Hey, it's Michelle Visage, do you want gay shit?

Since it is once again Pride Month and we, The Gays, are coming back to be super annoying about it, I thought it'd be fun to share our favorite games with queer characters and queer stories. Sort of a reading list, if you will. Headcanons, ambiguity, subtext, allegory, and "she's not gay but she's serving cunt" all welcome, as well. Be sure to include your rationales so we all know what we're looking at. I'll start:

Bayonetta 2 -- do I even need to elaborate?
Celeste* -- protagonist Madeline is trans, and her mountainous journey is a transition parallel.
Corpse Party -- supporting character Seiko is a lesbian.
Gone Home -- part of the mystery.
Gravity Rush 2 -- protagonist Kat is what we call a "disaster lesbian." Ending confirms canon relationship with deuteragonist Raven.
GrimGrimoire -- protagonist Lillet Blan is a lesbian.
Hades -- protagonist Zagreus is bisexual and polyamorous.
Katawa Shoujo -- supporting character Misha is queer.
Kingdom Hearts (series) -- if Sora and Riku aren't gay, they sure have problems writing them as such.
The Last of Us Part II -- protagonist Ellie is a lesbian.
The Missing: J.J. Macfield and the Island of Memories -- THE most powerful queer narrative in video games, quote me.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door -- cult favorite character Vivian is trans.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy -- see Kingdom Hearts, but for Phoenix and Edgeworth.

* I don't really like Celeste beyond the music, but I'm aware I'm in a minority in that regard.

Disco Elysium - main character is bi, other queer characters in there too
Ikenfell - if there are any characters who are both straight and cis I don't remember them. Lots of Non-binary and lesbians, an important gay couple
Ghost Trick - I wouldn't normally put this but given the inclusions above and parameters, hard-pressed to find anyone who would look at Inspector Cabanela and go that man is straight. Also some Shu Takumi writing in a similar vein to the handling of Phoenix and Edgeworth. Just sayin' the man's got some patterns between Ace Attorney and Ghost Trick.
Mutazione - lesbian or bi main character (she talks about having a crush on another girl in school). Themes in general may resonate

Not played but I've had it recommended:
Get In The Car, Loser - 'A lesbian road trip RPG' right in the description

guess I skipped that part of Hades and Celeste, but ye these are great espe Celeste
The Last of Us Ellie <3
The Missing JJ i do remember was veri weird, kinda disturbin and kinda interesting from gameplay perspective and how it mixes with stori
Tell Me Why was pretty ok episodic game
Signalis survival horror game is just fantastic
Unsighted really good metroidvania

idk if have played much else with somethies themes..
there was Fear Effect games with lesbian characters, but i dont think these good games, but one of early earlies.

guess I skipped that part of Hades and Celeste, but ye these are great espe Celeste
The Last of Us Ellie <3
The Missing JJ i do remember was veri weird, kinda disturbin and kinda interesting from gameplay perspective and how it mixes with stori
Tell Me Why was pretty ok episodic game
Signalis survival horror game is just fantastic
Unsighted really good metroidvania

idk if have played much else with somethies themes..
there was Fear Effect games with lesbian characters, but i dont think these good games, but one of early earlies.

In Hades, Zagreus can romance Thanatos (and Megaera, at the same time no less). But it's pretty optional content. Celeste meanwhile is mostly extratextual; there's a tiny trans flag at the end of Farewell, but the rest is just confirmation from the developer.

guess I skipped that part of Hades and Celeste, but ye these are great espe Celeste
The Last of Us Ellie <3
The Missing JJ i do remember was veri weird, kinda disturbin and kinda interesting from gameplay perspective and how it mixes with stori
Tell Me Why was pretty ok episodic game
Signalis survival horror game is just fantastic
Unsighted really good metroidvania

idk if have played much else with somethies themes..
there was Fear Effect games with lesbian characters, but i dont think these good games, but one of early earlies.

