Entertainment News
When it comes to queer representation in many mediums whether novels, comics, television shows, or movies it tends to be incredibly sporadic at best, especially when it comes to leading queer characters. Unfortunately in the realm of mainstream gaming, especially those AAA titles it's even more rare.
Often times gaymers (gay gamers) find themselves having to compartmentalize their fandom of simply wanting to play a good videogame, but also wanting queer representation like heterosexual gamers receive ALL THE TIME. However, with that said, even though it is rare it is not completely unheard of.
Thanks to PlayStation they have compiled a list of "Great LGBTQIA+ games for Pride."
Located within the PlayStation store for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 owners it reads: "Celebrate Pride with PlayStation with our hand-picked collection of unmissable games that shine a light on LGBTQIA+ characters, themes, and experiences."
Most notably included on the list are "The Last of Us" parts 1 & 2, which are PlayStation-exclusive games following a post-apocalyptic world after a fungal outbreak turns people into zombie-like creatures.
One of the main characters Ellie is revealed to be queer and her girlfriend plays an integral role in the sequel. The game was so popular that it was adapted into a television series and the complete first season can be found on (HBO) MAX.
Another post-apocalyptic game included on the list is Horizon Zero Dawn and its sequel Horizon Forbidden West. It was recently revealed in the DLC (downloadable content) game that came out on April 19, 2023 that the lead character Aloy is queer. Which to no surprise to anyone caused backlash and outrage amongst some in the "fan" community.
PlayStation has many other games on the list like Hades, Life Is Strange: True Colors, Dragon Age Inquisition, The Quarry, CyberPunk 2077, Romancelvania, Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, and many more.
So while the inclusion of positive leading queer characters, especially queer characters of color is extremely lacking in the gamer space, this list created by PlayStation does show that there is some improvement for gaymers to not only enjoy a good game but also get decent queer representation.
We can only hope this list continues to grow and that leading queer characters in games will no longer be seen as an anomaly, but as the norm. Representation matters and representation equals normalization.
