Wanted: Decent Male Romance Option in Games

That magical time has come in my current Cyberpunk 2077 playthrough where I get to make a major decision.  Is this decision about talents?  Nope.  Is it about some major story arc?  Also, no.  Is it about which uber-weapon I'm going to use to blast some baddies?  Not all all.  Instead, it's about the least important but weirdly gratifying part of many modern RPG's...which fictional character my fictional character is going to have a fictional romantic relationship with!  While quite possibly the silliest decision to make in any game, it's something that must be at least a little bit important to gamers because so many modern RPG's include options for these fictional relationships.  And so many gamers seem to care very deeply about them--I've encountered numerous lengthy threads bemoaning the many aspects of video game romantic relationships or with very detailed suggestions for improvements.  Don't get me wrong, as someone who is an introvert and sort of secretly loves the ability to play a confident, badass character who can pick up all the hottest video game folks out there, I too care about video game relationships.  However, I have one serious gripe (okay, semi-serious because as I've hinted, it's a pretty minor issue) about these relationships.  I would like to have some better male romantic options in my video games.  Gay, straight, I don't care, but romancing a male character is usually the worst option.

One of my main issues with male options is that they tend to be very bland.  They fall into two sort of general archetypes--the "good guy" or the "bad boy."  Take Cyberpunk for example--option #1 is River Ward, your stereotypical "good cop" who's trying to fight against a corrupt system.  Option #2 is Kerry Eurodyne (and that's only if you are playing a gay, male V) who takes on the "bad boy" role.  Of the two I find Kerry to be the better written and more interesting character--he's dealing with a bit of an identity crisis and that gives him more depth.

It just feels like so much more detail and nuance goes into creating the female romantic options.  Both Judy and Panam don't feel like they fall into the archetype trap and each character has their own unique set of character flaws to add depth.  I find it interesting that there's not really a super-feminine (the general "hot girl" vibe) option and that both Judy and Panam are attractive, but not overly "girly."

One of the best moments of the Shepard/Garrus romance.

I would love it if we could get some well-written, more interesting male romantic options that have more nuance than your typical "good guy" vs. "bad boy" spectrum.  I think BioWare games have offered up some of the better male romance options.  One of my favorite romances is the one between female Shepard and Garrus Vakarian.  Garrus falls firmly outside the spectrum I described above--he's kind of a dork (always trying to calibrate things), he's awkward (and it's just generally awkward due to the inter-species nature of the relationship), but he's also a badass sniper with a secret sexy side (remember the whole "reach & flexibility" commentary?).  So many people pass up the option to romance Garrus in Mass Effect because Turians aren't exactly the most attractive of the alien species in that series, but I would argue that it's one of the best!

If you're someone who writes characters for video games...please, write a male romantic option who has some nuance.  I know that the ratio of people who play video games skews strongly to the straight, male demographic, but it'd be great to have some variety.  Maybe a skinny, nerdy type who impresses through their knowledge and wisecracking attitude?  Or the confident leader with some serious emotional baggage?  Just please, no more bland "good guy" or edgy "bad boy" types.