I remember Fear Effect! It had an interesting story and style. Personally I liked the first two more than Sedna, but only from a gameplay perspective. Shame the third one never happened.

guess I skipped that part of Hades and Celeste, but ye these are great espe Celeste
The Last of Us Ellie <3
The Missing JJ i do remember was veri weird, kinda disturbin and kinda interesting from gameplay perspective and how it mixes with stori
Tell Me Why was pretty ok episodic game
Signalis survival horror game is just fantastic
Unsighted really good metroidvania

idk if have played much else with somethies themes..
there was Fear Effect games with lesbian characters, but i dont think these good games, but one of early earlies.

First Fear Effect was good, 2nd game was an expansion pack than a sequel

I have a few examples I like that haven't been mentioned.

Unpacking - Main character is a lesbian, as you'll learn through the course of the game.

Signalis - Main character is a lesbian robot, searching for her lesbian lover. One of my favorite horror games as well.

Stardew Valley - My first experience of a game letting the player marry whatever bachelor/bachelorette you want no matter your gender. Maybe not the greatest representation in the world, but it stands out in my mind.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 & 3 - Both games have non-binary characters, being Roc and Juniper. I believe there's also a non-binary protagonist in Future Redeemed? Haven't played that one though.

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - Hijiyama and Okino are a cute pair. Hijiyama's internal struggles with being attracted to Okino was neat to see, especially with him being from the 1940s where that would be seen as taboo. None of this is a spoiler btw, you pretty much learn about this within the first 10 minutes of Hijiyama's prologue.

Persona 5 - I feel like Joker and Yusuke belong together. And yet Atlus won't allow it. Oh but sure, nothing weird about allowing a student date his teacher or a doctor who is definitely way older.

Fire Emblem Fates - I know that there is gay representation in this game already with Niles and that Tharja clone. But I would rather have the option of having F Corrin with Felicia. That pair just speaks to me.

I have a few examples I like that haven't been mentioned.

Unpacking - Main character is a lesbian, as you'll learn through the course of the game.

Signalis - Main character is a lesbian robot, searching for her lesbian lover. One of my favorite horror games as well.

Stardew Valley - My first experience of a game letting the player marry whatever bachelor/bachelorette you want no matter your gender. Maybe not the greatest representation in the world, but it stands out in my mind.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 & 3 - Both games have non-binary characters, being Roc and Juniper. I believe there's also a non-binary protagonist in Future Redeemed? Haven't played that one though.

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - Hijiyama and Okino are a cute pair. Hijiyama's internal struggles with being attracted to Okino was neat to see, especially with him being from the 1940s where that would be seen as taboo. None of this is a spoiler btw, you pretty much learn about this within the first 10 minutes of Hijiyama's prologue.

Persona 5 - I feel like Joker and Yusuke belong together. And yet Atlus won't allow it. Oh but sure, nothing weird about allowing a student date his teacher or a doctor who is definitely way older.

Fire Emblem Fates - I know that there is gay representation in this game already with Niles and that Tharja clone. But I would rather have the option of having F Corrin with Felicia. That pair just speaks to me.

I forgot to mention Unpacking!

I got some stuff here too

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - Hijiyama and Okino (like someone already mentioned). But far my favorite pairing in the game, and probably the one with the most chemistry.

