10 Best Missable Romance Options In Gaming

Summary

• Love in video games is straightforward, but requires effort for meaningful connections.
• Romance options can be hidden, adding depth and impact to the gaming experience.
• Did you miss any of these less obvious paths to romance?

Romance in video games is like a pickup artist: brutally straightforward and often has no idea what it's doing. Subtlety tends to go out the window when it comes to love interests in gaming, which makes sense since most game developers would rather you not miss out on their meticulously-crafted romantic side stories.

8 RPGs With The Most Romance Options

If you're looking for love, these RPGs have the widest romance pools in all of gaming.

But sometimes, it's a bit harder to find these opportunities for digital love. In those cases, the effort can sometimes make the whole experience that much more impactful. So here are some examples.

10 Eri Kamataki - Yakuza: Like A Dragon

Fastest Stapler In The West

As the game's protagonist, Ichiban Kasuga, you encounter Eri running her failing family business with her grandma during the management side quest chain in Yakuza: Like a Dragon. Here she will gratefully accept Ichiban's offered help.

As with most of history's great romances, it takes more to woo her than managing her portfolio. You have to raise the rank of the company to within the top 100 small businesses and also raise Ichiban's own kindness rank to level 10. At that point, not only can you recruit Eri into your party as an indispensable fighter, you can also finally ask out the energetic business owner.

9 Lace Harding - Dragon Age: Inquisition

The Deadliest Information Department This Side Of That One From Beetlejuice

Scout Lace Harding is usually your first point of contact whenever you reach a new region in Dragon Age: Inquisition. She gives you a rundown of the area with a few charmingly snarky comments sprinkled in, making many players quickly smitten.

But while Harding isn't one of the game's designated romance options, you can still actually flirt with her and see the potential for more. If you avoid all of Inquisition's love interests while flirting with the bantery dwarf whenever you can, she'll express interest in exploring things further with you during the post-game. How appropriately discreet.

8 Gorim Saelac - Dragon Age: Origins

A Fine Man Selling Fine Wares

Keeping things in the series, this one's a bit more subtle. If you pick the Dwarf Noble origin for your character in Dragon Age: Origins, you get to be acquainted with Gorim, your loyal friend and the man serving as your second in combat.

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If your character is female, you can also choose to say that she and Gorim had previously been in a romantic relationship. Unfortunately, it goes no further as the strict Dwarven caste system forbids such things. But this opens up some interesting roleplaying ideas, especially when Gorim appears later in the game loudly peddling his fine Dwarven Crafts.

7 Dr. Holmes - Boyfriend Dungeon

When A Love Interest Comes Along, You Must Whip It

As a game whose core mechanic involves going on dates with the shapeshifting people who comprise your arsenal of weapons, Boyfriend Dungeon immediately wears its eccentricities on its sleeve. But as if that wasn't enough, a later update decided you should also be allowed to date a masochistic scientist.

You initially find the oddly unwieldable Dr. Holmes, who uses she/they pronouns and can transform into a whip, at the end of the Verona College dungeon (or "dunj"). But as tough as it is to actually make it that far, you then have to defeat them in a particularly grueling battle for them to finally allow you to date them. And you thought dating apps were restrictive.

6 Javik Or James Vega - Mass Effect 3

Thrown Out The Airlock Vs. Working Out Those Pecs

In yet another instance of BioWare throwing indecisive players one last life raft, Mass Effect 3 allows you to have a one-night stand at the end of the excellent Citadel DLC that just so happens to be with the last of an alien race that went extinct 50,000 years ago.

If you're playing as a female Commander Shepard and are romancing Kelly Chambers or nobody at all, there's a chance you can find yourself waking up after the DLC's big party next to either Javik or resident beefy boy James Vega. Javik will uncharacteristically offer a compliment afterward, and frankly, it's no further than some people will go just for validation.

5 Valerie Oberlin - Monster Prom

You Break Her Heart, You Buy It

Chaotic high school dating game Monster Prom has you and potentially other players looking to find dates among several ghoulish classmates for the upcoming prom. The story has a number of secret endings, including one that even involves helping the Narrator break the game.

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But you might have seen the cat-like shopkeeper Valerie around the grounds and immediately become enamored, you adventurous little Casanova. Good news: you can date her. Problem: you have to experience over half of the events in the game before her route is unlocked, then regularly visit her shop without buying anything. For once, apparently, that's something to be encouraged.

4 Minthara Baenre - Baldur's Gate 3

The Ruthless Commander With Absolute Passion

Look, we get it. It's hard to pay attention to anyone else in a game where Karlach and Astarion exist. But Baldur's Gate 3 is one where you'll find many, many new things every playthrough if you decide to shake things up, among which is an unexpected romance.

Minthara is found in the difficult-to-clear goblin camp during Act 1, and you likely remember her as the cartoonishly evil drow about to lead an attack on the peaceful Druid Grove. However, if you keep things nonlethal during this section (or side with her against the Grove), you can not only recruit her in Act 2, but eventually romance the still very evil commander as well.

3 Ai Ebihara - Persona 4

Better To Miss Class Than Miss Out On Love

Persona 4 had the gargantuan task of following-up the still beloved Persona 3, and just one of several ways it expanded upon its predecessor was in the romance department. This includes some romanceable side characters like Ai Ebihara, the deceptively egoistic second year student encountered during sports practice.

What makes her route one of the most intriguing romances in Persona 4 is that you actually have to refuse a "pretend" date with her to have a real chance later. Who doesn't love some mind games in their amorous endeavors?

2 Avela Kjar - Mass Effect: Andromeda

She Belongs In A Museum

Mass Effect: Andromeda may be infamous for a few reasons, but there's one aspect that really deserves to be talked about more. It allows you to begin flirting with a new race of aliens literally minutes after first contact. Captain Kirk would be proud.

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The angara are that new race in Andromeda. One of them, Avela, is a curator of historical relics. Those playing as a male Pathfinder Ryder can choose to pursue a romance with her which progresses as you bring her new artifacts. That's where the missable part comes in. It's a long search across three of the game's major planets. But hey, you've gotten worse rewards.

1 Juhani - Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic

Redemption With A Side Of Smooches

Aside from the more well-known romances involving Bastila and Carth in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, you might not realize the game does offer a fair bit of variety for its time. The 2003 title actually included one of the earliest examples of LGBTQ+ romance in gaming.

Unfortunately, it's subtle enough that many completely missed it. The troubled cathar padawan Juhani will occasionally hint at her attraction to the female player character. It's easy to slip past your notice, but if you keep up, she will eventually confess her feelings just before the final battle. Why can't anyone in a BioWare game just fall in love during lunch or something?

Best Games With Romance Options

From The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt to Bethesda's venerable The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, here are some games that just nail the whole romance options thing.