These 5 hot, gay video game heroes are heating up our consoles

The massively popular horror survival video game Dead By Daylight recently outed its first-ever playable gay character, David King, bringing some badly needed gay representation to the game’s large (and largely male) fan base.

King is a hunky, English brawler and former rugby player who earns money in the underground fighting circuit. His quick-healing abilities and confrontational combat style differentiate him from the other characters being stalked by The Huntress and Dead by Daylight’s other monstrous slashers.

But King is just one of several sexy out video game characters to grace the small screen. Here are five more who have heated up our consoles. Notably, all of them appear in violent fighting games. If you want some sexy queen men of a gentler nature, check out the gents in the gay dating simulator Dream Daddy.

Ash from Streets of Rage 3

Ash is a true leather queen. The mustachioed muscleman wears a black unitard, thigh-high tights, high-heel boots, spiked fingerless gloves, a biker cap, and a gold male symbol. When he rolls up in a motorboat as the level one mini-boss, he’s accompanied by two shirtless muscular henchmen who fight the hero before Ash jumps in.

It’s obvious from Ash’s exaggerated run, the modelesque pose he strikes while jumping, his limp-wristed throwing maneuvers and his high-pitched mocking laughter that the Japanese game developers saw him as a laughable punching bag.

But his well-defined arms and legs and his towering stature would definitely make us weak at the knees if we ever saw him at The Eagle. Sadly, he was left out of the U.S. version of the game, but a cheat code allows gamers to play as him, turning the campy villain into an irrepressible hero.

Vamp from Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Despite his taste for blood, near-immortality and regeneration powers, Vamp isn’t a literal vampire. He’s a bisexual Romanian knife specialist who got his nickname because of his creepy backstory.

In his earlier years, a terrorist bombing trapped Vamp and his family under a church’s rubble. He survived for two days by drinking his family members’ blood, developing a taste for it. Rumor has it that Vamp was also lover to a male Marine commandant named Scott Dolph. After Dolph died, he developed a possibly sexual relationship with the commandant’s daughter — ew.

His creepy backstory, unfortunately, perpetuates biphobic tropes of sexual predation and queer villainy. But he still has charm and style for days. His sexy east European accent, ability to dodge bullets with a ballet dancer’s grace, and snakelike tongue all add to his devilish appeal.

Kian Alvane in Dreamfall

At first glance, players of the episodic Dreamfall series might wonder why, in the game’s cutscenes, this playable assassin repeatedly ignores the romantic advances of his female admirer, Anna. Perhaps it’s because Alvane was once a devoted apostle of a religious entity known as The Goddess?

Turns out, if you ask the right questions, Alvane reveals that he’s gay and proud. His society and religion don’t condemn men who have sex with men.

“In the eyes of the Goddess, it makes us no less worthy. It’s simply how we were born,” he explains. “I am who I am and no one has ever thought less of me because of it.”

Alvane his a true hero. He rescues kidnapped individuals and fights anti-magic bigotry. But his smoldering eyes, no-nonsense conversational style, and existence as one of the few video game characters who is also an out man of color all make him more alluring.

Kung Jin from Mortal Kombat X

Fans of the gory fighting game series may recall Kung Lao, a former Shaolin monk who literally split opponents in half with his razor-bladed hat. Kung Jin is his gay nephew. He’s equal parts acrobatic and deadly with his bow, arrows and staff.

Jin trained with the virtuous White Lotus Society, a secret group that protects the Earthrealm from invasion by Outworld demons. Jin worried that the White Lotus would reject him for his homosexuality, but they embraced him; even as Liu Kang (one of the game’s most popular champions) disapproved of Jin’s gayness.

Compared to Uncle Lao, Jin is far mouthier. He’s initially rude to Cassie Cage and Jaqui Briggs, two powerful female leaders battling the Outworld. But all his fighting and slaying have made Jin fit AF, and made us eager to have him fighting in our corner.

Dorian Pavus from Dragon Age: Inquisition

When Pavus, a talented and charming magician, had his homosexuality discovered by his highborn father, his dad tried casting a blood magic ritual to change his son’s sexuality and force him to marry his female betrothed.

To escape his overbearing family, Pavus joined the Inquisition, an organization formed to fight demons and other evil magical forces.

But enough backstory! Gamers who choose to play as a male character can seduce and bed Pavus. And if his rakish mustache and wit don’t win you over, the game’s tasteful shot of his healthy backside will.

Also, did we mention that Pavus also has a muscular, one-eyed minotaur lover named Iron Bull? The couple’s conversational cutscenes are so steamy that you may find yourself wondering if you’re also into minotaurs.