The best LGBTQ+ games to make you feel the love

There's more to the best LGBT+ games than love lives alone. It can be frustrating to see whole people reduced to their sexuality or gender, which is why most of my favorite games about same-sex relationships make romance just one part of the character's identity. Yes, even the dating sims! But on the other hand, there's nothing like seeing your own struggles presented before you to help make you feel less alone - and coming to terms with love's many forms is integral to that journey.

Ultimately, it depends whether you want to feel seen, empowered, inspired, or a dash of all three. And believe it or not, I know just the games for the task. To prove my point, I've put this list together to pick out the very best LGBT+-themed games if you're hunting for a character who represents you. Here, you'll find some of the best RPGs that let you bond with companions no matter your player character's gender or sex. I've even found some of the best visual novels that are home to excellent LGBT representation, as well as the best game stories where LGBT characters have more to talk about than just who they're crushing on. Ready to dive in? Good, because the best LGBT+ games won't play themselves!

15. This Bed We Made

This Bed We Made sees you take on the role of a hotel maid called Sophie in 1950s Montreal. What starts out as mere curiosity quickly spirals into a murder-mystery as Sophie's snooping in hotel rooms takes a turn. While there are puzzles to solve and a curious case to uncover, the context of the time period and the way it explores the era's views on queer relationships through the lens of Sophie - who can even develop a romantic bond with Beth, a hotel relationship - and the items she finds is deeply affecting.

14. In Stars and Time

At the heart of In Stars and Time is a cast of loveable, relatable characters, beautiful writing, and a unique looping story of perseverance that sees you peel back more about the protagonist Siffrin and those they journey with every run you attempt to stop the . Representation within the cast is also done so naturally, making each conversation that unfolds feel realistic, authentic, and a part of both the narrative and worldbuilding. It truly is a fantastic example of how to bring to life a diverse cast of LGBT+ characters who become a found family.

13. Hades

Just like its sequel Hades 2, Hades makes a powerful statement when it comes to non-heteronormative relationships in video games. The godlike roguelike sees Zagreus, Prince of the Underworld, able to forge romances with three key characters – and even if they're not all queer options, they're certainly unconventional. Whether you choose to pursue death himself, one of the fury sisters, the House of Hades' sweet gorgon housekeeper, or all three of them in true ancient Greek style, Hades offers a trio of beautiful love stories ranging from physical to purely emotional connections. Supergiant's delicate touch in making these storylines flow seamlessly as part of the overarching narrative cements Hades as one of the best LGBT+ games out there for anyone who wants love to be just one part of a huge, sprawling action experience – though it's a part that will stick with you forever.

12. If Found...

If Found… follows Kasio, a young trans woman in the early '90s who returns home to the West of Ireland. Exploring her story through beautiful stylized hand-drawn art that comes to life on the pages of Kasio's diary, you start to deconstruct her journey by erasing each page. As she faces different challenges and tries to navigate tensions within her family, and the new friendships she forms, DreamFeel draws you into a unique, poignant narrative experience with LGBTQ+ characters that feel so real and relatable. With Kasio at the center of the story, the striking visuals sketched out across every page perfectly capture the emotional journey, full of deep feelings.

11. Wylde Flowers

Wydle Flowers is one of the most inclusive farming sims out there, with a diverse cast of LGBTQIA+ characters that feel authentic and true to life. With so much representation to be found among the community of Fairhaven, as Tara, you'll meet lots of different characters who are all going through their own hardships or relatable issues. From queer couples to exploring identity, there's so much care and thought put into the story of every individual you meet. What's more, you're free to decide who Tara is and who she wants to develop relationships, with a range of inclusive romance options for you to choose from. When it comes to the life / farming sim genre, they don't get much more welcoming than this.

10. The Blood of Dawnwalker

As one of the hottest RPGs of 2026, it came as a total delight to discover that The Blood of Dawnwalker's half-vamp protagonist is canonically bisexual. Coen of Laslia has the opportunity to romance three NPCs when he isn't rushing against the clock to rescue his family from the dastardly invading lord Brencis, with one of them being a rebel leader named Crake. The pair start off on the wrong foot, as all good enemies-to-lovers stories do, but play your cards right and you'll be treated to a beautiful scene where the pair confess their feelings for one another. Most affecting are the stories Crake and Coen share about life as same sex-attracted men during medieval times; Crake admits how his father rejected him upon learning that he is gay, while Coen shares having always harbored crushes on men as well as women. Crake and Coen's romance is completely optional in the grander scheme of the action-RPG, but I love the extra layers it adds to Coen's character.

Read our Blood of Dawnwalker review next

9. Life is Strange: True Colours

The original Life is Strange wove a heart-crushing drama of the interconnected lives of three young queer women. That is, if the player went looking for it. Life is Strange: True Colours marked the franchise's first game release to make its protagonist canonically bisexual, rather than leaving it up to 'playersexual' preference. The player also makes an explicit decision whether empath Alex Chen romances adorkable D&D mastermind Steph. Alex's love, acceptance and forgiveness are the stuff of miracles, and can be wielded to break down toxic power constructs. Best of all, unlike previous Life is Strange games, there's no doom hanging over this queer relationship.

