This article was originally published on September 2, 2020, as part of TechRadar's PC Gaming Week 2020.
Find yourself hit with intense feelings of gay yearning? We've gathered up eight new and upcoming PC games that feature queer characters and narratives to help you round out your game library or annoy your friends with as you gush about them.
For PC Gaming Week 2020, we've found everything from classic visual novels and dating sims to interactive fiction, dungeon crawlers, and cyberpunk adventures. So, if you're a cottagecore lesbian looking for a cute game to pass the time with, a sword gay who dreams of romancing your favorite weapon, or a non-binary person who is longing for the day you can finally have the hot robot body you deserve, there's a game out there for you to look forward to.
Upcoming queer games at a glance:
- Monster Prom 2: Monster Camp
- Boyfriend Dungeon
- Goodbye Volcano High
- Lore Finder
- Read Only Memories: Neurodiver
- Souls Unguarded
- Best Friend Forever
- We Should Talk
Developer and publisher, Beautiful Glitch, raised over €535,000 (about $610,000, £485,000, AU$872,000) through Kickstarter to create a sequel to their hit dating sim, Monster Prom. In the sequel, Monster Prom 2: Monster Camp, there are many of the same mechanics as the first game: a time limit to find a date, different areas to visit, and multiplayer. Beautiful Glitch has added six new romanceable characters as well as new minigames to keep gameplay fresh and fun. You'll build campfires and mix cocktails on your quest to impress your crush, and Beautiful Glitch has promised a few surprises as well.
Do you think swords are sexy? Boyfriend Dungeon takes that concept to new levels by letting you date your weapons. There are nine different bladed weapons, each able to transform into a very beautiful person with their own personalities, likes, and dislikes. Players will make their way through various dungeons to earn cash and find treasure so you can take your sword on dates.
There are male, female, and non-binary romanceable characters, so players can choose a partner that matches their real-life preferences. Each blade not only is a different hottie, they also have their own fighting styles. The glaive and scythe are slow, heavy hitters, while the laser sword and dagger let you quickly stab and slash before dodging incoming attacks. There's also a set of brass knuckles that turn into a cat, so we're already sold.
Ko_op announced Goodbye Volcano High during the Sony "Future of Gaming" online event on June 11, 2020. The game follows members of a high school garage band of anthropomorphic dinosaurs: the non-binary Fang, their BFF Trish, Naomi the student council president, and Fang's brother Naser. The narrative centers on the typical emotional highs and lows of high school and how difficult it can be to navigate social circles and romantic interests. Branching narrative paths give you plenty of dialogue options with far-reaching consequences, and minigames break up the visual novel elements.
Lore Finder's Steam page describes the game as "a modern queer reimagining of the cosmic horror genre." Players will assume the role of K.C Morgan, a non-binary person and paranormal investigator, as they accumulate eldritch powers and face unfathomable horrors while they try to uncover a family's dark pask and terrible secrets. The gameplay will be non-linear, allowing you to take on quests in any order. There is also a Speedrun Mode for time trials, and a mode that will allow you to play as K.C's girlfriend once you beat the game, gaining new powers and story elements.
MidBoss follows up their hit game, 2064: Read Only Memories with a direct sequel: Read Only Memories: Neurodiver. The story follows ES88, a powerful telepath, tasked with taking down a fellow psychic, Golden Butterfly. ES88 gets help from a genetically engineered psionic creature known as the Neurodiver to access the memories of others, including familiar faces like TOMCAT and Lexi Rivers. Neurodiver features an updated, more dynamic art style and a retro-inspired soundtrack to create a more lush, cyberpunk atmosphere.
Souls Unguarded is a text-based piece of interactive fiction with dark romance themes. You'll play as a gay or bisexual man who has visions of ghosts and spirits as well as dreams of a the shining cliffside city of Glorymount. Through dialogue trees and narrative choices, you'll be able to shape the narrative and your budding romance while also dismantling a corrupt theocracy or tracking down a bloodthirsty killer. You'll also be able to bring comfort and peace to the ghosts and spirits that visit you during the day, or use them as a means to an end to reach your own goals.
Do you love dogs? Do you love dating cuties? How would you like to raise a cute dog and date a hottie at the same time? Best Friend Forever is half dog training simulator and half dating sim and 100 percent adorable. There are many different breeds of dogs to choose from and train over the course of 15 weeks. You'll teach your pup basic commands, advanced tricks, and care for them. They'll also interact with you based on how the narrative unfolds, and with the furry companions of your potential dates. And everyone knows that the most important thing in any relationship is whether or not your dog likes your date. There's also an endless sandbox mode that lets you just play with the dogs if you don't feel like romancing anyone.
We Should Talk is a narrative driven game that has you carefully choose words and construct sentences to connect with, or distance yourself from, your friends and lover. You'll spend your night in a local bar, talking with friends and acquaintances and texting your partner. How you construct your sentences and conversations will have profound effects on how your friends view your partner and how your partner feels about you and your relationship. There are nine possible endings, so you'll have to see if you can make your relationships last the night or if they'll end up in flames.
TechRadar’s PC Gaming Week 2020 is celebrating the most powerful gaming platform on Earth with articles, interviews and essential buying guides that showcase how diverse, imaginative, and remarkable PC games – and gamers – can be. Visit our PC Gaming Week 2020 page to see all our coverage in one place.
