“Love finds you when you least expect it”.
I’ve come to the feeling that romance isn’t always that great of a back-box marketing topic. Dating sims are dime-a-dozen visual novels, often cycling some tiring tropes. Optional romances often treat people and relationships as “features” to be picked up as desired and discarded, rather than a give-and-take relationship too complex for numbers in a simulation.
One unfortunate result of making a thread like this is that by posting suggestions, they all immediately become spoilers. Sometimes, it’s not that big of a spoiler, as someone might guess it anyway, or it might not harm the appeal of the game overall - especially if it’s built around some generally enjoyable adventure.
So: What adventures have you been on where you were surprised by a romantic subplot, especially ones where it had a surprising effect on the rest of the story?
Fine, I’ll start. Spoilers ahead!
Tyrion Cuthbert: Attorney of the Arcane is an Ace Attorney-style game in a fantasy world. Besides the individual murder cases, the story mostly builds towards the terrible power divide between nobility and commoners. In the background, however, the main character, Tyrion, becomes exposed to the fact that he’s never been in positions that made him socially, or emotionally, available beyond his mentor Ruby.
Trails in the Sky spends 80% of its time as a lax JRPG with very polite townsfolk, and very silly enemies. The tonal shift for the remaining 20% can result in a lot of whiplash. Supposedly, dark-haired cool/mysterious Joshua was originally going to be the main character of the game - but a creative decision in early development lead to his bullheaded, immature step-sister Estelle taking the lead. Some people can guess where the story goes at least partway, but even as someone aware of the pain of some of its anime tropes, I have respect for some of the ways the writing goes.
Star Wars: Jedi: Survivor, as with many Star Wars stories, involves internal struggles with the Dark Side - letting anger and hatred take control. In the movies, Yoda and the Jedi order made very clear that attachment would lead directly to hate. But, for Cal, the Order isn’t around anymore. So for him, the attachment in this game becomes key to how he stays himself even in moments that nearly destroy him.
Steins;Gate does a lot to make its sci-fi, nerdy discoveries feel just bizarre and “explained” enough to buy you into the plausibility of sending messages back in time, especially by defining such strange rules to how it works that it’s almost impractical to use - and yet even by such limitations, becomes critically important. As the importance of their work grows, Okabe Rintaro ends up realizing he enjoyed the search for the magic of science more than the tremendous findings - especially considering who he got to know on the way. For a VN, it puts off its romantic elements for quite a long way, but for some excellent payoff.
Is the romance in Steins;Gate accessible for women interested in men? From what I have heard about it seems pretty interesting, but I’m also not interested in playing out a romance storyline where you date a woman from a man’s perspective. I’m fine with that in books, movies, anime, but would really rather not in video games. (Disclaimer: I have nothing against men or straight men, I’m just not one!)
No, you play as a man in that game; I also would not categorize it as “dating”. It’s more like a group of friends that meet for science experiments…
Tap for spoiler
and only at the end of a harrowing battle involving time traveling memories do the two most scientifically inclined members realize they care for each other.
While the VN variety of female-perspective dating games are called Otomes, I’ve found having a romantic relationship in non-VNs is pretty rare, and nonexistent when also playing as a woman. However, Trails in the Sky does have you playing as a woman - even if, once again, it isn’t exactly “dating” but a slow emotional build.
Thanks, seems like something I could play then! (Also, I mod !otomegames@ani.social ;) )