LGBTQ+

The games manufacture has not e'er been practiced at portraying LGBTQ+ relationships and identities, but thanks to the efforts of modest studios, indie developers, and LGBTQ+ creators, that's outset to change. Not merely do nosotros have plenty games with strong LGBTQ+ themes on the Nintendo Switch that we can really brand a listing, simply all of these games are exceptionally practiced. Nosotros're spoiled for pick!

But what exactly constitutes an "LGBTQ+ game", anyhow? It'south more than than just a game that has some representation in information technology — it's a game that's proudly representative, that wears its queerness on its sleeve.

For instance, nosotros're non counting games like Overwatch, which has LGBTQ+ representation in characters like Tracer and Soldier 76, simply who were both confirmed to be gay in textile outside of the game, and nosotros're not including Miitopia, Harvest Moon, and Story of Seasons, because even though they let players marry characters of the aforementioned gender, they telephone call information technology "best friends" — which is pretty dismissive in 2021.

Some of the games we've included, like Undertale, are also "queer" in the sense that they prioritise community, non-violence, intimacy and tenderness over conflict and inflicting hurting on others, or in their presentation, aesthetics, and fashion. These games also include explicit LGBTQ+ representation, only we wanted to expect at queerness from multiple angles, too.

Nevertheless, please be aware that, for many of these games, their LGBTQ+ content is a plot point, so in that location are a lot of spoilers in hither. Happy spoilers, simply spoilers nonetheless!

Night In The Forest (Switch eShop)

Night In The Woods (Switch eShop) Night In The Woods (Switch eShop)

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Publisher: Finji / Developer: Infinite Autumn

Release Date: 1st Feb 2018 (U.s.) / 1st Feb 2018 (United kingdom/EU)

Although Night in the Forest' plot is predominantly about the mysterious goings-on in Possum Springs, and protagonist Mae Borowski'due south own personal demons, the bodily day-to-day of the game involves Mae and her friends being gay and doing crimes. No, literally — that's their catchphrase: "Be gay, do crimes". With a portrayal of a loving gay human relationship betwixt Gregg and Angus, plus Mae's own pansexuality, Night in the Woods paints a motion-picture show of a grouping of friends who aren't afraid to be their most authentic selves.

Ikenfell (Switch eShop)

Ikenfell (Switch eShop) Ikenfell (Switch eShop)

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Publisher: Humble Games / Programmer: Happy Ray Games

Release Appointment: 8th Oct 2020 (USA) / eighth Oct 2020 (UK/EU)

Imagine a game like Harry Potter, but set in a globe that'southward both welcoming and proud of its trans, pansexual, non-binary, gay and queer characters, and you've got Ikenfell, a Chrono Trigger-style RPG about saving the world from magic gone incorrect.

The teens at Ikenfell'due south wizarding schoolhouse range from "discovering their sexuality" to being out-and-out flirts, which is a refreshing take on the "all teens are nervous about kissing" trope. It's likewise one of the only games we've ever played to feature neo-pronouns, with one of the teachers using ze/zir.

Hades (Switch eShop)

Hades (Switch eShop) Hades (Switch eShop)

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Publisher: Supergiant Games / Developer: Supergiant Games

Release Date: 17th Sep 2020 (USA) / 17th Sep 2020 (Uk/EU)

Hades — winner of x billion Game of the Year awards — is a retelling of the love story between Hades, god of the Underworld, and his wife, Persephone. Merely characters will play every bit Zagreus, Hades' son, as he attempts to escape Hell, fighting through leagues of his dad's monsters in a supremely excellent roguelite inspired by myth.

As the story progresses, young Zag tin flirt with, and requite gifts to, several Underworld characters in order to farther his relationship — and even potentially find dearest. Zagreus himself is bisexual, only the game also depicts the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus, the star-crossed lovers from the Iliad.

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Undertale (Switch eShop)

Undertale (Switch eShop) Undertale (Switch eShop)

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Publisher: viii-4 / Developer: viii-iv

Release Date: 18th Sep 2018 (USA) / 18th Sep 2018 (UK/Eu)

Undertale's nigh overt LGBTQ+ reference is the "all-time catastrophe", which — spoilers — involves the absolutely WONDERFUL lesbian relationship between Alphys and Undyne, which you can easily miss unless you're doing a pacifist run.

Various other low-key queer representations abound, from Mettatron'south gender presentation to the main character'southward apply of they/them pronouns, and on acme of all of that is the game's "queerness" in the way it presents non-traditional alternatives to the machismo and conflict that video games are ordinarily centred around. It is both textually, and thematically, queer — and that's one of the reasons it's then dang pop.

