Pride is a time to celebrate identity, love, and the vibrant spectrum of the LGBTQIA+ community. What better way to do that than by spotlighting some of the most powerful, inspiring, and heartfelt queer characters in gaming?
Video games have long been a space for storytelling, self-discovery, and connection, and over the years, we’ve seen a growing wave of characters who reflect the richness and diversity of real-world identities.
From Ellie, Tracer, Judy Alvarez and Tyler Ronan to Frisk, Birdo, Kanji Tatsumi and Mae Borowski, from brave warriors and cunning rogues to tender romantics and empathetic heroes, queer characters are no longer confined to the sidelines. They’re leading the charge, rewriting narratives, and giving players from all walks of life someone to see themselves in. Whether you’re here to discover new favourites or celebrate old ones, this list is our love letter to the LGBTQIA+ characters who’ve made us cheer, cry, and feel truly seen.
Alex Chen (Life is Strange: True Colors) – Lauren Skinner
It’s true: Max and Chloe are the OG Life is Strange LGBTQA+ sapphic icons. But Alex Chen is very much a spiritual successor who still feels very much like her own person, and a new take on the chaos bisexual.
Alex comes across from the outset as a deeply human and relatable protagonist. She’s written with a level of emotional depth that makes her feel real, and her queer identity is considered very much a part of her flawed, nuanced self. It’s integrated seamlessly into the story, and whether you choose hot drummer Steph or golden retriever Ryan (absolutely relatable bisexual choices, if I do say so myself), her relationships are built on genuine trust, connection, and emotional support. She’s not portrayed as someone who needs to get with anything that moves (a real harmful stereotype of many queer people): she’s attracted to the person, and her preferences are used to fully form who she is, instead of pushing a narrative.
I don’t think the fact that her superpower is empathy is a mistake. Alex has a supernatural ability to feel others’ emotions by seeing their coloured auras, and she can absorb or even manipulate them to an extent. If someone’s feeling something big, however, she can lose control.
All this is hardly subtle as a metaphor for emotional intelligence, mental health awareness, and queer identity. For many of us in the LGBTQIA+ community, growing up often involves reading emotional landscapes to navigate acceptance or safety—something Alex does in a heightened way, symbolising the emotional labour and sensitivity often tied to marginalised identities.
Ultimately, Alex is portrayed as a multidimensional and emotionally resonant person, who is given real agency in her story. Her queerness is portrayed as natural, and accepted as part of who she is, rather than the entirely of her identity. If more video game developers could thoughtfully and sensitively centre their stories around characters like Alex, we’d very much be going in the right direction.
Swann, Kat, Nora & Autumn (Lost Records) – Sophie Jones
When it comes to the best LGBTQ+ characters in video games, it’s hard not to shout out the gang from Don’t Nod’s latest project, Lost Records: Bloom and Rage. Set in the 90s, this story follows introverted Swann as she’s thrown together with friendly Autumn, quirky Nora and fearless Kat. What starts as an unlikely friendship soon turns into something deeper. Each girl is figuring herself out, not just in terms of growing up, but in exploring her identity and queerness.
You play as Swann, who can choose to romance any of the others or keep things platonic. But what’s great is that, romance or not, their queerness is woven into the narrative. They talk about past relationships, crushes and who they are without it ever feeling forced or performative. Each character has their own life and struggles, and how you respond as Swann can shape how messy or meaningful those friendships become.
What makes these characters stand out is how rare it is to see such a full, emotionally rich group of queer teens in a game. They are the centre of the story, not the sidekicks, and their queerness is never treated as a twist or trope. Instead, it’s part of a bigger coming-of-age tale about friendship, fear, love and growing into yourself. This continues into the present-day storyline too, where Nora mentions her wife and family, and Autumn talks about her recent break-up, highlighting her bisexuality in a casual, nondescript way.
