For a long time, video games were considered the domain of cisgender heterosexuals. That assertion, of course, was not correct: queer people have always been gamers, playing everything from Tetris to Call of Duty and World of Warcraft. Despite this, the gaming industry has been lacking when it comes to quality LGBTQ+ representation. Up until recently, queer characters were either non-existent or, in the case of games like Grand Theft Auto, the butt of a joke. For a long time, it felt like The Sims was the only game in which queer people could express their sexuality in gaming.
That has, thankfully, changed. Given that gaming now far outstrips movies and music when it comes to revenue, and with the reality of diverse gaming demographics finally forcing developers to acknowledge that it’s not just white cishet men who enjoy games, the industry has begun to change, at least where LGBTQ+ representation is concerned.
In fact, some of the biggest games of the past decade have featured characters who are queer, including popular titles such as Overwatch, Life is Strange and the Borderlands franchise. Add those characters to queer-coded icons like Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft, Mario’s brother Luigi and basically every Final Fantasy character ever (only a gay would be called Cloud, soz) and gaming is, well, pretty gay. So, for all your LGBTQ+ gaming needs, here’s a list of some of the best queer video games that you can play right now.
1. The Last of Us, The Last of Us: Left Behind, The Last of Us: Part 2
Platforms: PS4 (backwards compatible on PS5)
Developer Naughty Dog’s apocalyptic epic is not only one of the most ambitious narrative gaming experiences ever made, but it’s also home to some of the better LGBTQ+ representation in gaming, especially when it comes to the character of Ellie. While the first game ranks fairly low on the Kinsey Scale, its DLC, The Last of Us: Left Behind, is a truly tender and beautiful queer story about the awkwardness, excitement and fear of young love. Building in Ellie’s queerness after the base game made players reassess what they thought they knew about the character, something that Naughty Dog expanded upon with its sequel, The Last of Us: Part 2. This follow up took the franchise’s queer representation further, making Ellie’s lesbian identity a central and essential aspect to the narrative, while also introducing a trans character, Lev. However, if you’re looking for a game where queer people get to live happy and untraumatic lives, then The Last of Us is not for you – these games are bleak af.
2. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, PC
When the Assassin’s Creed series pivoted to a more open-world RPG format, developer Ubisoft also gave players more choice over their characters. This included the ability to choose which gender you wanted your character to be (still stuck in a binary of male and female, unfortunately) and who your love interest in the game could be. In the ancient Greece-set Assassin’s Creed Odyssey meanwhile, you can be gay, straight, bisexual, a lesbian or even asexual — although most of these interactions are limited to side quests …….
Source: https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/5dgzw3/7-queer-video-games