I’ve played enough RPGs to know that romance can often be the best part of a game. Liara, Leliana, Karlach, Josephine, Dorothea, Aerith, Makoto, Judy, you are all my beloveds. But I’ve also been in or adjacent to enough RPG fandoms to know that romance can also be the worst part of a game. That’s why I’m glad Avowed is swearing off romance.
When you put romance in a game, you’re immediately restricting certain possibilities. Unless you are a very brave developer indeed, putting romance options in a game means any and all romance options are given intensely thick plot armour. You also need to strike a balance of gender options and sexualities while maintaining realism but not limiting player choice, and write double the dialogue so characters that aren’t romanced still have a story to tell.
RPGs Can Play It Too Safe If Romance Is An Option
Romance can make a game messy. It breeds a parasocial connection to the characters from audiences (possibly even from developers) that resists putting these characters in harm’s way or exploring their nuance. Every update to Baldur’s Gate 3 made Astarion’s tale of overcoming abuse and sexual guilt into a BDSM playhouse of kneeling in lust before his vampiric grip. It might have been ‘sexier’ in a fanfiction way, but the value of the story was lost in the fantasy.
Romance can also add dead air to a game if done poorly. While that list at the start are all romances I felt added to the game’s experience significantly, there are many more games where romance feels tacked on and dull. Characters go from being believable people in the world to becoming eligible beaus, and thus need to conform to a high bar of likability. The best games ignore these conventions and make fantastic romances anyway, but too many games conform and fall short.
You can often write stronger characters by ignoring the lustful whims of the player themselves. Obsidian, the developer of Avowed, proved this last time out. The Outer Worlds does not feature romance, and yet its most memorable storyline is all about romance, as we help Parvati (one of the few canonically asexual characters in video games) ask out and then go on a date with the cute mechanic. I don’t think this storyline flourishes or even exists in a game with romance options because then the fans just complain that they can’t romance Parvati themselves.
But Romance Can Raise Emotional Investment
Of course, romance has obvious benefits. It can make a player feel closer to the cast and to the stakes, raising their emotional investment. It also means we have a reason to replay games, or convince ourselves we do. Though I thought The Veilguard’s romance (and overall experience) was a step behind previous Dragon Age games, I still want to do the deed with Harding, Bellara, and (sue me!) Emmrich after conquering Taash the first time around.
I also admit my position on this is a mite inconsistent. While I feel it is the best path for Avowed to take, I was disappointed when I discovered Metaphor: ReFantazio would not be featuring romance. I loved Persona 5’s romantic options, even if it was incredibly weird that many adults were interested in your high school-aged self, especially in a story that starts off by saving girls in your school from being groomed and abused.
However, while there are certainly games that would be weaker without romantic options, trimming them away can allow for greater focus on the central narrative and the gameplay. There are only so many hours in the day to make a video game, and hundreds of developer hours will be saved by Avowed’s decision here. I’m still a little on the fence about the game thus far, with trailers having flattered to deceive at times, so anything that helps make development more precise can only be a good thing in my book.
Avowed moving on from romance is in-line with Obsidian’s recent history, but goes against the grain of RPG trends. Considerable free marketing in the form of fanart might be thrown away with this decision. But I believe, as Obsidian clearly does, that this is the best move for Avowed to take. I can’t fall in love in Avowed, but if time that could have been spent on romance is instead spent on more crucial aspects of the game, maybe I can fall in love with Avowed.
- Released
- February 18, 2025