might be worth a !
Night In The Woods
As one of the smash indie hits of 2017, Night In The Woods was iconic in every way. It was stylish, soulful, silly, and strange - and each of those words can be used to describe its protagonist, Mae. The player has the privilege of guiding Mae around Possum Springs, learning more about her and her friends.
And they're pretty much a predominantly LGBTQ+ group of friends: Mae herself is pansexual, and her best friend Gregg is in a committed relationship with his boyfriend Angus. Their dynamics feel very real to anyone who can relate to having a similar friend group, and the game does a great job of making their sexualities part of who they are without dominating their personalities entirely.
VA-11 Hall-A
Like any good cyberpunk game, VA-11 Hall-A normalizes communities of varying sexualities, gender identities, and political stances. Its particular community is interacted with through the lens of Jill, the player character/bartender who treats it all as the norm, with no snide remarks or comments.
Jill herself is bisexual, with her most recent significant other being a woman named Lenore. But the focus of their relationship was not that it was same-sex: it was that Lenore has ed away, and Jill is still coming to with her grief. This game was revolutionary in many ways, but in particular, it did a masterful job of normalizing LGBTQ+ lives, struggles, and senses of community.
Stardew Valley
There's a reason this game is so popular with LGBTQ+ folks. Farming and lifestyle sims have been popular for years, yet despite fans pleading with developers to add same-sex marriages, most of these pleas fall on deaf ears.
But Stardew Valley was never shy nor reluctant in its inclusion of same-sex romance. It has always been an implementation in the game and was one of the main reasons why people were so excited for its release. Some bachelors and bachelorettes might comment on how the player is "their first" in regards to a same-sex relationship, but it's handled very sweetly.
Undertale + Deltarune
Both of Toby Fox's masterpieces are made up of worlds that never feel the need to define or discuss one's identity. In other words, fluid sexuality is an aspect of these worlds that is as natural as having one eye, or having a king that everyone calls "King Fluffybuns."
Both protagonists, Frisk and Kris, are non-binary and are always referred to with they/them pronouns. Meanwhile, ing female characters are often either lesbian or bisexual, most notably the shy Alphys and the hype-fish Undyne. There are many reasons to consider these games comforting, but lots of players return to the fact that they feel represented playing a game that acknowledges them.
Gone Home
During the era of first-person investigative indies, Gone Home was met with a lot of scrutiny because of its raw and candid storyline regarding a lesbian relationship. While LGBTQ+ video games have always been around, Gone Home released during a time when it was more crucial than ever to be upfront and confident about identity and sexuality.
And the way it did so has hallmarked it as one of the most profound indie games to this day. Out of every game on this list, it's one of the most realistic, from portraying the impact of the riot grrrl movement on young women, to coping with feelings of alienation and grief.