by Jayce Ham

As LGBTQ+ Pride month is coming to a close, I thought it was time to discuss my favorite LGBTQ+ characters across the gaming sphere. While there is not as much LGBTQ+ representation in gaming as we would like, there are plenty of wonderful characters to talk about.

First, Tyler from Tell Me Why. Tyler is the first-ever playable trans male protagonist of a video game, which is a pretty amazing milestone. Tyler is the character that encouraged me, a trans non-binary person to come out almost two years ago. The character was voiced by a trans male voice actor August Aiden Black. The game tackles what life is like for a transgender male beautifully, and it led me to tears of happiness and relatability.

Next, Ellie from The Last of Us series. I cannot make a list of favorite/amazing LGBTQ+ video game characters without talking about the queen of LGBTQ+ video game characters, Ellie. In an apocalyptic world run by infected (zombies), Ellie is proud to be herself despite the chaos of the world around her. Her relationship with Dina in The Last of Us Part 2 brought amazing representation to the gaming world. Ellie is a badass lesbian who takes care of the people she loves, no matter what.

Another famous LGBTQ+ character who just happens to be one of my favorites is Chloe from Life is Strange. Bisexual representation is hard to come by in media, especially in video games, so it was exciting to finally have that representation in the one and only Chloe Price. Chloe’s friendship/relationship with the protagonist Max is one of my favorite fictional relationships of all time. Chloe, like Ellie, is proud to be her true self and is a badass. She is outspoken about her sexuality and does not shy away from telling people how she really feels.

To close out this list, my final favorite is actually a couple, Takatoshi Hijiyama and Tsukasa Okino from 13 Sentinels. While Hijiyama’s specific sexuality is not blatantly stated in the game, he is seen to be in love with Okino, a non-binary assigned male at birth person. Okino states in the game that they are non-binary and go between presenting masculine and feminine. Hijiyama holds a fondness and love for Okino throughout the game and Okino, while sometimes making fun of and teasing Hijiyama, is seen to feel the same.

As the years go by, more and more games are featuring LGBTQ+ characters. I cannot wait to see what is in store in the next few years.

Jayce Ham is 29 years old and an ongoing contributor. With a love of all things nerdy, they are right at home covering entertainment.