Okay, let's steer this conversation in a positive direction. What makes a romance in a game constructive to the overall experience?
There are very few games that do this well, but for me, the best game romances are in the forefront of the narrative, driving the character’s motivations or actions.
The best examples of this I believe are Final Fantasy 8, 9 and 10.
I just replayed all of these very recently (partly because I hated FF16 and wanted to make sure my love of the older ones wasn’t just nostalgic delusion, it wasn’t, they are masterpieces) and each of these use compelling romances as thematic pillars in the narrative.
You can’t do that sort of thing in a CRPG like BG, though. This game is all about choice, and if we can choose our actions and motivations, romance is always optional. It therefore can’t be woven too deeply into the narrative.
The only romance I am interested in is Wyll and Karlach. Because of the way these two character’s stories intertwine together, I hope a romance plot between them reflects that. We Wyll See.
