Top 5 Video Gay-mes

Video games and the culture surrounding them have been consistently unfriendly toward the LGBT+ community. However, there has been a recent and dramatic improvement of LGBT+ inclusion in games. The following list includes LGBT characters who are represented fairly and are not the butt of a homophobic joke. They are also portrayed as more than just side characters and are not included in the game simply to give it a progressive reputation.

Note that I will be using the term “gay” as an umbrella term at various points in this article.

Gone Home

Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, PC

Gone Home is an emotional story-driven game that is played through the eyes of Katie Greenbriar. She returns to her childhood home only to find it utterly abandoned. Letters and clues are left scattered around the house by her younger sister, Sam. You’ll follow the letters and interact with various objects to gather clues that’ll lead to an explanation of why the house was abandoned. The plot is driven by Sam’s interest in another girl, and does an excellent job depicting the conflict of coming out to homophobic parents.

Life is Strange

Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, PC

This episodic, choice-based story game has a major twist: you can go back in time and reverse your decisions. The main playable character, Max Caulfield, discovers her powers and uses them to help her and those around her. Every decision chosen has a butterfly effect, meaning it will affect the plot later on. The story is fascinating and includes darker themes.

Max may pursue a romance with childhood best friend Chloe. Their romantic interactions are charming and Chloe’s romance route is a cute, though heartbreaking, one.

Dragon Age: Inquisition

Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, PC

Inquisition is my favorite of the Dragon Age games. If you’re anything like me, you’ll spend hours perfecting your character during the initial character creation process. Once you’re done with that, you’ll jump into the beautiful world of Dragon Age. The graphics and variety of landscapes are stunning.

Throughout the game, different characters are introduced along with entertaining recruitment missions wherein you meet each character. Once a character has been recruited, you are given the opportunity to learn more about them through dialogue. The characterization of each member of your party feels deeply personal because they each possess unique backstories and personal struggles.

Inquisition offers a diverse selection of characters available to romance. Instead of setting each character to only straight as default, they are given a variety of sexualities, allowing the player to choose a gay relationship. 

The Last of Us: Left Behind

Platform: PS4

The Last of Us was a stunning experience in story, graphics, and game mechanics. In the DLC, Left Behind, you get all of that, plus a backstory for Ellie. Instead of focusing on Joel’s and Ellie’s relationship, the DLC explores the relationship between Ellie and her best friend, Riley.

Left Behind is unique because it includes LGBT youth. In video games and media in general, gay people are portrayed primarily as adults and are highly sexualized. Left Behind does an excellent job avoiding this. The characters’ sexuality does not feel forced or fetishized. If you play this, prepare for some very serious feels.

Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator

Platforms: PC, Mac

Filled to the brim with lame dad jokes and puns, this game is hilarious from start to finish. If that isn’t reason enough to play, then the diverse dating choices, lovable characters, and your own customizable “dadsona” should be. A multitude of choices will shape the story as you go and provide a personalized experience, more so than most other dating simulators provide.

Dream Daddy is all about being a dad and dating other dads, but you don’t have to be a gay dad in real life to enjoy this. It’s a fun dating simulator with a lot to offer anyone. Dream Daddy includes not only gay characters but also a transgender male.

The Featured Image is from the official Overwatch comic series, found here under the Comics heading.

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Clyde Delabajan
Clyde Delabajan
6 years ago

This is a great article talking about LGBT+ friendly games. Great games too!