Celeste (Switch eShop)

Celeste (Switch eShop) Celeste (Switch eShop)

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Publisher: Matt Makes Games / Programmer: Matt Makes Games

Release Engagement: 25th Jan 2018 (USA) / 25th January 2018 (Uk/EU)

Celeste is a brilliant, punishingly-hard platformer past many of the folks who worked on Towerfall. Its story is generally concerned with protagonist Madeline's mental wellness struggles as she attempts to climb a mountain, despite her cocky-doubt.

Not just does the team that worked on it correspond many of the letters in the LGBTQ+ acronym, but Maddy Thorson — the game's director and designer, who is non-binary — confirmed that Madeline herself is trans. In fact, it was the making of Celeste that helped Maddy come to terms with their own gender feelings!

Stardew Valley (Switch eShop)

Stardew Valley (Switch eShop) Stardew Valley (Switch eShop)

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Publisher: ConcernedApe / Developer: ConcernedApe

Release Date: fifth Oct 2017 (U.s.) / 5th Oct 2017 (UK/EU)

The Story of Seasons games and Harvest Moon games have historically been more than a petty bad at representing same-sex relationships. Many of them volition let yous have aforementioned-sex marriages, just the fact that these are known as "best friend ceremonies" in Japan gives you an idea of but how progressive this really is.

Stardew Valley, a game heavily inspired past Harvest Moons of the past, is less shy almost its LGBTQ+ representation.

Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town (Switch)

Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town (Switch) Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town (Switch)

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Publisher: Marvelous (XSEED) / Developer: Marvelous (XSEED)

Release Appointment: 14th Jul 2020 (USA) / 10th Jul 2020 (Uk/EU)

As we mentioned above, the Story of Seasons series has not always been great at aforementioned-sex relationships — just the Friends of Mineral Boondocks remake on Switch is a step in the right direction. Not only is it a solid update of i of the all-time games in the series, only information technology as well offers a veritable cornucopia of potential marriage candidates to woo, including the Harvest Goddess herself. Brandon and Jennifer are two new romanceable characters added to the listing for the remake, as well!

Gone Home (Switch eShop)

Gone Home (Switch eShop) Gone Home (Switch eShop)

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Publisher: Annapurna Interactive / Developer: Annapurna Interactive

Release Date: sixth Sep 2018 (USA) / 6th Sep 2018 (Great britain/EU)

Gone Abode is one of the starting time narrative games that is told almost entirely by found objects, as Katie Greenbriar returns home to her family's empty house. By walking around and finding various diary entries, cassette tapes, and pieces of paper, Katie can put together what happened to her sister, Sam.

While we never get more information than what the game tells us in snippets of text, and Sam's story is never expanded upon, Gone Home is a delicately told, surprisingly heartwarming tale despite seeming, at showtime, like a horror game.

A Normal Lost Phone (Switch eShop)

A Normal Lost Phone (Switch eShop) A Normal Lost Phone (Switch eShop)

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Publisher: Plug In Digital / Programmer: Plug In Digital

Release Date: 1st Mar 2018 (USA) / 1st Mar 2018 (Britain/Eu)

What would you do if you found a locked telephone belonging to a stranger? If the answer is "I'd go through all the texts and emails, just I'd feel REALLY bad about it," then perhaps you can indulge your curiosity harmlessly with A Normal Lost Phone.

Y'all detect the phone of Sam, a teenager whose life y'all slowly unwrap as you go through their correspondence with friends and family. Eventually, information technology will go clear why Sam has abandoned the phone: to start a new life away from their homophobic and transphobic family unit, and live authentically.

The Business firm in Fata Morgana: Dreams of the Revenants Edition (Switch eShop)

The House in Fata Morgana: Dreams of the Revenants Edition (Switch eShop) The House in Fata Morgana: Dreams of the Revenants Edition (Switch eShop)

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Publisher: Limited Run Games / Developer: Novectacle

Release Date: ninth April 2021 (USA) / 9th April 2021 (UK/Eu)

The Business firm in Fata Morgana begins in an abandoned firm, as you — an amnesiac mystery person — explore the memories of the mansion. Travelling through time, you watch stories of corruption, grief, heartbreak, murder, and at the centre of it all, a witch's curse — but eventually you lot'll come to the truth of the whole affair. Fata Morgana is a tragic story of rejection, othering, and discovering one's true identity, even if it means losing everything else.