Pride Month has just kicked off, and with it comes the perfect opportunity to reflect, celebrate, and take joy in the stories and identities that shape the gaming community. From expansive RPGs with romanceable party members and introspective visual novels, there’s a wide array of titles that center or warmly embrace LGBTQ+ characters and narratives. This list spans several genres, providing players with options for every mood, whether it's high-fantasy romance, cozy gaming, or punk rock angst.
Pride Month is a time for reflection, resistance, and joy. And for many, that includes games that encourage players to affirm and explore identities. These titles don't just feature LGBTQ+ characters as side notes; they make queerness an integral part of the core narrative, woven into world-building, character arcs, and emotional stakes. Whether triple A or indie, each game on this list showcases the unique power of gaming as a space for self-expression, storytelling, connection, and solidarity.
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Role-Playing Games with Big Choices and Even Bigger Hearts
RPGs have long served as a powerful tool for players to explore identity, morality, and romance. Their branching narratives and character-driven plots offer fertile ground for gay representation—whether it’s in the form of romance paths, complex companion dynamics, or customizable avatars that defy gender expectations. These RPGs that put queerness in the spotlight truly allow players to shape their own emotional journey.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
Mass Effect is a beloved sci-fi trilogy that has long held a place in LGBTQ+ gaming history, and Mass Effect: Legendary Edition offers players the smoothest way to experience the journey. The remastered collection not only revitalizes the gameplay and visuals but preserves its groundbreaking romances, including queer relationships with characters like Kaidan, Liara, and Samantha Traynor. Earlier entries in the franchise challenged what was possible for in-game romances, and although those options may seem limited for today’s standards, Mass Effect remains a landmark for same-gender romance options in mainstream RPGs.
Baldur’s Gate 3
In Baldur’s Gate 3, the threats of Sword Coast welcome all. Few modern RPGs embrace queerness as fully as Baldur’s Gate 3. With richly developed companion characters, all of whom are pansexual, this game allows players to fall in love without being constrained by traditional gender norms. The cast, ranging from the morally complex Astarion to the do-gooder Wyll, can fall in love and express their affections freely. Players can also enjoy the independence of character identities and sexualities from their narratives, offering a refreshing change from the often-seen association of queerness with hardship. Most importantly, Baldur’s Gate 3 treats its LGBTQ+ NPCs with equal depth and narrative care, like Dame Aylin and Isobel. To top it all off, players can also create Tavs or Durges (customizable protagonists) who can embrace any kind of gender or non-binary identity.
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Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
At first glance, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 might seem like an odd fit for a Pride Month playlist, given its gritty historical realism and medieval setting. But buried beneath the swordplay and sprawling quests is a surprisingly tender story arc between protagonist Henry and returning character Lord Hans Capon. The banter, slow-burn friendship, and eventual romance between Hans and Henry in the sequel lean into a "friends to lovers" dynamic that caught many players by surprise. It’s a subtle but powerful reminder that queerness isn’t limited to overt representation: it can bloom naturally, even in places players don’t expect.
Action-Adventure Games with Great LGBTQ+ Representation
Action-adventure games often shine in their subtlety, giving players deeply personal stories with emotional weight. These titles don’t rely on mechanics alone, rather, they succeed because of their heart and writing. For LGBTQ+ players, action-adventure games can be an incredible source for meaningful narratives about growing up, coming out, and finding one’s place in a complicated world.
Life is Strange
Few series embody queer storytelling as well as the Life is Strange series. Across its episodic entries, the franchise offers emotionally charged, character-driven narratives that highlight LGBTQ+ themes with honesty and care. Whether it's the bond between Max and Chloe, or True Colors’s romance options, these stories are poignant explorations of identity, love, and loss.
The Last of Us Part 2
Ellie’s sapphic identity is not just a footnote in The Last of Us—it shapes her. And with the sequel placing her at the forefront of this action-adventure game, The Last of Us Part 2 boasts an incredible queer protagonist who deals with the weight of grief on her shoulders. While The Last of Us Part 2 is brutal and unrelenting, it also contains moments of tenderness and representation that are still rare in triple A gaming. It's a complex game with devastatingly understandable characters, and it ultimately tells one of the most visible LGBTQ+ stories in modern gaming.
Life-Sims: Endless Potential for LGBTQ+ Stories
Life-simulation games offer a sandbox for creativity, identity exploration, and building the life (or lives) of one’s dreams. Whether on an empty lot or a deserted island, players go to the life-sim for respite. But when life-sim offers those seeking to find LGBTQ+ gameplay possibilities, then it becomes a space for celebration. When queer identity is built into the foundation of these experiences, it doesn’t just allow for inclusion, it normalizes it. The following games foster cozy communities where players can create safe, joyful spaces on their own terms—with none of IRL’s complexities getting in the way.
