Hades
Yes, a non-BioWare game made my list! The concept of Hades, by Supergiant Games, is pretty simple: You play Zagreus, the son of Hades and Persephone, who’s desperate to escape the Underworld to search for Persephone on the surface. You have to fight your way through Tartarus, Asphodel, Elysium, and finally through the Temple of Styx, and if you die before you escape, you end up back in your father’s house, ready to start the whole process over again and hopefully get farther.
When someone first told me about the mechanics of the game, I wasn’t sold. Who wants to start all over again when they die? But believe me, it works for this game. Every time you work your way through a level, it’s different. You have the opportunity to get different boosters from various Olympian gods to help your quest to get to the surface so you can visit with them (or so they think). You have different weapons to choose from, as well—basically, every run is almost a new game. It’s a hell of a lot of fun. Uh…no pun intended. And when you end up back in the House of Hades (and you will!), you’ve got people to talk to and get to know.
One of the greatest things about the game is how your relationships develop with other characters, and not just romantic relationships. There’s the fractious relationship with Hades, your father, that mellows over time; there’s also the growing relationship you have with Persephone, your mother. And yes, there are romance options too, one of which is with Thanatos, the God of Death. There’s also the possibility to have a polyam relationship as well.
You can also choose to help Achilles, your mentor, reconnect with the man he loved and lost, and for whom he sacrificed himself to secure his love’s place in Elysium. And while it’s not canon, there is a fandom ship of King Theseus and Asterius (the Minotaur) who are the boss fight for one of the levels. If you go looking for fan art, be warned that some of it is really, uh, explicit!
Moving forward
It used to be that it was a rarity that you would be able to play a female character in a roleplaying game, but that slowly changed. In the same way, we’re seeing more and more LGBT representation in video games, and that can only be a good thing.
Have you played other video games with queer romance options? Give me a shout on Twitter (@jeralibu) to let me know about them!
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Thanks for having me! Alas, I've discovered that the Legendary Edition of Mass Effect *does not* change any of the original love interests, so the option for a male/male romance is limited to the third game. It's a shame, but the games are still amazing!