Virche Evermore: Error Salvation - A side character is head over heels over one of the main bachelors. I kinda feel bad by playing Yves' route, since not only you snatch him from Hugo, but also something rather unfortunate happens to Hugo

Hustle Cat - this one is interesting, since I have the sneaking suspicion that it was first conceived as an Otome (since most bachelors are male except for one), but later turned into Amare (they made it so you can pick the gender of MC as male, female or non-binary). Anyways, it is a very sweet game, and all of the love interest were build with love (which doesn't always happen)

Steins; Gate / Steins; Gate 0 - Lukako is the cutest, most beautiful girl... Except they were born a guy. Okabe's dumb moments after certain event aside after that d-mail where Luka's gender was changed to female and he kinda had to prove it... *Sigh*... Okabe is the one that calls her "Lukako" (names in Japanese ending with "ko" are more feminine). While others think it is disrespectful since Luka "is a boy", I feel Okabe was the first one to accept Lukako in a way? Also, Lukako does hang out more with the other girls and wears more cutesy clothes in 0, which makes me happy because she looks happy :3
The one sad thing is [time travel mega spoiler in 0] Luka ends up discarding femininity in that timeline after the war starts to protect the others, and even gives their life (though is able to meet Okabe on their fonal moments)

Those are the ones I can think of rn, will probably post more later

Also, am I the only one pissed that in Persona 4 Golden Yosuke's romantic social link got Axed?? He and Yu were PERFECT for each other :(

Fire Emblem: Three Houses has a number of gay pairings. Only a small handful of paired endings explicitly say that the characters fell in love/got married, but a LOT of the "platonic" endings heavily imply something romantic. We're talking "historians say they were roommates and very close friends" levels of gayness.

Yakuza/Like a Dragon. A game series about shirtless, oiled Japanese men with chiseled features and kissable lips grappling each other in a red light district. Largely marketed to an audience of men. Two of the series' biggest themes are passion and loyalty in relationships between men. Occasionally the games stumble a bit clumsily through some nuanced social topics but they almost always find their footing in a place of compassion and acceptance for LGBTQI+ folks. Also, one of the most beloved recurring characters (the Earth Angel Mama) is canonically trans.

Octopath Traveler 2 is unexpectedly very, very gay. The majority of the queer content comes from reading the backstories of town NPCs, but there are some openly gay characters in the main story, and there are many others who are just so obvious that it doesn't even need to be stated (e.g., Temenos, the all-women theatre troupe).

I got some stuff here too

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - Hijiyama and Okino (like someone already mentioned). But far my favorite pairing in the game, and probably the one with the most chemistry.

Virche Evermore: Error Salvation - A side character is head over heels over one of the main bachelors. I kinda feel bad by playing Yves' route, since not only you snatch him from Hugo, but also something rather unfortunate happens to Hugo

Hustle Cat - this one is interesting, since I have the sneaking suspicion that it was first conceived as an Otome (since most bachelors are male except for one), but later turned into Amare (they made it so you can pick the gender of MC as male, female or non-binary). Anyways, it is a very sweet game, and all of the love interest were build with love (which doesn't always happen)

Steins; Gate / Steins; Gate 0 - Lukako is the cutest, most beautiful girl... Except they were born a guy. Okabe's dumb moments after certain event aside after that d-mail where Luka's gender was changed to female and he kinda had to prove it... *Sigh*... Okabe is the one that calls her "Lukako" (names in Japanese ending with "ko" are more feminine). While others think it is disrespectful since Luka "is a boy", I feel Okabe was the first one to accept Lukako in a way? Also, Lukako does hang out more with the other girls and wears more cutesy clothes in 0, which makes me happy because she looks happy :3
The one sad thing is [time travel mega spoiler in 0] Luka ends up discarding femininity in that timeline after the war starts to protect the others, and even gives their life (though is able to meet Okabe on their fonal moments)

Those are the ones I can think of rn, will probably post more later

Also, am I the only one pissed that in Persona 4 Golden Yosuke's romantic social link got Axed?? He and Yu were PERFECT for each other :(

No way there was a Yosuke social link 😭

I'm straight, but i wanna share some too!

Anyways, Night In The Woods

All the Life is Strange games have some representation of gay romances (max and chloe ending up together is the only ending i'll ever accept)

Baldur's Gate 3 (going through it right now, how is anyone supposed to not pursue astarion?)

