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General discussion<b>Discover 4 LGBTQ+ inclusive games you should definitely check out on GOG</b>(461 posts) (461 posts) 
(461 posts) 
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This is my favourite topic
Posted June 14, 2022
Today we invite you to read a guest article by Aimee Hart from the Gayming Magazine, the world’s only LGBTQ video game magazine and the home of queer geek culture.

Hello everyone and Happy Pride!

Pride has a long and important history, one that is celebrated all over the world and even in gaming spaces - something which I had no idea was a thing until I’d become more and more involved within the games industry.

Gaming is for everyone, and for queer and marginalized gamers who are looking for ways to see themselves, it’s a medium that has never been better to delve into. Not only are more LGBTQ+ developers making their way into the games industry, but the same can be said for queer narratives and characters.

With that in mind, this is the perfect time to celebrate Pride by talking about a handful of incredible LGBTQ+ inclusive games that you can find on GOG, and why they have such a massive impact on queer gamers.



Dragon Age: Origins

In Dragon Age: Origins, players take on the role of a noble Grey Warden as they take up arms to fight against The Blight - a terrible period of time where hellish darkspawn corrupt dragons and burst from underground to the surface, killing everyone in their way. With a setting like that, it’s no surprise that Dragon Age: Origins may look like the edgy, gritty, ‘realistic’ fantasy RPG that you would expect back in 2008 when it was released, but it’s also one of the earliest games to include queer sexuality in a way that wasn’t either demonized or sexualized.

Players get the option to romance four main companions: Alistair for women, Morrigan for men, Leliana and Zevran for both men and women. While sexuality and gender were further explored in future Dragon Age games, Origins holds a special place in my heart due to its uncompromising perspective on love - regardless of gender.

Outside of LGBTQ+ romance between the protagonist and their companions, Dragon Age: Origins also features love stories between same-sex NPCs, as well as quests and codex entries that speak of queerness.

While certainly a product of its time, Dragon Age: Origins holds a special place in my heart by being the very first video game that allowed me to be true to my desires.



Stardew Valley

If there’s ever been a game that feels like a warm hug on a cold day, then that game is Stardew Valley. In this game, you play as a young up-and-coming farmer who previously abandoned their office job to live out the rest of their life on their Grandpa’s farm. You start with only the essentials and a lot of work ahead of you, but after that short introduction? That’s where the real fun begins.

Stardew Valley is a farming sim inspired by games like Harvest Moon, and was developed solely by Eric Barone aka ConcernedApe. While there is a ton of farming to do - you are a farmer, after all - the relationships that you can form between the characters you meet in Pelican Town play a huge part in what makes game special. You can romance anyone of the bachelors or bachelorettes with no issue, and whoever you romance will acknowledge your gender and the fact they are in a same-sex relationship. It’s a nice touch.

Stardew Valley is also one of the first farming sims to include same-sex marriage, something which has only just come to similar games like it, such as Rune Factory and Story of Seasons. Whether Barone’s inclusion inspired future games is not known, but considering the rocky portrayal of gay marriage within video games still, it’s undeniable that Stardew Valley’s impact by allowing us to marry the ones we love is significant.



Sword of the Necromancer

If you think the ‘bury your gays’ trope is dumb and it needs to be removed from existence, you’ll probably love Sword of the Necromancer from Grimorio of Games.

In Sword of the Necromancer, you take on the role of Tama - a mercenary and the bodyguard of the High Priestess of Nodam, Koko. Only there is one little problem: Koko was killed during their adventures. However, this isn’t good enough for Tama, and the goal for the player is to delve deep into the dungeons of the Necromancer in order to get the sword that will bring Koko back to life.

As the LGBTQ+ community is rocked by legislation and individuals that look to tear us down, Sword of the Necromancer is an inspiring tale of love, friendship, and how far you’ll go to be with the one you love. It’s a roguelike that, if it doesn’t pull you in with its gameplay, will definitely have its hooks on you thanks to its characters.



Ikenfell

If you’re looking for a game that’s got 1) magic 2) turn-based combat that requires strategy, skill and rhythm and 3) is full of characters who are LGBTQ+... There’s no other game that’s as perfect as Ikenfell, which also excels with its accessibility options, too.

