It’s a new age for RPGs. Gone are the days of chaste kisses and clandestine hand-holding of our innocent past, now we’re rolling around with bears and getting nasty with Gith. I kid, of course. Dragon Age: Origins had plenty of smut back in 2009 and, if you played your cards right, let you saddle for some group fun with Leliana, Zevran, and Isabela.
Still, Dragon Age: The Veilguard isn’t going to fall behind in this arms race, even if we don’t know whether there’ll be even a schlong in it, because that’s an industry secret-slash-spoiler, apparently.
That’s as per an IGN interview with game director Corinne Busche, who promises a wide variety of flavours of the eligible consort: “Some of them are quite sensual. Some of them are more physical, some are more romantic, some are more spicy,” Busch says, before casually dropping the mental fleshbang of “you may or may not wake up in a coffin.”
I’d wager that’s a result of a gothic tête-à-tête with The Veilguard’s resident necromancer, Emmrich Volkarin, though who knows. Maybe Lace Harding’s been waiting since Inquisition to let her freak flag fly. Speaking of, part of her return was, at least, amorously motivated: “Players fell in love with her, and we heard them.”
In terms of which romance you’ll want to go for if you’d like a bit of excitement, dragon hunter Taash appears to be Busche’s pick: “When I got to that scene and saw the finished version of that cinematic, I was hollering. Hollering.” Considering Taash is a qunari, I’m not entirely surprised. Iron Bull had some fierce game.
Confirming what was revealed in a combat and progression blog post, Busche emphasises—and reassures—that while getting to know your companions sensually isn’t a prerequisite to getting them levels, you’ll still have to resist your urge to be a jerk to them. “I really get the opportunity to know [Neve], whether it’s platonic or romantic, I’m going to help shape her skills and augment those abilities that work really well with my own personal build.”
That’s all well and good, but what draws my interest more than anything, as someone who thinks the best RPG companions are the ones who get in your way once in a while, is how Busche describes your friendships, romances, and FWB status as being a game of give and take, rather than ramping up a love bar. “You’re going to develop trust, understanding. That doesn’t mean you’re always going to agree … I like to think of relationships not necessarily as how much they like you, but how well you know them.
“Every family has their squabbles, but this is really about developing your understanding of each member of the Veilguard, and in turn, that’s going to allow them to work better as a team.”
She’s saying all the right words, I just hope Bioware’s able to pull it off—while I’m more excited by the fiddly RPG mechanics we’ve been getting glimpses of, I haven’t been that drawn in by the dialogue thus far. I’m hoping a few clumsy quips during limited gameplay trailers don’t get in the way of this considered character work that Busche is promising, because I love thinking way too much about RPG romance dynamics. Just ask Gale.