Hello! We’re going to start the year off with a handful of pieces looking forward to 2022. Sometimes we’ll be looking at trends we’ve spotted or themes that will probably be continuing to define things in games for a while. Sometimes we’ll just be thinking about things we’ve enjoyed and where they could lead. Have a lovely new year all!
Gaming is, and should be, for everyone. But that’s not always been reflected in the characters we get to play as, be they created by developers or for ourselves.
Slowly, though, change is coming. 2021 not only saw a diverse range of characters in games, we saw authentic, normalised portrayals beyond a box-ticking exercise.
Yes, plenty of games added rainbow badges, especially for Pride Month. But the likes of Unpacking, Life is Strange: True Colors, Boyfriend Dungeon and Unsighted brought LGBT+ narratives to the fore in sometimes subtle ways. Battlefield 2042, Rainbow Six Siege, and Apex Legends added queer characters to online shooters. Heck, even Guardians of the Galaxy could be interpreted a certain way, even if Star-Lord isn’t openly bisexual like he is in the comics. After all, it’s about a group of misfits in a found family fighting religious zealots converting the galaxy.