TheSteam Summer Saleis the highlight of any gamer’s summer months! Valve blesses us with enormous discounts on some of the best games available and we gobble them up. However, it’s also easy to get overwhelmed by all your options!
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With Pride still on many people’s minds, you may be wanting to diversify your gaming library! Or, if you’re an LGBTQ+ member, you may be looking for some familiar experiences in your favorite art form. Whatever the reason, we’ve detailed here some ofthe best games with LGBTQ+ representation you can pick up during the Steam Summer Sale.
8Pathfinder: Kingmaker - Enhanced Plus Edition
Pathfinder: Kingmakerisa top-down RPG set in thePathfinderuniverse(yes, the same one as the tabletop game). It features a greatbalance of storytelling mechanics and combat!Your decisions as a local lord will affect the realm you build and your own alignment. Meanwhile, you’ll repeatedly set off to deal with threats and put people in their place.
The cast in-game is numerous and diverse,with plenty of queer individuals to whet your whistle! As for your character, you may choose between being male or female, and there are bisexual romance options to choose from - and the opportunity to enter a polyamorous relationship with both at once!
7Our Life: Beginnings & Always
In just a few hours, you may grow up alongside Cove Holden, the main character of Our Life: Beginnings & Always. This isa visual novel game that takes you through life in a small beach town,starting right after your new neighbour moves in: Cove. Cove can be your friend, your partner, your old childhood crush, or someone you never even really got to know. As you interact with him, you affect the ways he grows up, and the Cove you’re talking to by the end of the game is totally unique.
Thoughthe intended love interest of the game is set as male, the player has a lot of choices about their presentation.You can choose from he/him, she/her, or they/them pronouns, customize the kinds of clothes you’d wear, detail any scars you might have, and more. If you’re interested, you can also directly customize Cove more directly, including his personality development.
6Life Is Strange
The firstLife Is Strangegame came out in 2015, representative of theshifting collective consciousness at the time about mental health, sexuality, the inner life of a teen, and much more.It grappled with hard issues by adding a touch of fantasy to the real world and asking the player to make decisions for the protagonist. Unlike games like Dragon Age, the decisions don’t carry forward into another game, they just affect the ending you receive. The developers manage to stunningly replicate the weight on your chest and the anxiety about making the wrong call.
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The entire franchise is worth trying out for its diversity and representation.The famous first game showcases a close bond between the player character,Max, and her friend Chloe Price.It’s implied, but not explicit, that they may have romantic feelings for each other. Max does have another romance option: her friend, Warren Graham. The player can choose to deepen that connection as they choose. The prequel, Life Is Strange: Before the Storm, goes into more depth on the one-sided romantic relationship between Chloe and her friend who is missing during the first game,Rachel Amber.
5Firewatch
Firewatchis a walking simulator where youinvestigate some mysterious happenings in a Wyoming national park.It’s received glowing reviews for the breathtaking soundtrack and the wonderfully simple world it manages to build around the player and a few simple gameplay mechanics.
Some people may be surprised to find it on this list, since there isn’t really a romance. However, as you investigate, you learnthatthe previous lookout at your post, Dave, was a gay man.Flavor text in-game details how that eventually affected his life. We won’t spoil anything, though, so you’ll need to play to learn more. LGBTQ+ representation can be meaningful even in the smallest of places, and addressing the realities - and dangers - of everyday life for people who are LGBTQ+ is essential.
4Stardew Valley
Gamers in every corner have been hearing aboutStardew Valleyfor years. It’s an indie game made almost entirely by one man: Eric Barone, better known as “ConcernedApe.” If you don’t already know, the plot isthe cottagecore dream; you finally get fed up with your huge corporate job and decide to move out to your grandfather’s old farm,which he left to you in his will. Your job is to build it back up to its former glory in whatever way you please. You’ll get to know the local townspeople, help renew the old community centre, fight creatures in the local mines, and much more.
Stardew Valley’s support comesfrom the romantic relationships. Though you have to choose from one of the two genders at the start,you can marry any eligible NPC in the game regardless of your gender.The game chooses to completely ignore any inkling that this might be a problem; no other NPCs so much as comment on it, let alone raise concerns! For plenty of LGBTQ+ people, this kind of acceptance can feel incredibly healing.
3The Dragon Age Trilogy
TheDragon Ageseries takes place in a fantasy world where you must play as the heroes to bring peace in times of conflict. Fans love theseadventure RPGsfor their in-depth world-building,quirky cast of memorable characters,genuine sense of humour, and the ability toshape the world of Thedaswith the choices you make in-game.
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Dragon Age has featured gay/bisexual characters and romance options since its first installment,Dragon Age: Origins, back in 2009. Dragon Age 2 andDragon Age: Inquisitionhave followed suit and expanded to include even more diversity, like transgender or polyamorous characters. As the player, you canchoose your gender and sexuality freely.
2Gone Home
Gone Homeis an indie game that puts you in the role of Katie, who has just returned from her year living abroad. Unfortunately, instead of a warm welcome,Katie finds her family home in Oregan completely abandoned.Your job is to search the rooms, piecing together what could have happened and what you should do next.
We won’t spoil the discovery for you; that’s the point of the game! We’ll just point out that the gameheavily features a lesbian relationshipand doesn’t shy away from some of the harsh realities of LGBTQ+ life.
If you like Gone Home, you should also try Tacoma! It’s a more recent game from the same developers. Tacoma doesn’t focus so heavily on LGBTQ+ relationships/issues, but it does include a queer couple and a mesmerizing story.
1Night in the Woods
InNight in the Woods, you play asa college dropout who returns to her hometown and tries to reconnect with her life.Mae Borowski is a little aimless, and it doesn’t help that everything at home feels… different, now. The beautiful art style makes the world you explore feel incredibly vibrant and personal, so it’s easy to get wrapped up in your wanderings; thankfully, that’s exactly what the game wants you to do! If you figure out why strange things seem to be happening around town, all the better.
Mae, the protagonist, is bisexual and there’s a gay couple that feature prominently.God is also non-binary.However, the story doesn’t necessarily circle around the LGBTQ+ identities of the characters; they’re really just LGBTQ+ and get dropped into the story just like straight people usually would be.
