My Favourite LGBTQ+ Characters in Games

I've been playing League of Legends for over a decade now, so it's easy to imagine how excited I was when Arcane was announced! Riot heard our pleas and gave us a more meaningful peek into the lives of our beloved champions. While we explored the life and suffering of some of the cast, we got to also see some of their more personal moments, such as the ones between Vi and Caitlyn! One of the community's favourite couples really brought a lot of layers and life to the show.

There are many reasons to love Zagreus, so we don't really need June to be here to celebrate him, but one of the most relatable things about him is that he's bi! Well, same here! We oftentimes get overlooked a lot, so I figured adding him to the list would spread some of that love and joy even further! While the game is mostly all about him trying to escape The Underworld and facing his parental issues (same x2, except I don't get to escape The Underworld in a cool, rebellious way... I just have parental trauma), you get little bits and pieces of socialising. Among those, you'll find the ability to date, and Zagreus definitely swings both ways!

One of the first games I played that impacted me was Life is Strange, and I can only imagine this goes for most gamers who came across it! The difficult, confusing, and deep connection that Max and Chloe have probably felt very familiar and relatable to most teens. Not everyone has an easy time accepting or even understanding who they are, and the game does a great job of portraying the difficulties of being a queer teen!

One of my favourite games is Celeste. While I'm absolutely not a big fan of precision platformers, I couldn't help but to try it out, and — to no one's surprise — I ended up so emotionally connected to the experience that I climbed that peak to the top! It really is no surprise that Celeste was nominated in 2018. While the focus is about mental health in general (which is great!), Madeline is a transgender woman, and the developers did a fantastic job at allowing that safe space for all the trans people while also being welcoming to anyone with a struggle; that's the truest definition of spreading the love. What a beautiful safe space! I love Celeste deeply, and the game will always have a place in my heart!

The list of why I love The Last of Us is very, very long; this phenomenal game had me weeping, terrified, and laughing the entire journey! It is impactful, it is fun, and the narrative never leaves you, so I was very happy with the lovely gay representation with Bill & Frank. While in the game we don't get to go too deeply into it, the show brings us much more up close and personal to their struggles, which was fascinating because of the odd setting of the Apocalypse. They really let the characters show themselves at their own pace, and it was phenomenal to get to know them in such a deep way. Unsurprisingly, it's one of the parts of the show that stuck with me the most, and it means the world to me that they let us experience their story in such a respectful manner.