I'm pretty sure Cyberpunk 2077 too

The Last of Us Part II - Ellie is lesbian, Lev is trans.
(and the first TLOU actually, you find a letter about Bill's partner Frank)

Cyberpunk 2077 - character creation supports trans and non binary characters - in-game you can romance either men or women, completely optional.

I have a few examples I like that haven't been mentioned.

Unpacking - Main character is a lesbian, as you'll learn through the course of the game.

Signalis - Main character is a lesbian robot, searching for her lesbian lover. One of my favorite horror games as well.

Stardew Valley - My first experience of a game letting the player marry whatever bachelor/bachelorette you want no matter your gender. Maybe not the greatest representation in the world, but it stands out in my mind.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 & 3 - Both games have non-binary characters, being Roc and Juniper. I believe there's also a non-binary protagonist in Future Redeemed? Haven't played that one though.

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - Hijiyama and Okino are a cute pair. Hijiyama's internal struggles with being attracted to Okino was neat to see, especially with him being from the 1940s where that would be seen as taboo. None of this is a spoiler btw, you pretty much learn about this within the first 10 minutes of Hijiyama's prologue.

Persona 5 - I feel like Joker and Yusuke belong together. And yet Atlus won't allow it. Oh but sure, nothing weird about allowing a student date his teacher or a doctor who is definitely way older.

Fire Emblem Fates - I know that there is gay representation in this game already with Niles and that Tharja clone. But I would rather have the option of having F Corrin with Felicia. That pair just speaks to me.

I'm pretty sure on Unpacking the protagonist is bi, doesn't she end up pregnant?

It's been some time since I played it though, I might be mistaken.

The Last of Us Part II - Ellie is lesbian, Lev is trans.
(and the first TLOU actually, you find a letter about Bill's partner Frank)

Cyberpunk 2077 - character creation supports trans and non binary characters - in-game you can romance either men or women, completely optional.

Ellie was already confirmed to be lesbian in the first TLOU (the left behind dlc to be more specific)

Ellie was already confirmed to be lesbian in the first TLOU (the left behind dlc to be more specific)

True!

I'm pretty sure on Unpacking the protagonist is bi, doesn't she end up pregnant?

It's been some time since I played it though, I might be mistaken.

I suppose you could interpret it either way. The game doesn't explicitly say whether they're lesbian or bi. My interpretation was that after spending time with her boyfriend/husband she realized she wasn't really into men after her negative experience with him being so controlling.

As for the pregnancy thing, lesbians can get a sperm donor or IVF. So it's not an impossibility.

Going to rep my two favorite games of all time!

VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action: the protagonist Jill is bisexual and very obviously has a crush on her boss Dana, Dana herself has been in a relationship with a woman in the past and asserts that "cuteness knows no bounds" and there are two openly lesbian characters and one openly gay one among the bar's various patrons. Jill's main arc in the game is about getting over a rough split with her former girlfriend and in one of the endings Jill and Dana are revealed to be dating.

Transistor: if I remember correctly, among the group of antagonists that spark the events of the game one (Sybil) is motivated by her love for the main character Red and two (Asher and Grant) are very close husband and husband, to the point where , when Grant commits suicide from guilt over causing the downfall of Cloudbank, Asher follows him shortly afterwards.

I got some stuff here too

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - Hijiyama and Okino (like someone already mentioned). But far my favorite pairing in the game, and probably the one with the most chemistry.

