Everyone wants to see themselves and their identities represented in their favorite media forms, and video games are no exception. But for the most part, the inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters is a more recent trend, with transgender characters falling even further behind.
However, there are quite a few games with transgender characters, although some are more overtly represented than others. Some are just themselves, and the fact that they are trans is never really brought out.
10 Ned Wynert
Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate
Ned came from a wealthy family in New York City, where he played the part of the dutiful daughter by day, despite the fact that he couldn’t stand living according to the gender assigned to him at birth. So he would sneak out at night, pretending to be a man, and find a more suitable life among the thieves and petty criminals of the world.
He eventually became an influential businessman, helping Jacob and Evie after they hijacked cargo from the Blighters, a Templar-affiliated organization. That means that the Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate character Ned Wynert is an ally of the protagonists and thus is portrayed as one of the good ones.
9 Mizhena
Baldur’s Gate: Siege of Dragon Spear
Mizhena is a two-class fighter/spiritual priest of Tempus who fights the Crusade and acts as a mobile healing and recovery unit. Since Mizhena was the first and only openly transgender character in the series, her inclusion caused a bit of controversy and friction.
However, she has a similar story to many trans people in real life where she was assigned a male at birth and raised as a boy. She eventually changed and made her own name, finding meaning in the purest form for herself, no matter what the rest of the world said.
8 Kris
Deltarune
The main character of the undertale continuation Deltarune Kris is a human who started in a familiar world and fell into a world of darkness, where their inconspicuous clothing is exchanged for a suit of armor and a cape.
The player has control over Kris at almost every point in the game, and their actions determine the progress of the story, just like in undertale. They are never explicitly stated to be transgender, but it’s easy to spot from the way Kris is written; after all, the game only uses she/them pronouns for Kris, placing the character outside of the conventional binary gender. It’s a nice reprieve from the incessant need to put identity first in the media.
7 Krem
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Cremisius Aclassi, better known as Krem, is a mercenary who appears in Dragon Age: Inquisition. He is the second in command of Iron Bull’s Chargers company, proving that he is a great fighter.
When Krem came of age, his mother pressured him to marry a wealthy merchant’s son to save the family from misery, but Krem had other plans. He bribed a healer to hide his gender so he could join the army at Tevinter. He was eventually caught and driven from his homeland, but then picked up by the Iron Bull, and that obviously worked out well.
6 Peach
Grand Theft Auto V
Peach is another character who has never been explicitly stated to be transgender, but given that she dials her number Grand Theft Auto V does nothing, she is voiced by a male actor and she cannot be invited back to the player’s apartment; it’s a common fan theory that peach is a trans woman. The player can interact with Peach in the Vanilla Unicorn club, where she works as a stripper.
Now there is nothing wrong with her profession or admission, because she has never been forced to do anything, and therefore everything is consensual. It’s actually a relief that she even exists for some very real people in similar positions.
5 Maevaris Tilani
Heroes of Dragon Age
Maevaris Tilani is the widow of Thorold, the late cousin of fan-favorite Varric Tethras. She is a Tevinter Magister in Heroes of Dragon Age recognized by the Imperial Senate, and she has lived like a woman since she came out at 15. Despite the outrage it caused, her father, also a Magister, supported her transition – and paid the price.
Maevaris took revenge on those who executed her father in silence, but still loud enough to let the rest of the world know not to mess with her. She worked her way up and is therefore a serious magical powerhouse.
4 Kasio
If found…
If found is an interactive visual novel for the Nintendo Switch. It follows the life of a trans woman named Kasio, starting with destroying her diary as she embarks on a journey to Ireland. The visual alternates between the aforementioned Kasio chapter and the story of an astronaut.
The game itself takes aspects of the real Ireland and injects some sci-fi elements into the setting, to the point where a black hole is out to destroy the entire world, and she has to find a way to stop it.
3 lev
The Last of Us Part II
Lev is a deuteragonist of The Last of Us Part II, born with the name Lily. He was a former member of the Seraphim, although he questioned their traditions. When he was denied the right to become a soldier, despite his sister being allowed to go, he comes out as a trans man and calls himself, Lev.
It ended up not being the smartest choice, as both Lev and his sister Yara were subsequently banned from the community. At least Abby Anderson picked them up and helped them.
2 birdo
Super Mario Bros.
Birdo first appeared as an enemy in Super Mario Bros. and is arguably one of the first transgender video game characters ever. The game’s own manual explained that Birdo thought she was a woman and would spit eggs at the player. She also preferred to visit Birdette, and in her Japanese incarnations she was initially called Catherine.
In later appearances in the Mario series, she was just referred to exclusively by feminine pronouns and is often seen alongside Yoshi.
1 Tyler
Tell me why
Tell me why is a breathtaking game starring identical twins, Alyson and Tyler. The game’s central mystery never really matters Tyler’s gender identity, which is great. Instead, it focuses on the family secrets the Ronan twins are trying to untangle.
Tyler himself is polite and outgoing, but has serious trust issues with most people except his sister. This alone makes him incredibly recognizable to transgender people from similar situations, where the only real support they grew up with was from a sibling. The game has been making waves with its representation of Tyler, and for good reason. He feels so real.
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