Hello all! This is my first (non-test) post. I've wanted to chat about this subject for quite some time after I had a revelation while playing Mass Effect: Legendary Edition. I discovered that I am a sucker for romance in video games. Romantic love, sexual chemistry, what have you. I just really enjoy seeing budding relationships or participating in them as the character.
Watching the progression of Liara and Shepard's relationship across the 3 games really hammered this home for me. There is something deeply poetic about watching a human who has ~100 years to live have to choose how to balance the biggest decisions and weight of the galaxy fall and love with an Asari who has ~1000 years to live. Liara is basically a a young adult in her 20's by Asari standards when you meet her, but has already lived more than twice as long as Shepard.
Their relationship dynamic is one where Shepard is helping her navigate day to day life in some ways, while Liara is constantly expressing and venerating the depth and breadth of history, the galaxy, and beyond. In some ways she's a reflection of the scale of what Shepard is dealing with, while Shepard is reminding her in some ways to live here and now, on the land she stands on. The way this dynamic plays out and buds into what to date is probably my favorite romance I've experienced in gaming.
Anyway, I just wanted to get some thoughts down and spur some discussion. I'd love to hear what others have enjoyed/experienced, or maybe you disagree with my take lol
I like romance in video games when they're well done. Mass Effect had some hit or misses but I like the potential it showed in this aspect. I wish they treated all the potential love interest with the same care and attention they did Liara though (I went for Thane and his romance path in ME3 was... meh). I think OG Bioware did a pretty decent job with romance. Dragon Age: Origins was also fantastic in this regard.
I have yet to scratch that romance itch with other games. I've tried it with Divinity: Original Sin 2 and Pathfinder: Kingmaker. They don't quite land as deeply. I'm hoping the newest Baldur's Gate will have an interesting romance aspect.
There is no doubt, at least to me, that Shepard/Liara is the most fleshed out. ME3 liara really has some incredible dialogue that hits hard if you’re together. I haven’t played enough times to “romance everyone,” but I did 3 runs on 360 back in the day and 1 on LE so I’ve seen a few and none came close.
Agreed. I think the closest one would be Garrus actually, but even then, there was a gap.
One thing I will say about DA:O that I think they did better than ME, was how some romantic interests would take initiative towards the player, which I found surprising and caught me off guard. It helped build the illusion that the characters were their own person, and thus the relationship between player character and them was more genuine.
I sadly have only play DA:I and I can’t decide if I should go back and play the others. That’s a really good sell right there though
The combat's a little clunkier and needs a more tactical approach (especially on higher difficulties), but once you get used to it, it can get pretty addictive. It's the only game in the series where you can get to the nitty gritty details of the AI on the companions: where you can specify which health percentage they should heal at, which enemy to prioritize, or when they should do x if y happens.
Story-wise, the game is solid. You can really tell that they took great care in mapping out all the different choices you can make, and how those meaningfully branch out into different story lines. The companions are beautifully written and have reactions that ring true to their characterization.
Personally, I thought DA:I was a big game that felt empty. It had the combat polish and the beautiful vistas, but not the depth of story and character that I hoped for.
So if you can tolerate the clumsy gameplay, and a slow start, I definitely recommend DA:O.
Thanks!