Ikenfell takes place in a magical school where you play as the protagonist, Maritte, who is looking for her sister. Throughout her journey, she meets up with a cast of colourful characters, some of whom are asexual, aromantic, gay, lesbian, and more. In fact, I’m certain there isn’t a single straight character in there - talk about being a game made for us!

Ikenfell draws on a lot from a certain magical series that you may have read about, but isn’t afraid to actually include diversity and inclusion – already making it a much more interesting place for players to spend their time in. Because let’s be honest: who doesn’t love a queer love story?
Posted June 15, 2022
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Sachys: before all the publishers and devs find out and flee.
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foad01: It is probably to late for this. Gamers, streamers, journalists, and devs know about the state of this forum. These people see what's going on here and do a 180°-turn. It has a bad reputation. It is known that there are lots of far-right people here. Not long ago someone said: "Do you want to see the trolliest place on earth? Go to the GOG forums. It's a cesspit." Several users here are actively destroying the chance for other users to talk to developers here on this forum.
That's the ironic thing about the whole "free speech" concept a lot of xenophobes like to rely on is their rhetoric often leaves for such an unwelcoming environment it virtually shuts down opposition just from being there when it becomes dominant enough. This is why many places actually take care to either warn or ban these people, or why others in the community attempt to shut them down, because tolerance of intolerance allows intolerance to spread to where tolerance is essentially no longer a thing. So, ironically, to allow tolerance to maintain itself, we must intolerate intolerance.

As it is, though, this forum is still clearly far too intolerant for me to desire posting here. Still. After all these years. I check back in once in a while, this time figured, "Hey, GOG's encouraging people to be themselves because freedom and stuff, that's nice," but unfortunately too many people here are still far too toxic and too far down the rabbit hole for proper discourse. Seems I'll still have to wait yet another good long while for that to change. Still. After all these years.

Also, the First Ammendment to the U.S. Constitution in particular doesn't actually say you have the right to literally say whatever you want without consequence anyway, it says, "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech." That first bit is incredibly important for understanding how the First Amendment actually works. It's because of that, you have some level of protection from the government, but people can otherwise criticize you as much as they want for being an asshole.

Finally, it seems people still haven't heard of this thing called the "salad bowl analogy" as opposed to the melting pot analogy which helps explain why people do this Pride stuff among other things, so, before I depart and never look at this thread ever again (because screw most of y'all), here:

[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salad_bowl_(cultural_idea]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salad_bowl_(cultural_idea[/url])
Posted June 15, 2022
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Sachys: Okay, wishlisted Ikenfell.

Anybody got any other good LGBTQ+ related games (devs / themes etc all welcome)?
Outer Worlds has a lesbian romance plot between one of your crewmates and a different NPC. Cyberpunk has gay/lesbian romances, a great story with a trans character, and you can make your own toon non-binary. There's also Mass Effect if you don't mind venturing outside of GoG.
Posted June 15, 2022
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Sachys: I got banned for two months for (rightly) pointing out GOG has had an increasing history of bigotry and nazi sympathisers on the forum (including users with actual white power and nazi symbols on their profiles / as avatars).

I was told by the staff member that was "an awful thing to say about our community".

I return only because of the sale and find this dumpster fire - which appears to be the second in pride month.
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Telika: Correct. Not sure what is happening with GOG lately. Change of direction? Change of calculations? Trends analysis ("hmm, let's see who's currently the president in the US") ? But for ages, GOG has been delicately catering to their trusty alt-right gamergater community, and all of a sudden, it makes a u-turn and traumatizes them by treating homosexuals like complete human beings or criticizing Putin's conquest wars.

On one hand, it does take some guts. On the other hand, it's confusing and I understand the community's anger. Not to mention that most decent people had long left for less swampy pastures and are still unlikely to come back.

That's interesting and head-scratching. But it makes for an amusingly panicky anthill to behold, so at least there's that.
It's just good ol' complete lack of moderation throughout the whole site. I mean you can just look at some of the more spicy "reviews" for this game https://www.gog.com/game/through_the_darkest_of_times
Posted June 15, 2022
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We strongly believe that representation of minority groups is important, even in fictional worlds of video games. Inclusive environments and diverse characters create a safe space to have fun and express yourself for all kinds of gamers. Partnering with Gayming for this editorial was something I personally was very happy about, as it allows to share a different perspective on the titles mentioned.

