Games with —>GOOD<— LGBT+ representation
No order. Only putting games I’ve personally played because I’ve played too many games that I was told were good LGBT rep only for it to be the most fetishy offensive bullshit ever.
8 Games
Really well written gay relationships. Gay relationships between the cast are as open and normalized as straight ones. There are 2 straight couples, 1 gay couple, and 1 lesbian couple, the last of which is the focus of the story. Plot is so far removed from everyday human society that commentary on challenges in being LGBT are not needed, and is in fact stronger when shown as openly normalized and uncriticized in their world.
There is also a well-written nonbinary NPC that isn’t othered in any way for being so. Too often a character that is agender or nonbinary is reserved for something non-human/not fitting with the rest of the cast (robot, monster, etc). Floofty is a grumpus like the rest.
There is also a well-written nonbinary NPC that isn’t othered in any way for being so. Too often a character that is agender or nonbinary is reserved for something non-human/not fitting with the rest of the cast (robot, monster, etc). Floofty is a grumpus like the rest.
This is visible in both Chapter 1 as well as Chapter 2, but Chapter 2 has more of a focus on it while Chapter 1 mostly hints at it.
While I do love Alphys and Undyne, I absolutely fell in love with the way Noelle and Susie are written around each other, both clearly having a crush on the other, but being teenagers, are incredibly awkward about it. Similar to Undertale, the two are treated well by the cast and respected similarly to straight relationships/crushes. Most noticeable for me was with Noelle's dad supporting her crush, especially the normalized aspect of her feeling comfortable enough to be open to her dad about liking another girl. I definitely have a soft spot for these two, as they remind me of my wife and I.
While I do love Alphys and Undyne, I absolutely fell in love with the way Noelle and Susie are written around each other, both clearly having a crush on the other, but being teenagers, are incredibly awkward about it. Similar to Undertale, the two are treated well by the cast and respected similarly to straight relationships/crushes. Most noticeable for me was with Noelle's dad supporting her crush, especially the normalized aspect of her feeling comfortable enough to be open to her dad about liking another girl. I definitely have a soft spot for these two, as they remind me of my wife and I.
Kim. But also the gay people in this game are very varied, and don't fall under one umbrella of gay that we often see portrayed in media. There is no incorrect way of being gay and this game beautifully reflects that. We see very flamboyant and more subtle depictions of homosexuality, as well as a mixture of both gay men and women. Very good overall.
Tony is treated amazingly well, even if coming off a little annoying. Hey, he’s just a kid with a crush after all. Itoi states that including Tony was important to his story as he himself knew gay children when growing up, and wanted to normalize/desexualize the idea of homosexuality and directly fight against the notion of it being too mature for children.
Good trans representation with Vivian in JP version & IT translation. Her story follows the rejection of being accepted by her sisters, often referring to Vivian with cruel nicknames, such as “crossdresser”. It ends with her sisters accepting her as a true Siren Sister and apologizing for their errors. The Italian translation includes a line where Vivian directly states her happiness for transitioning.
Specifically when you marry Alex as a male farmer. Other gay marriages are fine, but seem more player-sexual than actually queer representation. With Alex though, he goes through an entire deconstruction of his toxic masculine life, learning to unpack it, and coming to terms with his attraction to men. I like how it shows that it’s not easy being gay, especially in a small town, where Alex’s grandfather will begin to tell you that you “ruined his grandson” after marrying him. But nonetheless, Alex continues to tell you how happy he is to be with you.
Alphys and Undyne are both women that are openly into one another. They also have their relationship respected and treated similarly to straight relationships within the game. Sure, it could be argued that the writing between the two isn't the most groundbreaking writing of a Sapphic couple... but they're still cute! And sometimes you just want a cute gay couple that gets treated the same as everyone else.
Alice is a character revealed to be born and raised as female, but says he always felt his real self was male. Sensitively + well-written character.