What makes these LGBTQ+ characters some of the best in games is how easy it is to see yourself in them. Whether it’s figuring things out quietly, saying the wrong thing, or falling for someone when you least expect it, the game lets them just be, and in doing so, it captures something genuinely special.
Zagreus (Hades) – Dan Hilton
Hades is an action packed, story rich, roguelike time sinker that has you receiving boons from the gods in order to battle your way out of the underworld. But when there is a world packed with super interesting characters, then it is only natural that a little bit of romance can take place. Zagreus, in a somewhat refreshing approach to game design, can only choose between 2 characters to romance. This ties into Zagreus as an individual, with history and rich backstory.
Zagreus can choose to either be with Megara or Thanatos (or both if you play your cards right), both of which our hero has an established bond with in some way or another. Megaera is a domineering, intense, law bringing character who is one of the fabled Fury sisters. And Thanatos is a brooding, mysterious guy that brings the souls of the dead to Charon to ferry.
The reason why I love these romantic options is because they both play on Zagreus himself as an actual established character. Whilst I love the open pursuit of love interest in games such as Baldur’s Gate 3 in which most characters can be romanced by a player character of either gender, there is a grounding realism that comes with the story beats in Zagreus’ love life. Both Meg and Than have been dispatched by Hades himself to stop Zagreus from leaving, and as such both act as minor antagonists in some way. The emotional ties behind both as neither of them want Zagreus to leave, but also endear to him so much that they want to help him, makes for some honest, real story writing. Both characters seem perfectly matched with Zag himself and neither option is forced or feel like agendas. They are just honest and beautiful paths for Zag’s love life.
Dessa Banks (Tactical Breach Wizards) – David Newman
In the fantasy turn-based tactics game Tactical Breach Wizards, Dessa is one of the ragtag group of wizards working (with differing motivations and levels of enthusiasm) to fight back against an international conspiracy. Within the team, Banks is a ‘Necromedic’, meaning that she can heal operatives by killing them first. ‘Do no harm’ be damned!
Banks’ sexuality is never officially stated but, in her Anxiety Dream, her past self calls her present self out (play the game, it will make sense I swear!) when she attempts to refute that she has a crush on Jen, the Private Detective/Storm Witch. Following this, one of the possible ending scenarios also involves her going with Jen to Liboli to set up a detective agency. It’s also worth noting that one of the most popular Community Maps for TBW is called ‘I Ship It’ and involved Jen and Banks clearing a ship of enemies with absolutely no subtext intended in any way, shape or form – I literally can not layer the sarcasm on any thicker without jamming up my keyboard.
Now I could give a variety of reasons why I love Banks as a character, from her snarky wit and struggles with her mortality to the emotional journey and hidden heart of gold we catch glimpses of. All those reasons are completely valid and true but, truth be told, Banks’ style in terms of both design (every single one of her character skins serves such strong looks) and animation were what made me adore this character when she first breached into the room with a casual grab of her medical bag and nonchalant strut!
Dion Lesage (Final Fantasy XVI) – Lauren Skinner
Are they? Are they going to? THEY ARE! They kissed!
Prince Dion Lesage is a dominating (ha) side character in Final Fantasy XVI. As the Crown Prince of Sanbreque and the Dominant of Bahamut, he’s a warrior, a leader, and someone caught between duty and personal truth.
He’s also one of the first openly gay characters in the mainline Final Fantasy series. So when I witnessed him kissing his attendant, Terence, I was overjoyed to see the series modernising in such an effective and authentic way.
Dion’s sexuality is acknowledged clearly but not sensationalised, which made me love it even more. It’s immortalised in a brief moment in a sea of despair: Dion and Terence share a quiet moment inside his tent before battle, tenderly kissing and sharing their anxieties in the calm before the storm. It’s authentic, normalised, and deeply moving.
The fact is, Dion may be a side character, but he’s one of the most important ones. And this is extremely important. He’s absolutely necessary for Clive’s success, sure, but he’s also indicative of the representation that gives the queer community an aspirational role model with AAA visibility. He’s a gay character who’s strong, kind, tragic, romantic, and—crucially—cool.
