The best games with gay romance can be joyous explorations of queer love, or heartbreaking tales of loss and struggle. There’s a full spectrum of games that explore all aspects of the LGBTQ+ experience, so we thought it was time to celebrate some of our favorites. Whether the romance in question is part of the main storyline, an option in a dating sim, or an RPG sidequest, we’ve put together some of the best examples of same-sex love stories in modern video games.

We’re not just talking about genderless romance preferences, the likes of which you’d get in games like Mass Effect or Story of Seasons, but are instead focusing more on games where the romance is explicitly queer in some way and the outcome alters the story or your character. That being said, you’ll still find a lot of crossover with some of the best RPGs to play in 2025, as these games often let you live your best life however you desire.

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage is not only one of the best story-led games on PC, but is also a deeply tender and honest portrayal of young queer love, and how these early, confusing-yet-beautiful feelings can impact us across our whole lives. “Young love” is so often dismissed by older adults, but it can be a foundational moment in discovering who you are for the rest of your life. When those feelings aren’t the heteronormative ones you’ve seen on TV, this adds an extra dimension of self doubt and discovery.

The game ranks each of the three potential same-sex love interests across a spectrum of emotional closeness, from “we’re cool” to “something more…”, as you develop your relationships through gameplay choices. There are sweet, unassuming moments where you show your loyalty toward them, all the way through to the big romantic kiss. Lost Records: Bloom & Rage shows every step of those awkward teenage romances and encourages the player to pursue their first love unapologetically.

The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood’s witchy vibes and nuanced dialogue options mean you can pursue the fully-fledged sapphic romances of your dreams as you divine your future from the cards. Fortuna isn’t a player creation or a blank slate, she’s presented as a complete character, who has her own sexual orientation, dating history, and preferences. She expresses interest in women and many of the game’s cast of characters identify as women, so there’s plenty of room for romance and spice.

So much of the story in The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood revolves around the nature of female friendships, LGBTQ+ stories, and wholeheartedly accepting people for who they are. It’s a game unafraid to explore sexual ideas and intimacy, but also allows you to make big political and spiritual choices that impact a complex world of other characters. Fortuna’s friendships and relationships are instrumental in guiding her to become a better person and to do what’s right for her coven.

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I Was A Teenage Exocolonist is a game about choices–hard choices, big choices, small choices, and choices that will potentially impact humanity’s reach beyond the stars. In a game with a full cast of diverse characters in which the protagonist grows up from young child to adult, it goes without saying that romance choices will also be on the cards.

Although the player character has no defined sexuality (unless they roleplay it that way) and everyone of your age is willing to date you regardless of your gender identity, there are nuances to the other characters’ identities and preferences. For example, if you try to date the fun-loving, futuristic fashionista Rex, he will expect you to respect his polyamorous lifestyle. If you don’t, or you ask him to be monogamous, he will break up with you. Similar issues come into play when asking characters whether they want children, or what kind of physical relationship they want.

Each of these lifestyles, preferences, and identities is portrayed sensitively and with a full exploration of what that means for both the player character and the romanceable NPCs in the game.

Although Stardew Valley might get lumped in with the games where every character is “playersexual” and automatically open to anything, the attention to detail when it comes to specifically queer relationships wins it a place on this list. The characters are often able to consciously acknowledge that they’re in a same-sex relationship, which deepens the roleplay and helps you really connect with your new life partner.

For example, if you choose to marry Leah, her ex will always reflect the player’s chosen gender. Likewise, many characters will comment on either their gay awakening or their surprise that you were also queer–with some saying they’ve “never felt like this before” and some just excited you get how they feel.

If you’re looking for even more romance options (polyamory, new dialogue, etc) or new NPCs, check out our list of the 40 best Stardew Valley mods.

Wylde Flowers is another farming sim with a witchy twist, but one that explicitly explores LGBTQ+ relationships and assigns identities to each of the characters you’ll meet in the town. Giva, the town’s resident meteorologist, is a lesbian, but struggles with her family’s conservative and unsupportive beliefs, while Kim, the butcher, is non-binary and can be won over to romance with some coaxing.