The Sims 4
In the The Sims 4, players can live as their most authentic selves. The Sims 4 continues to evolve as a platform that celebrates diverse expressions of gender and sexuality. The Create-A-Sim’s inclusion of customizable pronouns, asexual and aromantic orientation markers, and nuanced relationship options makes it one of the most flexible life sims on the market. It doesn’t just accommodate non-heteronormative playstyles—it invites them.
Stardew Valley
Friendly, welcoming, and diverse, Pelican Town is a safe haven for LGBTQ+ players and their allies looking for a tender gaming experience. This cozy farming sim includes same-gender romance and marriage options without any fanfare, which makes it all the more powerful. Gay relationships are treated as part of the norm in Pelican Town, and many players have found comfort in its gentle, inclusive approach to community life and connection.
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Visual Novels Full of Pride
Visual novels center stories first and foremost, inviting a player to think critically and empathize instead of mash buttons. This is especially true if visual novels opt to deal with themes of identity, memory, and transformation; common themes in queer stories. For LGBTQ+ gamers and their allies, these titles offer intimate glimpses into queer life—sometimes celebratory, sometimes devastating, but always resonant. These games use prose, art, and player choice to tell deeply personal narratives that will move just about anyone with a heart and a taste for a good tale.
Goodbye Volcano High
LGBTQ+ bildungsroman is an important part of queer literary tradition, but to say that it is common in gaming would be an overstatement. Goodbye Volcano High takes on that gap with full-speed and teenage angst. Set in a world of anthropomorphic dinosaurs facing the end of days, this coming-of-age story doesn’t shy away from queerness, mental health, or creative self-expression. The lead character, Fang, is nonbinary, and the story centers on themes of identity and uncertainty with emotional honesty. Goodbye Volcano High is a perfect game for fans of Life is Strange, due to its carefully paced and thoughtful narrative that encourages pause and reflection.
If Found…
If Found… is a great game players who have a tissuebox at the ready. If Found… is a dreamlike, hand-drawn visual novel that follows the story of a young trans woman returning home to rural Ireland. The player explores Kasio’s story through diary entries, which they learn more about as they erase through the pages. Additionally, players also explore a sci-fi story that follows a space explorer named Cassiopeia that discovers a black hole that will destroy the Earth. It’s a quiet, powerful game that explores memory, belonging, and self-erasure, both figuratively and literally. Its unique mechanics and haunting art style make it a proper standout in LGBTQ+ storytelling.
Dating Sims: Fun, Flirty, and Queer
Dating sims lean into romance and connection, but the best ones also explore being LGBTQ+ with playfulness and heart. They flip tropes, break norms, and offer surprising emotional depth beneath the surface. Whether parodying romance mechanics or delivering earnest love stories, these games show that queerness belongs at the center of cheesy romance narratives and not on the star-crossed sidelines.
Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator
What began as a meme-worthy concept for a dating simulator by Game Grumps quickly proved itself as a warm, witty, and genuinely heartfelt dating sim. Dream Daddy allows players to embody a customizable dad who romances a cast of fellow fathers, each with their own quirks and emotional depth. Its representation is lighthearted but deeply sincere as players navigate single fatherhood, romance, and the rollercoaster of parenting a teenage daughter.
Date Everything!
With Pride Month upon gamers, a highly anticipated dating-sim is definitely a must-play thanks to viral TikToks of the game’s demo. Date Everything! Releases on June 17 of this year and has a quirky premise: the player receives magical glasses that makes everything inside their home turn into fully voice-acted and jaw-droppingly attractive characters. This experimental indie gem is less about traditional romance and more about the chaos of dating, literally, everything. From the front door to the washing machine, Date Everything! Plays with form while also embracing a broad spectrum of gender expressions and relationships, challenging players to question assumptions about love and what it means to connect.
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 87 /100 Critics Rec: 96%
- Released
- May 14, 2021
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood, Drug Reference, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Alcohol, Violence
- Developer(s)
- BioWare
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 4
WHERE TO PLAY
One person is all that stands between humanity and the greatest threat it’s ever faced. Relive the legend of Commander Shepard in the highly acclaimed Mass Effect trilogy with the Mass Effect Legendary Edition. Includes single-player base content and over 40 DLC from Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3 games, including promo weapons, armors and packs — remastered and optimized for 4K Ultra HD. Experience an amazingly rich and detailed universe where your decisions have profound consequences on the action and the outcome.
