By this I don’t only mean one with an interesting, three-dimensional personality, but also one with a relevant role in the story. With the caveats that I am a) not a big romance fan, and b) not a writer, which might make my opinion somewhat less relevant, I think the first step in writing a good RO is writing a good character. I personally simply feel that it leads to a whole lot of disappointment without much to gain. In the end it’s up to the author, of course. Now if someone wants to gender-gate the romances in their game, go for it, but I do have to admit that I won’t play it. The point is - as a player, I like to be able to choose as I like without being punished for playing a woman. Panam would have been my prefered choice (the dynamic is much more enjoyable and it would have worked so well with my V) but since she only goes for dudes, I basically…have no option at all in the game.Īnd even if there HAD been another option…well, that wouldn’t solve the problem of me wanting my V with Panam. Since Cyberpunk has been brought up here before: playing a female V means my only wlw option was Judy - a character I like well enough, but whose romance did not work for me at all. When I play, I want to choose the RO that interests me the most, and the one I feel has the best dynamic with my MC. And as such, there is not a lot I dislike more than being barred from a female RO because I don’t want to play a man.

This is not a matter of self-insert, but wlw romances are just what grips me by the heart the most.

I am a big fan of romance (as in, I grew up reading trashy romance novels) and so I am admittedly the sort of person who might play a game mostly for that. I understand why game devs would choose to do so and there are perfectly valid arguments for it, but when it comes down to it - it almost always leads to disappointment.

I am, and most likely always will be, someone who is firmly against gender-gating romances.

Divinity 2 romance options