Main character and trainee witch Tara can also romance a handful of men or the much-desired Amira, so it’s up to the player to decide her path. After this, Tara can get married and live her best witching life. Just don’t neglect her partner for too long or they might serve you with divorce papers…

Dream Daddy is a dating simulator that is explicitly, joyously gay in all the best ways. You play as a single dad, doing his best to bring up his kid and move her into a new neighbourhood. It just so happens that this neighbourhood is full of hot dads, much like yourself.

At your daughter’s insistence, you come out of your shell and start dating the various dads about town, from a highly-competitive dad-of-the-year to a dark-and-stormy widower with a penchant for a good whiskey. Though a fairly lighthearted premise, there are plenty of discussions about loss, love, parenthood, and friendship packed into this surprisingly touching game, as well as difficulties raised by the complex dynamics of dating in a small town.

Date Everything is a twist on the dating sim genre, in that you’re collecting dates like they’re Pokemon. There is also the minor detail that every date you go on is with a personified inanimate object–from the smoke alarm to the washing machine.

With 100 “dateable” objects around the house, there’s a lot of tongue in cheek fun to be had as you try to collect as many romances as you can. If you’re unsuccessful in love, it might start to change how things work around the house, too. There are content warnings for anything explicit or particularly sensitive, which can be skipped if you’re not feeling it, and plenty of characters are happy to just hang out and feel the love, without physical intimacy.

Queer representation in The Last Of Us is some of the best we’ve seen in triple-A games, partially because it was done in such a matter-of-fact way. The relationships between LGBTQ+ characters are explored with intimacy and honesty, in a game full of otherwise unrelated gameplay and action, further normalising these expressions of love between same-sex couples. Each of these characters has their own personality, struggles, and morality–there’s a focus on dimension and complexity that we don’t often see. The story isn’t about them being gay, that’s just one part of a complex whole.

The Last Of Us isn’t a romantic game, but it demonstrates the resilience of people even in the face of extreme danger and deprivation, and how much they still want to love and be loved. Just surviving isn’t enough, you need to find moments of joy and human connection to get you through.

Not only is Hades one of the best dungeon crawlers on console, but it is also a great repository of queer romances and gay characters–much like the world of Greek mythology from which it draws its narrative thread.

Aside from the bisexual protagonist flirting with potentially all of the gorgeous gods and goddesses that cross his path, the game also has nonbinary and gender non-conforming characters, ace representation, and finally confirms the centuries-long romance between Achilles and Patroclus. We can sleep better at night for that one.

Another high profile game that handled queer relationships with care and affection: Final Fantasy 16. Amidst all the action, the bloodshed and chaos around them, Dion finds a moment of peace with his bodyguard, bringing him in for a kiss. And that’s largely it. The rest of the game expands on Dion’s abilities in battle, his lineage, his intelligence and strength. He’s another complex character who happens to be in love, a kind of representation we’ve all been crying out for.

It might not have been the most detailed romance, but it marked a step forward for the long-running series, and showed a gentler side of a strong, capable character. If playing the game didn’t quite scratch that itch for Valisthea info, this Final Fantasy 16 lore book might give you something to get your teeth into.

What stands out most about The Red Strings Club’s queer representation is how it presents an idea of an elevated future where ideas of sexuality and gender are far more open and accepted. This vision of a tech-heavy future does have its downsides, as the game quickly reveals, but these non-judmental social attitudes mean the game can be forthright with its characters’ identities. The two heroes of the game are a gay couple, for example, and one character’s trans identity is explored in unexpected ways as the plot develops. You’ll not get a spoiler though, you’ll need to go and play it for yourself.

The development team have said before that their experience of making The Red Strings Club wasn’t one of consciously trying to include LGBTQ+ themes, they just came through organically as a genuine part of the developers’ lives. This is the reality they see, and the future they imagine will come. Despite the dark themes of the game, this is a beacon of light throughout, and helps to create a nuanced future where moral decisions aren’t always black and white.

While Signalis remains one of the best horror games to play in the dark, it’s not without thoughtful themes. The game tells an incredible story of love and unimaginable strength through a same-sex relationship. The driving factor in all the horrors endured and horrific decisions made is returning to a lost love. Believing someone to be in danger and moving heaven and earth to find and save them.

As you fight off enemies and even swap out parts of your own body, the game is asking what would you do to keep a promise to your partner. What lengths would you go to to make things right if that promise got broken. It might not have a happy ending (or beginning… or middle…) but Signalis is a tragic lesbian love story that could move almost anyone to tears.