Who put Romance in my Divinity?

Demonic possession?  Nah, it's cool.

Divinity:  Original Sin 2 is turning out to be quite the epic journey.  I'm now almost 90 hours into it and there is still plenty to do.  One thing that caught me completely off guard happened between the third and fourth acts (SPOILERS!!!!!!)--as Malady again rescued the Lady Vengeance and all its occupants from near disaster, my team found itself floating blissfully through the Hall of Echoes.  This was an interesting interlude after a sudden twist in the main story.  There was a lull in the action and I found myself wondering..."what's next?"  I decided to talk to my teammates and see if they had some kind of take on the situation, only to find that I was faced with a choice--I could choose to spend some alone time with a special teammate.  Waaaaaiiiit?  Am I not playing a game that is a CRPG with complicated mechanics?  When did my character even establish some sort of relationship with any of the other teammates?  So I had to choose--I could tell Beast how much I admired his flowing beard; I could tell the Red Prince how shiny his scales were; or, I could tell Lohse how sexy her demonic possession is.  Or, I could've simply chosen to completely forgo the romantic option.  Of course I didn't choose that!  I opted for Lohse since the thought of a relationship with either Beast or the Red Prince seemed...well, weird.  What followed was a half-text, half-voice acted scene of passion that made me feel weird. 

I was completely surprised that the "romance" option was even included in a game like Divinity:  Original Sin 2.  There are a few times where you can interact with your squadmates and have some dialogue, but most of the game is about exploring and combat.  The general tone I chose for my character was supportive--I was positive toward my squadmates and agreed to help them through their various personal crises.  I didn't think that necessarily meant that it was flirtatious, but apparently, toward Lohse, it was!

The romance option isn't necessarily a bad thing.  I think Divinity does a good job of making the characters within the game somewhat interesting.  I enjoy the fact that each character has their own quest line and story to tell.  Ever since Mass Effect 2, I think that more developers have realized that including those squad loyalty missions is a great way to build backstory.

I couldn't help but wonder what other people thought about the romance option in games.  It seems like something that most people enjoy--either on a character-based, story development level or on a more pervy "sexy time" level.  Personally, I don't mind a little video game romance.  It helps to add a deeper layer of connection to the characters in the game.  When romance is done well, it can be memorable.  The Witcher 3 did a great job with the tangled web of sorceresses romanced by Geralt of Rivia.  It didn't matter who you chose--Triss or Yennefer--there were great scenes that played to both dimensions of the romance spectrum--the truly sweet scenes where true feelings were put on the table and the straight up boning scenes that The Witcher is known for.  Something for everyone!

So how does video game romance make you feel?  Do you find it cheesy and unneeded or do you think it adds another layer of character development and connections?