Coinciding with Melbourne International Games Week in early October, the online-run Melbourne Queer Games Fest is back for its 2024 edition. Being a queer-run outlet also based in Melbourne, we found it high time we checked out some gems from the festival in our October 2024 Queer Game of the Month feature. Without further ado, here are five games to check out in the Melbourne Queer Games Fest this year.

pareidolia in █▄██▄▄

Labelled as an “angel dressup and selfie simulator with pure love between girls,” I couldn’t think of a game more quintessentially catering to my needs. Though only really a demo and sporting just two environments to capture pictures in, pareidolia is a cute and joyous Y2K-core game where you’re navigating a low poly character you’ve dressed up and created through a 3D area in either your bedroom or a cityscape. At long last, a game for the dolls.

This game is channelling the trans lesbian community with its outfits and grainy pictures you can take on a flip phone. It’s incredibly cute and full of wonder, weird sights and even cute girls you can snap a shot with. Think photography games like Umurangi Generation only it’s sapphic. Finally, the pinnacle game for me. I can’t wait to use this as a cute tool to destress and take banging selfies in on those stressful days. Check it out here. – Charlie

Deers and Deckards

Okay, it’d be difficult to talk about a Queer Games Festival of any kind without addressing the furry in the room. Furries have become their own genre within the genre of queer games, so much so that Minoh Workshop is the main sponsor of QGF this year. I had a look at some of these games… for science… and, look, they’re pretty sexy for the most part and don’t really hold back on the visual component of visual novel, so just bear that in mind when playing these games.

Deers and Deckards is the one that caught my attention, and is one for those who have often wondered what it would be like to date their best friend and their best friend’s dad at the same time, also they are dragons for some reason and you’re a deer. It plays into that (rather hyper-specific) fantasy in a big way, but while it does have some fairly overt adult content, it also has some sweet dialogue that makes the various characters you come across quite charming, even behind their super-muscly and furry exterior. NSFW? Yes. A fun way to spend a couple of hours? I mean, I’m certainly not complaining. – Luke

Claw on Claw

Sometimes, it’s nice to keep things simple, and that’s what Claw on Claw is. A claw machine game that you can play in your browser, you and your boyfriend try your luck on grabbing some of the prizes within; will it be another action figure for your shelf, some extra tokens to give you the chance at another grab, or maybe even something sexy… like lubricant?

What’s cute about this short game that was a game-jam entry is that each of the prizes you’ll collect from the claw machine comes with a bit of banter between the two boys, one a lizard and one a bear. This isn’t some high sexual fantasy though; they’re the equivalent of an old married couple, having a bit of fun on a date night after seeing a movie. When you run out of tokens, you’re treated to a cute little scene at the end of the two enjoying one of their “sexy” prizes; but this isn’t an adult game, and the results are always cute, not graphic adult content. Plus, I guarantee you’ll catch more prizes here than in a real claw machine. If you’re looking for a way to kill 10 minutes inbetween meetings, this is it. – Luke.

Adieu Those In Love

I swear I didn’t mean to shout out two of the 2000’s set games from the festival but here we are. Adieu Those In Love feels like a calculated answer to the fact that queer media has in more recent years had softer and rounded edges so as not to hurt or offend audiences. Queer media is a lot more scrutinised these days by both the community itself and those against it, and this experience isn’t against exploring hard themes. This is something we haven’t had for a bit.

Following the tragic death of her girlfriend, Adieu Those In Love follows a young queer teenager trying to make it through the day-to-day and find love in the world again. It explores what it’s like to try and move on when your love, your entire world, has ended. Doing that through a 2000s setting where lesbian women weren’t as accepted only adds to that tension and feeling of misunderstood listlessness when you’ve lost everything. It’s a palpable story worth checking out if you have the heart, only bolstered by the Y2K style hud and font reminiscent of texts on old Nokia phones. – Charlie

Queer Quest

What if all those classic point-and-click games were just endlessly queer? Queer Quest is an incredibly charming adventure game all in the day of the life of a butch queer and their circle of friends. Smoke weed. Make nachos to share with your girlfriend. Even stumble upon a sex party full of kink.

Some of these experiences and ventures might be the ordinary for everyday queer folk but here they’re made extraordinary in a whimsy title with a lot of heart. Isn’t that what queer games are all about? – Charlie

These are just some of the long list of games to check out at the 2024 Melbourne Queer Games Fest. We highly recommend checking out the full range here. Many are free experiences on itch.io and there’s plenty of variety to find just what you’re looking for. Get browsing!