I've said it before but let me repeat it again – you are free to disagree with it but hate speech and discrimination will not be tolerated.
It saddens me deeply that a heartfelt article about four (truly amazing, may I add) games is causing such a needlessly aggressive back and forth, but I can assure you we will continue promoting our Pride Month Collection created with the help of our queer employees, showcase games with LGBTQIA+ themes and welcome amazing partners, such as Gayming, for future collabs as it's a part of what we value here at GOG.

Not liking these games or what they represent to some is your prerogative. Staying respectful and kind however is something we require on our forum.
Posted June 15, 2022
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J Lo:
Not long finished mass effect legendary (a gift).

already have the other two wishlisted for when i upgrade, but will pass that down the line to friends who are interested (but dare not venure onto here!). thanks!

edit: i think andromeda (also gifted to me) was even more friendly that way
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chandra: Not liking these games or what they represent to some is your prerogative. Staying respectful and kind however is something we require on our forum.
Then please, Chandra - ban the bigots. Ban them. All repeat offenders. Banned. Ban me too for balance. Just ban them. Please - for the sake of your integrity, self respect, the forum rules, GOGs continued business with publishers and devs, for the HUMAN RIGHT to exist...

BAN ALL THE NUMPTIES!

Pretty please?
Post edited June 15, 2022 by Sachys
Posted June 15, 2022
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Sachys: Okay, wishlisted Ikenfell.

Anybody got any other good LGBTQ+ related games (devs / themes etc all welcome)?
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J Lo: Outer Worlds has a lesbian romance plot between one of your crewmates and a different NPC. Cyberpunk has gay/lesbian romances, a great story with a trans character, and you can make your own toon non-binary. There's also Mass Effect if you don't mind venturing outside of GoG.
Great recommendations!

You can also check out our Pride Month Collection and see if anything catches your eye. The Red Strings Club is great if you are into a pixelated cyberpunk vibe :) Night in the Woods: Weird Autumn Edition is also one of my favorites, amazing writing!
Posted June 15, 2022
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my name is catte: Actually it's more of an initialism. An example of a portmanteau would be if I described your post as stuptacular by combining spectacular and stupid. If you'd bothered to read the definition of portmanteau in your link you'd realise this.
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Machinators: "portmanteau word, also called blend, a word that results from blending two or more words, or parts of words, such that the portmanteau word expresses some combination of the meaning of its parts."

What did I miss?
You have apparently not understood what you have quoted. I gave an example of a portmanteau, but please have a look at this list to see if you can get how it works: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_portmanteaus

LGBTQ+ is an initialism.
Posted June 15, 2022
low rated
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chandra: We strongly believe that representation of minority groups is important, even in fictional worlds of video games. Inclusive environments and diverse characters create a safe space to have fun and express yourself for all kinds of gamers. Partnering with Gayming for this editorial was something I personally was very happy about, as it allows to share a different perspective on the titles mentioned.

I've said it before but let me repeat it again – you are free to disagree with it but hate speech and discrimination will not be tolerated.
It saddens me deeply that a heartfelt article about four (truly amazing, may I add) games is causing such a needlessly aggressive back and forth, but I can assure you we will continue promoting our Pride Month Collection created with the help of our queer employees, showcase games with LGBTQIA+ themes and welcome amazing partners, such as Gayming, for future collabs as it's a part of what we value here at GOG.

Not liking these games or what they represent to some is your prerogative. Staying respectful and kind however is something we require on our forum.
Please do more. The GOG forums have quite rightfully gained a terrible reputation and that reputation attracts and emboldens the sort of people currently trolling these threads.

News posts like this only go so far if the sentiment is not backed up with actions. If GOG is truly an ally then it needs to take a stance against the trolls - without that posts like this are just empty words.
Posted June 15, 2022
low rated
avatar
Sachys: I got banned for two months for (rightly) pointing out GOG has had an increasing history of bigotry and nazi sympathisers on the forum (including users with actual white power and nazi symbols on their profiles / as avatars).

I was told by the staff member that was "an awful thing to say about our community".

I return only because of the sale and find this dumpster fire - which appears to be the second in pride month.
avatar
Telika: Correct. Not sure what is happening with GOG lately. Change of direction? Change of calculations? Trends analysis ("hmm, let's see who's currently the president in the US") ? But for ages, GOG has been delicately catering to their trusty alt-right gamergater community, and all of a sudden, it makes a u-turn and traumatizes them by treating homosexuals like complete human beings or criticizing Putin's conquest wars.

