Gaymers are stocking their stockings with the latest releases this month, and to help you make the right choices we're paying tribute to the 20 hottest video game hunks.

We've come a long way from Mario, and the trend to make male characters as smoldering as possible is a welcome one indeed. Especially as more games include LGBT personalities.

Related: 9 Great Video Games For Gay Gamers

Below, we rank the guys who have given us years of VPL (visible pixel lines). Whether hero, villain, or door #3, they're all packing more than 8 bits.

Jack Krauser in Resident Evil 4

As evil mercenaries go, Jack Krauser is especially diabolical—he kidnapped the President's daughter, after all. Jack uses his mutated claw-arm thingy and superhuman strength to square off against pretty boy Leon Kennedy, and we're not ashamed to admit we find his brute force attractive.

Ellis in Left For Dead

Ellis is not the sharpest zombie-hunting tool in the shed, but what he lacks in smarts he makes up for in hunkiness.

In between all the splattering, Ellis is known to speak fondly of his good buddy Keith, with whom he's shared many an adventure:

"Do you know what 'suck the heads' means? Cause I came down here with Keith once, and he didn't know, and—I mean, it ain't nothin' bad. It's about eatin'."

"Man I love malls. I do. Once I was in this mall up in Atlanta, and these guys were dancing for, like, money and stuff—and my friend Keith and I were all..."

"Did I ever tell you guys about the time me and Keith filled up water balloons with our own...?"

Unfortunately we never meet Keith. Maybe there's a mod for it?

Mike in Until Dawn

Played by Brett Dalton with the same kind of affable smolder he brings to Marvel's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., Mike is a typical horror-game jock. But you do get to control what path Mike takes during the game.

Sadly, there's no path leading to a nude swimming hole.

Dante in DmC: Devil May Cry

It's always tricky to reboot a series—not to mention an iconic character—but the new version of Dante in the alternate-reality version of this classic game stands on his own, thanks to his youthful swagger and cockiness.

Booker DeWitt in Bioshock: Infinite

A former cavalry soldier, Booker is now a down-on-his-luck detective struggling to put the pieces of his shattered memories together with the help of a colorful arsenal of weapons, a turn-of-the-century wardrobe and a lot of Bryl Cream.

Ethan Mars in Heavy Rain

Ethan Mars has to take a shower in Heavy Rain. This isn't an optional part of the game.

I don't know what's funnier: The Austin Powers-style attempt to hide his goodies, the soft-core piano music, the "jiggle the joystick" toweling-off segment, or the fact that tons of straight guys watch a hot man bathe to advance in the game.

Shrapnel and Flak in Fallout 3

This duo runs the imaginatively titled "Flak 'N' Shrapnels" weapons store in the third Fallout game. They're heavily rumored to be a couple, but it's never officially been confirmed.

Chuck Greene in Dead Rising 2

It's good to know the zombie apocalypse will include room for hot naked goofballs like Chuck, a motocross driver trying to find medicine for his zombified daughter.

Chuck slaughters everything in sight, sometimes at the cost of his modesty. Bless him.

Raiden in Metal Gear Solid 2

For many of us, Metal Gear Solid 2's Raiden was our first experince with video-game nudity—and the hilarious insecurity of straight fanboys.

After getting through the first half of MGS 2 with uber-macho Solid Snake, players then take control of blond-haired Raiden, who is completely starkers through one part of the game.

It's been almost 15 years since it came out, and people are still talking about the "horror" of Raiden's cupped goodies and nude cartwheels. (Well, some people.)

Jin Kazama in Tekken

The tragic hero of the Tekken franchise, Jin has a genetic abnormality known as the "devil gene," which takes over his body and causes bouts of rage-filled shirtlessness.

Tidus in Final Fantasy X

When it comes to twinky Final Fantasy protagonists, Tidus is the winner over fan favorites Squall and Cloud, due to his endearing exuberance and the fact that his story finale was one of the most affecting in any RPG. (Sometimes star-crossed lovers don't live happily ever after.)

Alistair in Dragon Age: Origins

When Origins came out, all of the attention was on the gay love scene between Warden and Zevran. But our eyes were fixated on the virginal, wisecracking Alistair.

Unfortunately there's no way to gay snog Al without PC mods, but there's still the thrill of stripping him to down to a thong.

Leon Kennedy in Resident Evil

The star of Resident Evil 2 (the greatest game in the franchise), and RE4 (the second greatest game in the franchise), Leon has only grown even more sleek and chiseled than his huskier lover colleague, Chris Redfield.

Joel in The Last Of Us

Here we have, without a doubt, the hottest DILF in the history of gaming.

The Prince in Prince Of Persia

The original Prince of Persia kept me up nights with its crumbling floors and never-ending hunt for potions. (And don't get me started on my trouble learning to thrust with his mighty sword.)

But the Prince has become hotter with each release—and I've gotten a lot better with that thrusting.

Jacob Taylor in Mass Effect 2

A lieutenant with daddy issues, Jacob loses points because he can only be romanced by female characters. If you're a male, he won't even agree to a quickie.

Believe me, I tried. Repeatedly.

Dorian in Dragon Age: Inquisition

Even though it's caused a multitude of problems with his family, this mage is out and proud. He's also haughty, sarcastic, conceited and exudes carnality.

And we love him for it.

Kaidan Alenko in Mass Effect

In the first Mass Effect, Kaidan was only available for hetero relationships. But in ME3, he was part of one of gaming's greatest same-sex romances.

His last scene with game hero Shepherd was emotionally devastating—especially with the game's terribly ambiguous ending.

It's been years, so we need to let it go.

Nathan Drake in the Uncharted series

The star of one of the most successful action-adventure game franchises of all time, Nathan is often referred to as the male Lara Croft.

He looks like a cross between Nathan Fillion and an underwear model, and can give Chris Redfield a run for his money as hottest game dude.

Chris Redfield in the Resident Evil series

It all comes back to Chris Redfield, the star of the game-changing Resident Evil. Chris started out as an Average Joe member of the S.T.A.R.S. team, but over the span of the series transformed into a buff testosterone-driven machine—and the perfect specimen of a "video game hunk."