As a young queer woman, often I have to ask myself what media I want to consume in my video games. Sometimes it’s simply picking the next best thing that includes LGBT+ representation, even if that representation is actually pretty damn awful. There are limits when it comes to certain genres, as well as the type of game, be it indie or giant global studio. LGBT+ representation is much harder to come across in FPS shooters, or even in action-adventure games.

Luckily, there’s an increasingly popular kind of game that’s giving me more options. LGBT+ visual novels, along with LGBT+ developers who put in a huge amount of work to deliver unique, respectful and interesting stories, are challenging my old mindset completely. Instead of settling for the next best thing of having a gay character who is there but later killed off, or is sad and alone, these VNs allow queer sexuality and love to play a role of importance. The most mainstream example is Dream Daddy, which broke through partly because it was developed through Game Grumps, but every day even more VNs with queer themes are getting made, and more are getting time in the spotlight.

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