(warning: semi-long thread with a game recc incoming)
One thing I'm really proud of in @SuperIdolsRPG is that I wanted Valerie's Doom to be tied to her transition somehow, and initially thought she might be using her powers to transition, or they might be having a negative effect

on her body, but decided I didn't want to tie gender transition to either being inhuman or dangerous. I ended up making the connection less literal and less explicit, but nonetheless scary. See, in addition to magic powers, her contract gives her monetary and structural support.

I haven't spelled this out in the show but there's a reason she transitioned over the same summer she entered her contract. She bought new clothes, makeup, got professional voice training (ignore the fact that she's played by an adult trans woman w/zero training, lol).

None of those things are *necessary* to transition but they made it seem easier and more accessible, and she's scared of losing that support. The show is about super powers but the real evil here is capitalism, needing to monetize your dreams to afford them, making your happiness

dependent on the whims of others and convincing them your happiness is profitable.

...it's not a perfect metaphor, and I'm not sure if it should be more explicit. But it is intentional and I'm happy with it.

And anyway, @HardWiredIsland does the same thing with cybernetics.

See, a lot of games with cybernetics act like modifying or removing part of your body makes you less human. That's an awful thing to tell people who use prosthetics or elect to change their bodies (like trans folks!). It's often a balancing mechanic, but there are better methods.

In Hard Wired Island, cybernetics aren't good nor bad... but they are *expensive* which means they're often paid for by corporations, and shaped to fit those corps' needs. Modifying your body isn't alienating, but part of it being *owned* by a corp is. Lack of bodily autonomy is.

And they're not all scary and tied to corporations - debt and corporate dystopia are a core theme to the game, but if you want a prosthetic arm or HRT implant or something that just lets your character live their life, they can have it. But the "balance" for mechanically useful

prosthetics isn't some implied judgement on them being inherently risky or compromising, just that the same system that wants to own and exploit everything, including your body and identity, *makes* them risky and compromising. Y'know, capitalism.

It's one very cool mechanic in a game full of clever rules and strong, critical themes, and very self-indulgent characters.

...it's also made by friends of mine who I can full-heartedly say are cool & good people that deserve your support. Check it out! https://twitter.com/HardWiredIsland/status/1385209686744440841

...okay, yeah, that's probably way too long and rambling for an effective recommendation but tl;dr, capitalism is bad and wants to own your body and withhold autonomy to force you to perform labour, play Hard Wired Island because I think it's neat.