The best queer games on Steam in celebration of Pride Month

Pride Month has a political history – it grew out of the pivotal Stonewall riots of 1969, and queer people, especially people of color, fight for safety and equality every day. But June is also a time for pure fun, something that includes video games.

You are in the best position to serve the needs of the community while ensuring you are tending to and overseeing your own for what might seem like planning a long call with your supportive loved ones this Sunday for the Pride March go to New York City or play some very gay games on Steam. Oh, would you look at that! This is a short list of games on Steam with queer characters and themes, separated by useful categories like popularity and horniness. How convenient!

As you play these games that may tug at your heart, delight you visually, or show you as many penises as the breadth of queer experience will allow, don’t forget this month’s political history. Take care of yourself, then take care of the community in material ways, like through mutual aid funds or, perhaps more subtly, by putting your ego aside and listening to people really peacefully. Thank you for listening to me. You can now start your PC and have a happy pride.

The new classic: Stardew Valley

love homosexuals Stardew Valley. Or maybe they would appreciate better access to health care and more lesbian bars in NYC, I forget what.

But the simulation role-playing game offers solid queer entertainment. In it, your main task is to manage your grandfather’s overgrown farmland with crops and animals, but you can also take care of yourself and your land in other ways, such as: B. by cooking oily radish salads and catching lazy fish blue stream or by navigating Stardew Valleys social policy. Stardew Valley lets you meet non-playable girls and boys with different professions (teacher, magician, etc.), and you can date one of 12 cute pixelated singles. Finally, you can choose any of these cute singles to be your lawfully married farm partner, regardless of gender. Bisexuals with at least one plant in our apartments, rejoice.

The Hidden Gem: One night, hot springs

One night, hot springs is a visual novel with subtle animation to soothe the eye. The fairly short story, lasting about half an hour and with seven possible endings, follows Haru, a transgender Japanese woman, who attends her best friend’s birthday party at the hot springs.

The developer notes on Steam that the “game is suitable for all ages but addresses issues that a transgender woman in Japan might face, which is an issue that can be sensitive and personal.” But most Steam reviews do this best, highlighting the emotional depth, the sense of belonging even if you’re not trans or living in Japan, and the stylish art. In a nutshell, that’s it.

The slightly awesome: kiss

Imagine a fluorescent pink world where there is no gender and everyone is in love. It’s a nice idea and a nice mobile game as well.

kiss is a bright and sticky platformer. As the tiny black-and-white creature Ymer, you must fling gobs of sticky spit over your organs, represented by winding spaces and beaches, until it spurts out like a kiss at another black-and-white creature. A kiss, Got it? The other creature will share its happiness with you through emoji, such as pink hearts or teeth bared smileys. In the meantime, you just keep flinging your spit through your body and other people’s hearts the way life could be.

The explicitly awesome: Robin Morningwood

kiss is a subtle romance, though Robin Morningwood is Robin flip out morning wood. Currently in Early Access, the point and click dating sim is about men with big dicks having sex with other men with big dicks. There’s a backstory where you’re a big, muscular adventurer exploring the land of ‘whellcum’ which just so happens to be populated only by gay men, but if you’re playing this game it’s probably because you wanted to see how cute 2D is -Cocks become cute 2D butts. There’s an RPG element of buying butt plugs to pump yourself up, and there’s a real underwear sniffing mechanic to help you relive your hottest, heaviest moments.

As the game is in Early Access and will be available for the next three months, developer Grizzly Gamer on Steam notes that it is currently listening to users’ ideas on his discord server. Personally, I think this game could definitely use some race and body diversity, but it’s a start for the NSFW genre on Steam, which is typically dominated by straight anime girls.

Something to look forward to: Queer Man Peering In a Rock Pool.jpg

I hope so this surreal walking simulatorcoming out next month will help June’s pride fill out the rest of the year. In it, you play a strange man (who sort of looks like a hot dog with a mustache) and stomp him around a kaleidoscopic island in search of stuff to pack in your empty home. You’ll enjoy rattan and Moroccan wood furniture while house music punctuates your yellow boots on the sand. You try to remember your past as the island’s waters recede and memories flood you.

This game looks amazing and bizarre. Beautiful, a little sad, but rare. Just like you.

That’s it for my little list. What are some of your favorite queer centered games on Steam and what games are you looking forward to? Whatever you are, I wish you a happy June.