My Favorite Video Game Romances

In honor of Valentine's Day I decided to reflect on my favorite video game romances.  Having the ability to form fictional romantic attachments in video games might not be something that all gamers seek out or enjoy, but I'll fully admit that it's something I enjoy (and it seems like many people do enjoy given the number of gripes/complaints about romantic options that I see online).

#3: V and Judy Alvarez in CyberPunk 2077

There's just something about Judy...

I've always enjoyed Judy Alvarez as a character--she's a great example of CD Projekt's ability to write flawed, but still engaging characters.  Judy's idealism is her biggest flaw--she feels a fierce sense of protection for all the dolls/sex workers and winds up involving V in a crazy plot to take on a powerful gang that controls a local sex club in order to replace the leadership with Judy's very untrustworthy ex (who, of course, has her own plans).  The entire plan backfires and nothing turns out the way it was planned. For me, part of Judy's allure is her blind idealism--she's passionate about her closest friends (who happen to be mostly dolls/sex workers) and is willing to go to the mat for them...even if it means potentially catastrophic consequences.

#2: Geralt of Rivia and Triss Merigold in The Witcher series

I'm fully aware that this is a bit of a hot take and that there's plenty of good reason to shun Triss as an option (the main reason being that Triss basically takes advantage of the fact that Geralt has amnesia to pursue a relationship with him).  With that said though, I've always found Triss to be so much sweeter and more affable than the haughty, self-serving (but still smokin' hot) Yennefer of Vengerberg.  I've always highly enjoyed the masquerade quest in The Witcher 3 and the ability to opt to kiss Triss and share a highly romantic moment.  There's always that inkling of doom lurking in the background though--the Rose of Remembrance that Geralt gives to Triss is supposed to permanently bloom as long as there is love between the giver and recipient.  When Geralt finds the rose early on in TW3 it is wilted and dying, so there's that though.

#1: FemShep and Liara in Mass Effect

Liara is another character that I read many complaints about.  Many gamers feel like BioWare sort of automatically angles you toward her (although let's be real...your options in the original game are very limited to begin with).  Personally, I also feel like the Asari species was designed to be mush more appealing--who wouldn't want to romance a species of beautiful, blue alien ladies?  I still find Liara to be an enjoyable character to get to know and watch grow throughout the course of the three games.  She starts off as a very awkward academic type who has spent much of her life on digsites and is just learning to interact with other aliens.  When she finally appears in the second game, as an information broker in Ilium, she immediately demonstrates how much her confidence and skills have grown as she implores Shep & Co. to go after one of the most illusive and powerful entities in the galaxy--the Shadow Broker.  By the third game she has proven herself to be a confident and capable leader who is still vulnerable about her own family issues (a mom that betrayed the galaxy to help the Reapers--that's a real bummer) while using her influence as the new Shadow Broker to help build a super weapon that could save the galaxy.  I just find Liara to be another likable and well written character who has some of the best animated glances in video gaming.

Whether your romances happen in the digital world or real life, I hope everyone has an enjoyable Valentine's Day.  Even if it's not your favorite holiday, at least it's a good excuse to eat some heart-shaped candy.