Virche Evermore: Error Salvation - A side character is head over heels over one of the main bachelors. I kinda feel bad by playing Yves' route, since not only you snatch him from Hugo, but also something rather unfortunate happens to Hugo

Hustle Cat - this one is interesting, since I have the sneaking suspicion that it was first conceived as an Otome (since most bachelors are male except for one), but later turned into Amare (they made it so you can pick the gender of MC as male, female or non-binary). Anyways, it is a very sweet game, and all of the love interest were build with love (which doesn't always happen)

Steins; Gate / Steins; Gate 0 - Lukako is the cutest, most beautiful girl... Except they were born a guy. Okabe's dumb moments after certain event aside after that d-mail where Luka's gender was changed to female and he kinda had to prove it... *Sigh*... Okabe is the one that calls her "Lukako" (names in Japanese ending with "ko" are more feminine). While others think it is disrespectful since Luka "is a boy", I feel Okabe was the first one to accept Lukako in a way? Also, Lukako does hang out more with the other girls and wears more cutesy clothes in 0, which makes me happy because she looks happy :3
The one sad thing is [time travel mega spoiler in 0] Luka ends up discarding femininity in that timeline after the war starts to protect the others, and even gives their life (though is able to meet Okabe on their fonal moments)

Those are the ones I can think of rn, will probably post more later

Also, am I the only one pissed that in Persona 4 Golden Yosuke's romantic social link got Axed?? He and Yu were PERFECT for each other :(

did not expect virche to be mentioned but wowww i must have overlooked that part on yve's route :0 i wish i noticed it sooner, now i feel bad

Well obviously we can't forget about Super Lesbian Animal RPG.

did not expect virche to be mentioned but wowww i must have overlooked that part on yve's route :0 i wish i noticed it sooner, now i feel bad

To be fair, it is not outright said that Hugo loves Yves romantically , you have to read between the lines a bit. Actually if you take into account that relivers can't feel powerful emotions like love without going full short-circuit , so Hugo dying in that route out of that extreme pain that caused him to carve out with own chest/heart makes all the sense in the world. Hugo loved Yves, was both jealous of Ceres and hated her because she was the reason Yves face was like that, and yet she had the audacity to take Yves away from him. Hugo even held her at... sword point? And the mix between anger and sadness and jealousy was the thing that ended him.

Also, if you replay some scenes with this in mind it kinda clicks

Edit: I messed up the tags

An appropriate bundle going right now at Humble Bundle. I haven't played any of them, but I've heard good things about Wylde Flowers for the farm sim types. Coffee Talk Episode 2 is in there too.

https://www.humblebundle.com/games/stories-pride?hmb_source=&hmb_medium=product_tile&hmb_campaign=mosaic_section_1_layout_index_1_layout_type_threes_tile_index_3_c_storiespride_bundle

A Summer's End - Hongkong 1986 - A very stylish Visual Novel that revolves around two women falling in love. I highly recommend this one!
Fire Emblem: Three Houses - Has some queer characters which you can romance regardless of Byleth's gender and also offers some pretty queer-coded paired endings for various characters
Bayonetta 2 - "What do you need, a wake-up kiss or something?" I know exactly what you are
There's this girl - just a small little smartphone game about two students falling in love, very short but I did enjoy it
Stillwater - I do believe that the main protagonists like each other more than friends
Baldurs Gate 3 - Shadowheart kissing simulator <3
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity - okay, this one might be a reach but I do like the idea of Impa having an unreciprocated crush on Zelda. And also, Urbosa definitely does not like men. I can feel it in my bones.
Haven - Haven't played that one yet but you can decide whether the main characters are a straight, gay or lesbian couple

How has nobody mentioned Final Fantasy XVI with Bahamuts Dominant Prince Dion and his lover. I dont really like when gay relationships are thrown into a game for diversity sake when it doesnt really make sense in the context of the game but Prince Dion and his lover whose name I cant quite remember is such a compelling and tastefully done part of the story.

How has nobody mentioned Final Fantasy XVI with Bahamuts Dominant Prince Dion and his lover. I dont really like when gay relationships are thrown into a game for diversity sake when it doesnt really make sense in the context of the game but Prince Dion and his lover whose name I cant quite remember is such a compelling and tastefully done part of the story.

........not sure if you're shitting me or not.

........not sure if you're shitting me or not.

No im not, The relationship between Terrance (I googled his name) and Dion is really tastefully done.