On one hand, it does take some guts. On the other hand, it's confusing and I understand the community's anger. Not to mention that most decent people had long left for less swampy pastures and are still unlikely to come back.

That's interesting and head-scratching. But it makes for an amusingly panicky anthill to behold, so at least there's that.
Gamergate was never a alt-right or the like thing .. it started rightfuly from finding out how game companies and journalists was not being partial and fair to the games but had been starting to do the ''paid for good review'' stick and gamers rightfully was pissed about that aswell as these same game journalists making ''gaming is dead articles '' after found out about it and called out.. while yes any group and movement has bigots in some degree it wasn't the majority as far as I can find or am aware
Post edited June 15, 2022 by BanditKeith2
Posted June 15, 2022
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chandra: We strongly believe that representation of minority groups is important, even in fictional worlds of video games. Inclusive environments and diverse characters create a safe space to have fun and express yourself for all kinds of gamers. Partnering with Gayming for this editorial was something I personally was very happy about, as it allows to share a different perspective on the titles mentioned.
This forum would be dramatically improved by banning anyone saying hateful things in this thread. Don't ban them from GOG, just from the forum. Surely that is possible, and Steam does it all the time. It's embarrassing what a dumpster fire your forum is, considering your status as a relatively well known gaming site and store.
Posted June 15, 2022
low rated
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chandra: We strongly believe that representation of minority groups is important, even in fictional worlds of video games. Inclusive environments and diverse characters create a safe space to have fun and express yourself for all kinds of gamers. Partnering with Gayming for this editorial was something I personally was very happy about, as it allows to share a different perspective on the titles mentioned.
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StingingVelvet: This forum would be dramatically improved by banning anyone saying hateful things in this thread. Don't ban them from GOG, just from the forum. Surely that is possible, and Steam does it all the time. It's embarrassing what a dumpster fire your forum is, considering your status as a relatively well known gaming site and store.
It's definitely possible - as far as I know GOG doesn't use account bans unless there's some actual fraud or something going on. Forum bans are the norm - although they seem to use them somewhat inconsistently.
But yes, well said. This used to be a really nice forum a long time ago.
Posted June 15, 2022
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my name is catte: It's definitely possible - as far as I know GOG doesn't use account bans unless there's some actual fraud or something going on. Forum bans are the norm - although they seem to use them somewhat inconsistently.
But yes, well said. This used to be a really nice forum a long time ago.
Actually they did use an account ban on somebody and it took months for them to get it back. They could login but that was it.
Of course, the person that did the ban no longer works here as I can tell.
Posted June 15, 2022
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So Dragon Age started being s**t with the first game already, not the second one? Thanks for confirming, now it's off my backlog.
Post edited June 15, 2022 by VBProject
Posted June 15, 2022
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Sachys: Okay, wishlisted Ikenfell.

Anybody got any other good LGBTQ+ related games (devs / themes etc all welcome)?
Timespinner is a nice queer metroidvania. If you liked the GBA and DS Castlevanias (and/or Symphony of the Night and Bloodstained), you will likely enjoy Timespinner as well.

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous has some LGBTQ characters in it; one of the first NPCs you meet mentions her wife, for example, and you get to see the couple hugging early in the game. (Worth noting that NPCs aren't necessarily player-sexual, but rather many have preferences as to which gender they'll romance. For example, there's one male character who is only interested in romancing a male PC.)

Not on GOG, but you might want to also check out Celeste (DRM-free on itch.io); it's a nice precision platformer.

There's also the post earlier this month with a longer list of games, and if you're into visual novels, you might want to check out A Year of Springs (one part deals with the struggles of a transgender woman who wants to go to a female only public bath with her friends) and Our Life: Beginnings and Always. Note, however, that I haven't played either of these games, so I can't judge them fairly.
Posted June 15, 2022
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dtgreene:
Much appreciated. few things that arent my kinda game, but i know people theyd sit well with! :)
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This is my favourite topic
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General discussion<b>Discover 4 LGBTQ+ inclusive games you should definitely check out on GOG</b>(461 posts) (461 posts) 
(461 posts)