Romance keeps getting bigger and bigger in the video game world. More games are adding romance options, and fans love having the option to get to know the characters more intimately. Popular games that have done this include the Dragon Age series, Mass Effect series, Persona series, the Witcher 3, Fallout 4, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, and much more.
However, there are still obviously games that don't have romance options. This could be because of the genre, how the story is told, and a lack of characters. Despite these reasons, fans are thirsty for romance.
Here are ten games that we wish had romance options.
10 Outer Worlds
Outer Worlds is a game that is like Fallout meets Mass Effect. It is easy to binge, with plenty of planets to explore and interesting characters. You even get your own ship and crew members!
However, unlike Mass Effect and Fallout 4 . . . there is no romancing any of the NPCs or your companions. According to Obsidian, it was because romance quests take a lot of work. The game is still amazing, but fans fell in love with the companions and were a little sad that they were not romanceable.
9 Horizon Zero Dawn
According to an interview with Managing Director Herman Hulst, there is no romance options in Horizon Zero Dawn because Aloy is a fiercely independent character. She is a woman on a mission and does not have time to slow down for anyone.
A lot of fans still want romance options, especially because a ton of characters flirt with Aloy.
8 Final Fantasy XIV
Square Enix leaves the romance part of Final Fantasy XIV to the players in a certain way. We can romance each other (even have an in-game wedding!) but not the NPCs. However, a ton of players have crushes on NPCs like Estinien, the Crystal Exarch, Aymeric, Thancred, Y'shtola, Lyna, and more.
MMOs are not known for well-written NPCs, but Final Fantasy XIV has broken that mold. Maybe they could see what happens if they let players romance the NPCs?
7 The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
The Legend of Zelda fans all ship Link with different characters throughout the series. Some stick with Zelda while others prefer Mipha, Malon, Illia, Midna, and others.
Breath of the Wild changed the game when it came to the series with its open-world setting and voice-acted cutscenes. The only thing to do next is to let players choose who Link romances, right? It could be a little difficult since he doesn't talk, but what he does is more important than what he says.
6 Fallout 3 And New Vegas
Fallout 4 was the first of the series to allow romancing companions. This is because fans wanted that in their past games like New Vegas and Fallout 3.
To be honest, it is not too late for those games to get romances! It would be awesome if they were eventually re-released with major updates for current consoles. One of those updates could be romanceable characters.
5 Gay Options In Persona 5
This game already has romance options, but a ton of fans wanted gay romances to be available for its upcoming new version. Unfortunately, you still cannot romance Ryuji, Yusuke, or Akechi. It is not a surprise for most of us though, since Persona 5 actually had some homophobic scenes in it. On the bright side, they are changing some of those scenes in the new version.
While Persona 5 does have romances, it deserves to be on this list because it has a long way to go as a role-playing game for much of its fanbase.
4 Elder Scrolls: Oblivion
Like Fallout 4, Skyrim decided to add romanceable NPC characters. You could even get married and have them live in one of your homes!
Like Fallout though, that means we look back on the past games in the series that did not include romances. Oblivion was before Skyrim and had no such options, even though there were plenty of memorable characters such as Martin, Lucien, and the Adoring Fan. As popular as Skyrim is, there are some gamers who still argue that Oblivion is better and that is part of the reason we felt it deserved a place on this list.
3 Kingdom Hearts 3
The Kingdom Hearts series is very character and emotion-driven. The characters are not afraid to talk about their feelings. In a way, we have seen them grow up. By the third game, they are all teenagers instead of children. That means they might start exploring romantic relationships.
Many fans ship different characters together. Unfortunately, the third game fell very short on character relationships. Sora did not even get to hang out with Riku and Kairi until the very end of the game. The game would have been much better if you could not only see more of those characters, but have romance options between them.
2 Dark Souls
Dark Souls is known to be a difficult game with danger at every corner. With that in mind, who has time for romance? Well, that doesn't stop some players from dreaming. In such a dark world, any kindness from others can shine even brighter (as seen in Solaire's popularity). Thus, wouldn't a romance option or two be nice?
A specific character a ton of people like is Priscilla. She doesn't attack and tells you how to leave and asks you to do so, which is a much warmer reception than you get from anyone else.
1 Monster Hunter World
First of all, all the characters in this game look beautiful. You get to have pets and upgrade your own living space, which already gives this game some domestic elements. Why not also add the ability to have a romantic partner?
Great options would include the Field Team Leader, Handler, and the Third Fleet Master. While we are at it with talking about romances, how about we actually learn these characters' names in the game?