Lesser-known LGBT games on Steam have a lot to offer for gamers looking for great gameplay and stories. Whether they’re story-rich visual novels, or a fun take on treasured genres, these titles with LGBT characters and romance options cater to gamers who want some familiarity in their games.

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Communities that keep a strict eye on Steam releases, LGBT game developers, and ads on various social media are the first to discover these games. Steam sales help, as gamers are incentivized to look through the catalog for new experiences. Regardless of how they find it, most stick around long enough to finish the game and leave glowing reviews on their page.

11 Roller Drama

11 Reviews – Lesbian Roller Derby In A Surveillance State

As Coach Joan “Jeanne d’Arc” Galliano, players manage the Training Warez, a roller derby team of five girls, in a surveillance state. Functionally, this means players must control the team in arcade-like matches. Players coach the team to squad up, jam and execute special attacks while managing their energy and morale.

Coach Joan can also give pep talks between periods. Caring for the team’s physical and mental health goes beyond the rink too. Coaching can even progress relationships between the girls, whose individual stories can change with the coach’s guidance.

10 Penny Larceny: Gig Economy Supervillain

53 Reviews – Be Gay, Do Crimes

Penny Larceny can look however the player wants them to look like, but one thing’s inescapable: they need freelance villain gigs, and fast. Penny will encounter non-binary hatecomputers, gorgeous cult leaders, and more to survive the supervillain gig economy.

Players have a plethora of gigs to choose from, and final heists to pull off, provided they unlock the right paths. Penny Larceny also offers separate romance and sexuality options and 15 pronoun options, so players can have truly custom experiences with each playthrough.

9 Paradiso Guardian

167 Reviews – Castlevania-lite With Hand-Crafted Pixel Art

Paradiso Guardian makes no bones about its NSFW nature, but players can toggle it off. Allies and enemies alike are still sexualized in SFW mode, though the story, dialogue, and gameplay are not over-the-top raunchy.

Its gameplay in particular takes cues from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Because of its roots, its platforming, combat, and dodge and summon mechanics are on-point. Secret unlockables, along with great music and art, spice up treks through the relatively small map. What’s more, objectives are easier to track compared to some Castlevania-inspired games, so there are fewer chances of getting lost.

8 The Symbiant

360 Reviews – Interstellar Gay Awakening With SFW and NSFW Options

Human pilot Danya and his alien friend Juniper desperately need money after a transport gig leaves their ship badly damaged. To keep The Ameretat in orbit, they agree to transport the beautiful and mysterious alien Brahve. The straightforward job turns personal when Danya decides to find out what’s keeping Brahve hot and bothered all night.

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The two-person project is fully voiced in English and features a romance with electric chemistry. Consent, communication, and boundaries feature heavily in Danya and Brahve’s emotional and sexual journey. Their romance will continue in The Symbiant: Re:Union, a sequel slated for 2024.

7 Ikenfell

572 Reviews – LGBTQ+ Kids Do Paper Mario-esque RPG Fights For Friends

Maritte Hildegard enters Ikenfell to find out what happened to her missing sister, Safina. What follows is a mystical journey of grief, loss, and acceptance as Maritte’s actions uncover Safina’s fate and mysteries surrounding the magical school.

Ikenfell features retro-style pixel art, JRPG-inspired combat mechanics, and an excellent soundtrack by Steven Universe composers Aivi & Surasshu. Its battle system takes inspiration from Paper Mario and even allows players to make timing attacks easier. It also gives players an “auto-victory” button for every fight.

6 If Found…

1,135 Reviews – Trans Story With A Sci-Fi Tinge

Doctor Cassiopeia is attempting to save the world from a black hole with the help of a stranger called “Control”. Control tells the doctor that an image from Ireland is partly the cause of the Earth’s impending destruction. Meanwhile, a woman named Kasio has just returned to her hometown on Achill Island, off the coast of Western Ireland.

If Found… balances soft sci-fi with an achingly relatable trans narrative. Kasio and her friends’ struggles with Achill Island’s heteronormative culture and what comes after are carefully depicted through journal entries, which players can erase at their volition.

5 Sephonie

148 Reviews – Parkouring And Puzzle-Solving With LGBTQ+ Researchers

Analgesic Production’s 3D puzzle platformer takes three scientists through an island’s cave system. Players flip, wall-run, grapple, and vault through subterranean forests, oceans, and abandoned cities to reach new depths. The line-match “Puzzle Grid” system allows the researcher to interact with animals and overcome obstacles.

Sephonie’s gameplay is as solid as its story and themes are metaphorical. Amy, Ing-wen, and Riyou’s stories, as well as concepts of identity and interconnectivity, are explored through the game's mechanics, environment, and poetic text.

4 Super Lesbian Animal RPG

663 Reviews – On-The-Nose LGBTQ+Turn-Based RPG

Like a light novel, Super Lesbian Animal RPG‘s title says everything. Trans lesbian fox Melody Amaranth supports her girlfriend Allison and their party as a paladin on their first journey. The timid paladin is forced to break out of her shell when this adventure turns into a quest to save their village.

This turn-based RPG avoids random encounters and almost gives out loot like candy. As such, it’s easier for players to explore the world and its lore, and read about its zany characters.

3 Heart Of The Woods

690 Reviews – Cryptid Search Uncovers Lesbian Romances

Maddie Raines is looking forward to a life without managing her popular vlogger friend Tara. Yet she agrees to one last trip for Tara’s paranormal vlog channel. Their last trip turns out to be anything but ordinary, as the town of Eysenfeld proves the existence of ghosts and curses. Eysenfeld's sinister mysteries also tie Tara to Morgan, whose mother is not who she claims to be, and Maddie to Abigail, a centuries-old ghost.

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Heart of the Woods is a paranormal yuri visual novel that follows Maddie and Tara as they solve Eysenfeld’s sinister mysteries. The full game features a full English voice cast, multiple collectible scenes, and branching endings that depend on player input.

2 Max Gentlemen: Sexy Business

1,344 Reviews – Victorian LGBT Capitalist Hijinks

In Max Gentlemen: Sexy Business, players must conduct some sexy business to regain their family fortune. Players hire and assign executives to buildings on the map to earn money, improve their strength, find followers, and more. Strong employees are pretty valuable, as they will help the players fight their rival and their CEOs.

Max Gentlemen is designed for maximum replayability. Player “gentsonas” can look and identify however they want, seduce whoever they fancy, and play with or without nudity and spoilers. They can even design their rival to their taste.

1 Perfect Gold: The Alchemy Of Happiness

793 Reviews – Fully Voice-Acted WLW Second Chance Romance

Audrey Clary and Marion LaRue have a history. To their dismay, their history rears its ugly head when they’re stuck together in detention at LeFay Academy during the eventful Sunflower Festival. To celebrate the once-a-year Sunflower Festival, they must put their bitterness aside and work together to escape detention and detection.

The ex-best friend’s rekindling friendship is made livelier by its full English voice cast. Visual effects and animation spruce up character models and the cutscenes peppered throughout this coming-of-age, youthful love story.

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