8. Gone Home

In a similar vein to Life is Strange, Gone Home unpicks both the agony and life-affirming force that can come of young queer love. Don't be fooled by the signposting that points toward the 'bury your gays' trope. Here, as in Fullbright's 2018 title Tacoma, all the sadness and suffering is to be overcome. Wandering through a creaky old house in a storm, it's easy to be convinced something terrible has taken place. But the weather's only external, and the story the player unlocks (through exploration, attention to detail, and uncovering evidence) is one of joyous escape from the constraints of fear.

7. Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator

Dream Daddy could easily just have said "some dads date other dads and that's okay". Thankfully it explores more than how 'okay' it is to be a queer father juggling romantic relationships, parenting, and sometimes facing life-changing struggles. After Ernest's partner dies, you search for love while trying your best to support his daughter through her own grief. Queer parents can and do have lives and troubles outside of being 'that gay couple with a kid'. Speaking as half of one such couple, it means a lot that this story makes way for these dream dads to keep it real.

6. Tell Me Why

Childhood trauma, fallible memory, and the complex pull of wounded family ties are central to the story of Alison and Tyler, her trans twin brother. They share a telepathic bond, but their connection's been put through the wringer of grief and a ten-year separation while Tyler was in juvie. In Tyler, Dontnod created a fully-realised character, consulting GLAAD to capture the plight of trans people recontextualising their home lives. Telepathy as a key function of gameplay becomes an intense metaphor for this struggle as, depending on player choice, it begins to either heal or fracture his bond with Alison.

5. Unpacking

Sometimes it's only while refitting our lives to move on, that things we've buried finally start to make sense. From a first-person perspective, you help the protagonist puzzle out 21 years of house moves, literally unpacking their life and finding ways to make it fit their space. Using color and inconspicuous everyday objects as clues, you eventually piece together that the protagonist is bisexual – a fact that should have been obvious all along, or so it seems. But that's the beauty of Unpacking; it sympathizes with identity not always being easy to identify and having those realizations in due time.

4. The Last of Us 2

The negative backlash to Ellie and Riley's kiss in Left Behind only reinforces how crucial these creative choices are in instigating greater inclusivity. This decision to let Ellie express and explore her sexuality paved the way to The Last of Us 2 further challenging action game norms, by making one of its two female leads lesbian. Even better, we get to see Ellie and Dina's relationship grow stronger because of their struggle to survive. We see them go from awkward lovers to building a family, however fragile. Queer love is front and center in this AAA blockbuster, and that's something to celebrate.

3. Night in the Woods

Mae leads a deceptively quiet small-town existence, where the truth comes out under cover of darkness. She's drawn into solving a Twin Peaksian mystery quite by accident, through her efforts to reintegrate with her old friends and neighbors as a college dropout recently moving back to her hometown. The LGBTQ+ characters of this modern cult classic often feel several steps behind in life, a painfully relatable state to people who were closeted, knowingly or otherwise, in their teens. Mae is pansexual with several queer friends, but this takes a realistic back seat to their search for purpose in suburban life.

2. Baldur's Gate 3

When it comes to telling queer video game stories effectively, it can't get much better than Baldur's Gate 3. There are a variety of BG3 romance options you can embark upon, no matter your playable character's gender, and almost all of your Baldur's Gate 3 companions (and some NPCs) have the ability to fall in love with you too over the course of your rollicking fantasy adventure. The best thing about same-sex romance in Larian's high-stakes D&D game is that it's far from the most interesting thing about your character – you can be a dragonborn sorcerer with a deep dark secret who just happens to be dating a pansexual vampire, the literal daughter of a goddess who just happens to be dating a mortal woman, or a halfling barbarian in a cozy throuple with Halsin and Shadowheart. Baldur's Gate 3 is yours to shape, and the LGBT+ romance capabilities simply add to the game's dynamism in that regard.

Read our Baldur's Gate 3 review next.

1. Dragon Age: Inquisition 

BioWare has been championing queer rep for two decades. But the release of its third Dragon Age instalment came wrapped in a big old rainbow with an extensive cast of unapologetically queer characters – including a sensitively created trans man. Such variety of lovingly characterized representation is yet to be matched by any AAA game (although Dragon Age: The Veilguard deserves a mention here for its inclusive character creator options and dialogue choices). Its true power is that a story of a bunch of scrappy outcasts, carving their own path to community and personal power, has enabled real-life LGBTQ+ people to do the same on a mass scale through fandom.

Why not check out our pick of upcoming Xbox Series X games and upcoming PS5 games to see all the new games still to come across all platforms?