Additionally, Dion’s not a villain, comic relief, or background figure—he’s a hero, full stop. He commands respect, both in-universe and among players. His nobility and willingness to sacrifice for the greater good position him as a true knight in every sense of the word. LGBTQIA+ characters are frequently denied the opportunity to be a “pure” hero, as they are often written as morally ambiguous, unstable, or villainous to “justify” their inclusion, but Dion breaks the norm. His eventual fate (no spoilers here) is tragic yet dignified, reinforcing his status as a deeply honourable figure.
The normalcy we see here, even in a fantastical, historical setting, is powerful for representation everywhere. Dion isn’t important because he’s gay. He’s not important in spite of it. He’s simply important, like every person who dreams of changing the world for the better should be.
Parvati (Outer Worlds) – Sophie Jones
Outer Worlds is a quirky space game where you play a defrosted spacer who ends up captaining a ship full of misfits, rebels and big personalities. Between blasting enemies with wild weapons and choosing which faction to side with, what really makes the game stand out is the crew you collect along the way.
One of the first companions you meet is Parvati, a gifted mechanic who learned everything from her dad and has barely left her small town, let alone her home planet. Over the course of the story, she opens up about her feelings for Junlei, an engineer she deeply admires. But what makes her arc so special is how it handles her asexuality. Parvati is nervous that Junlei might not feel the same way if she finds out, and it leads to a mission chain full of sweet, sometimes silly, efforts to build her confidence, from tracking down fancy soap to picking out the right outfit.
It’s touching, genuine and full of warmth. Conversations around her identity feel natural, not shoehorned in, and her fears about being misunderstood are quietly powerful. It’s easy to root for her, not just because she’s lovely, but because her story is told with such care. I found myself hanging around the crew mess just to eavesdrop on her first date. Creepy, I know! Thankfully there’s no HR on the ship to tell me off.
Her romance highlights the difference between romantic and sexual attraction, showing you can deeply love and want connection without it being physical. It pushes back against tired stereotypes and gives real visibility to asexual people in a way that feels authentic. While her identity matters, it doesn’t define her. There’s so much more to Parvati than her relationship with Junlei. She’s the heart and soul of the crew, and one of the most refreshingly real portrayals of asexuality I’ve seen in games.
Liara (Mass Effect) – Dan Hilton
So, it might seem like a bit of a cheat choosing a character that is technically an alien for an entry in a Pride celebration blog. And especially one whose origins is that of a species that naturally changes their appearance for the species that is looking at them. This all sounds bizarre if you have no idea who I am talking about, but this entry is for Liara from Mass Effect.
Liara is an asari. All asari appear differently depending on who is looking at them, and they can mate with any race they want to. But I would argue that mating and romancing are two completely different things. And you can romance Liara as either a male or female main protagonist.
I love Liara because she does something that nobody seems to pick up on – she embodies pansexuality. She develops strong romantic feelings towards Shephard (the main character) regardless of their gender, but because of the actions they take and the person they are. She is also such an interesting character that you as a player will be hard pushed not to get involved in her personal story lines. Considering she is one of the few characters that appear across all 3 main entries in the series, and your choices and romances carry over between games, she has arguably one of the most in-depth romance paths to pursue—in any game, ever. Seeing how the relationship and chemistry between you both progresses over time, and seeing how she develops as a person over time, both make her incredibly rewarding to keep close by.
Whilst she is not my personal go-to romance option for the series (Tali all the way), Liara undoubtedly deserves a spot on this list for everything that she is. If half of this entry made no sense to you, then I implore you to go out and play Mass Effect.
Wrap up
Who made you feel seen during a playthrough? Who did you rejoice about when they found their happy ending, or cry over when they killed off their gays?
From all of us at Zatu, we wish you a very affirming and joyous Pride Month.
