Summary
LGBTQ+representation has come a long way from seeing just a few minor charactersin old video gamesto getting to experience some of the most profound and iconic LGBTQ+ romances, as well as stepping into the shoes of LGBTQ+ protagonists in games.PCcomes with an even greater advantage than consoles because it’s filled with a lot more options.
It’s truly fantastic when a game comes along and quite literally changes the game for LGBTQ+ representation, and you’ll see a lot of that here with some of these options below. Whether you’re more into visual novels, choose-your-own-adventures, life sims, or even VR games, there’s a gem across every genre.
This list aims to find the best LGBTQ+ games that are only on PC, but, due to the joint exclusivity, a few are also on Xbox.
Available On
itch.io
What if there was an alternate Life is Strange universe in which there was no murder mystery of a Blackwell Academy student to solve? What if Max Caulfield was just a photography student seeking romantic interests in a 2D dating simulator-style visual novel? Well, that would precisely describe Love is Strange.
In this fan-made take on the original episodic adventure, you’ll help Max get her photography skills polished for a competition while also exploring relationships with the all-female cast of Chloe Price, Rachel Amber, Victoria Chase, and Kate Marsh. Everything is based on your decisions, and there are nine different endings to unlock.
Management and Dating Sim
Steam, GOG
When you think of medieval games, you may usually consider RPG titleslike Medieval Dynasty, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, or Mount & Blade 2. A more cozy LGBTQ+ game that uses the same setting, minus all the violence and carnage, is the management and dating sim known as Lakeburg Legacies.
What’s the key to a prosperous settlement? Why, love in this case. Lakeburg Legacies will have you playing a medieval-times Cupid as you match up all the characters you think will be the most compatible together, and that will also mean same-sex couples! There’s certainly not been quite a romantic medieval sim like this one yet.
Steam
Pumpkin Days is a unique indie farming sim that bringsexcellent non-binary representation to gaming. The character creator is entirely stripped of gender options, so your character can be any identity you envision for them without needing to strictly select and adhere to male or female genders.
Weddings are also a big part of this game, aside from the usual suspect farming game mechanics. What’s also notable about the marriage system in Pumpkin Days is that you’re able to have polyamorous relationships and indeed wed multiple partners, even at once.
Steam, Xbox
Newfound Courage is a pixel art adventure game with a gay protagonist named Alex at the center. You follow Alex’s story in the mysterious town of Silverpine as he starts todevelop romantic feelings for another boy named Jake. It’s “perfect for fans of Heartstopper and To the Moon,” as the game’s developers describe.
The gameplay around Silverpine combines romance as well as action, fantasy, mystery, and suspense. The latter all has to do with The Vault, a threat to the town that also harbors secrets of an ancient civilization, spelling much doom and gloom for Silverpine. It’s a threat Alex has no choice but to defeat.
Steam, itch.io, GOG, Mobile
Another outstanding LGBTQ+ visual novelis Our Life: Beginnings & Always. Just as the title suggests, you follow a character from childhood to adulthood and help shape their relationships and life choices as you go along. However, there is only one main love interest, a character named Cove Holden, who develops with you through life.
What’s most significant about this visual novel is that you’re able to choose from male, female, and non-binary, and can later switch these at any stage of your character’s life, depending on whether they may have transitioned, like in the real world.
The sequel to Supergiant’s Greek mythology roguelike is here and ever-so queer. You’ll be playing in the shoes of Zagreus' sister, Melinoe, and shehas plenty of bisexual romance options, who can all bond with her at the Crossroads hub, even with the opportunity to bathe together in the Hot Spring. Chaos is also a non-binary characterthat returns here with a new design!
So, if you want to woo new mythological figures like Odysseus, Nemesis, Moros, or Eris, you can in Hades 2. The roguelike combat also manages to feel even more satisfying and the environment design is far more gorgeous than the original, with plenty of new mechanics, surprise boss fights, andnew Gods and characters in store.
Bad End Theater is a branching narrative visual novel game set around a theater play scenario in which you take on the role of four different protagonists – the Hero, Maiden, Underling, and Overlord. You can give them different behaviors, which will change the trajectory of their stories, ultimately resulting in (you guessed it!) nothing but bad endings.
The art style is a pixel art aesthetic with traditional visual novel elements. The developer, NomnomNami, is well known for bringing video game stories centered around the LGBTQ+ community, and Bad End Theater puts a unique twist on lesbian representation in games.
Don’t Nod’s emotional supernatural-mystery storytelling powers are once again put on full display with the exceptionally poignant and meaningful choice-driven narrative Tell Me Why. This onefollows a twin brother and sister, Tyler and Alyson Ronan, who are brought back to their childhood home in Delos Crossing, Alaska, a place that harbors unresolved trauma and mystery.
What’s notable about Tyler is that he’s a playable trans protagonist whose voice actor, August Aiden Black,is himself a trans man. Furthermore, the studio partnered with GLAAD in their commitment to make Tyler’s story as faithful as possible to the lived experiences of the trans community.
Video game designer Anna Anthropy is a trans voice in gaming, and, in 2012, she turned her experience with hormone replacement therapy into a deeply personal computer game called Dys4ia. For many trans people who’ve transitioned or are experiencing what Anthropy has lived through, this game may be one of the most important and relatable pieces you may play.
The game takes you through different chapters of Anna Anthropy’s journey to becoming a trans woman and is filled with creative 2D experimental level design to convey the themes and ideas of what she went through. From struggling to fit in ‘girly clothes’ to feeling uncomfortable using women’s restrooms, constantly getting misgendered, having to shave, and then going through all the medical drama, simple pixel artwork and text can convey incredible emotion.
Steam, Oculus Quest
Body of Mine takes the trans experience to an even deeper and more emotional level, immersing youin a VR interactive environmentwhere you can listen to the firsthand accounts of trans people from real-world interviews. It’s one of the most valuable pieces of VR gaming for trans representation and has gone on to win awards at SXSW, Producers Guild of America, and a BAFTA Student Award, among other accolades.
This game takes you on a journey through different bodies, asking you to step into a gender that’s separate from yours and learn more about their body by touching your different parts and hearing what trans voices have to share about them. The environment itself is designed within the inside of a chest cavity, where you can see a ribcage and a beating heart as part of it.
