gaming ·
Staff Pick: Our Fave LGBTQ+ Games
It's time for a staff pick! In honor of pride month, we choose our favorite games that are LGBTQ+ friendly or have LGBTQ+ characters. All of them are worth playing if you get the chance. Happy Pride!
image from glaad.org
Bryan (CEO) - Elder Scrolls Online
"The Shrine of Mara doesn't discriminate" ESO or Elder Scrolls Online is an online MMORPG that lets you play as a character of your choice, going on quests and meeting up with friends or strangers. There is a slew of LGBTQ NPCs that you come across along the way, including Alchemy - a transgender woman; Arlie Edrald, a polyamorous bi-sexual woman; and several others. Honestly, there are so many that I can't list them all here, but you can check them out on their Wiki.
image from culture.org
Christina (Content) - Night In The Woods
Night in The Woods is a side-scrolling 2D game about a young woman returning to her hometown and living in her parent's attic. It's a new life for her since she returned from school, and the town has changed. Not to give away too much of the plot since I don't want to ruin the story, but most of the characters are LGBTQ+, and it is a real story about acceptance not only with yourself but with others and loved ones.
image from gayming.mag
Skyller (Operations) - Apex Legends
Apex is always one of our favorite battle royale FPS games, and it's just a plus that it is very pride-forward! They are one of the few open-play free games that started with queer characters. It all began with Gibraltar, who was confirmed as gay from the beginning, and since then, there have been many characters that are gay, trans, questioning, and non-binary.
image from Gone Home Wiki
Natasha (Partnerships) - Gone Home
Gone Home is a first-person exploration game done at the player's pace. It follows the main character Katie through her childhood home. No spoilers in case you want to play the story for yourself, but the exploration mixed with the mystery of the clues and characters revealed to be part of the gay community is an excellent representation of deep thought and the struggles that come with coming out.
image from GameInformer.com
Joel (Partnerships) - GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony
This game is a GTA IV DLC where you get to follow Luis Fernando Lopez, best friend of Tony, a nightclub owner. You get to help him solve his many problems with the club and rival mafia groups and embrace his flamboyant personality. It's basically another story that can go after GTA IV on its own and bring a whole new hilarious and drug inducing perspective onto this classic early 2000s game.
image from pcgamesn.com
Hailey (Partnerships) - Sims
In a world where you can create your own life, it is perfect that the Sims let you do whatever you want. In some of their newest updates, they have added new orientations, decorations, and even different surgery scars that you can put on your characters. You could always WooHoo with any gender anyway, but these are just a plus. Have fun creating!
image taken from fallguys.com
Dan (Social) - Fall Guys
Everyones favorite 6-foot (they really are - look it up) bean people are in the spotlight on this one. Fall Guys has always been very inclusive and has pride banners and flags you can display on your character creation. That, and not having gendered skins, you can make your player look like anything you want, as well as some fun non-gendered title tags.
image from gaymingmag.com
Kait (Partnerships) - Overwatch 2
Overwatch2 is a game that has embraced its community and characters. Lifeweaver, Tracer, and Soldier 76 all belong to the LGBTQ+ community. It also has its first Pride event this year in-game, including two short stories for two queer characters. So far, each of their characters' relationships are unique to their own stories and very different as none of the characters are currently dating each other.
Honorable mentions, of course, are The Last Of Us and Life is Strange, but we didn't want to be too basic. What's your favorite game that is LGBTQ+ inclusive? Here at GA, Pride isn't just one month; it's year-round. We love supporting our community, partners, and staff members that identify as members and allies!
