10 great video game romances

At the dawn of the console era of gaming, any romance in titles like Donkey Kong (1981) and Super Mario Bros. (1985) was as simple as their controls: jump, run, rescue princess. 

Romance in games has grown in variety and sophistication as the medium has evolved. Game characters now have their hearts touched in a variety of ways through complex love stories that reflect romance in myriad forms. It’s no longer just the prospect of extra lives that sets pixelated chests fluttering.

Taito’s side-scroller began life as Tarzan adaption, but detoured into this pastiche of boys-own adventure novels. You play colonial nitwit Sir Dudley Dashly, slogging through the Amazon rainforest to try and free your wife from cannibals. Upon rescue, the game resets and becomes harder. It’s strange how many marriages so often fall into patterns.

Hideo Kojima’s “sneak ‘em ‘up” forced gamers to think hard before taking action. During a torture scene, the player gets to choose whether mercenary Solid Snake should endure electrocution, or submit to his interrogator. The latter leads to heartbreak, and – symbolically – Snake acquiring an invisibility device.

Naughty Dog’s epic 2013 adventure The Last of Us introduced us to Ellie, a teenager living in the shadow of a zombie apocalypse. The sequel sets her up against the broken-hearted Abby; the pair’s rivalries and relationships ebb across 25 hours of gameplay. It almost makes you forget the undead in the background.

This multi-choice drama sees bereaved father Ethan looking for his remaining son, who’s been kidnapped by the Origami Killer. Ethan’s not open to romance, but is offered it when he encounters photojournalist Madison Paige, who’s trying to unmask the serial murderer. At a crucial point in the game, players can choose whether to make a move or not.

Hapless tourist George Stobbart, star of five point-and-click adventures, stumbled into the world trying to find the killer clown who interrupted his vacation. While investigating, he’s clearly punching above his weight with newspaper reporter Nico Collard. As the pair grow closer unpicking an international conspiracy, you can see why it’s easier to fall in love with a friend than to be friends with someone you’ve loved.

“Love is work” remarks the talking guidebook in this two-player platformer that features emotional gut-punches galore. Estranged parents May and Cody are forced to team up when they become dolls stranded at the end of their garden. As they fight their way back to their daughter Rose’s toy box, players are taught that real romance requires effort – and occasionally, a honey-powered bazooka.

We’ve all been dumped, but very few people have been so desperate to bring back a lost love that they slaughter 16 giants. That’s what our hero Wander attempts as he tries to resurrect maiden Mono in Shadow of the Colossus. A prequel to Fumito Ueda’s Ico (2002), it’s rightfully regarded as one of the best video games of all time.

Sneaking around Pripyat in a ghillie suit might not seem lovey-dovey, but you can’t ignore the simmering bromance between grizzled SAS Captain Price and new recruit Soap, stars of Activision’s epic first-person shooter. The pair develop a kinship that newlyweds can only dream of: after all, if being pulled off a sinking ship into a helicopter isn’t love, what is?

This Australian interactive novel from Monument Valley designer Ken Wong eschews dialogue for simple puzzles and comic montages. We follow Florence, a 25-year-old singleton as she breaks out of her commute/work/doomscroll routine, and begins a relationship with celloist Krish. Trophies achieved: confidence, self-respect.

Rockstar’s sprawling adventure is about loyalty, and how an outlaw has to choose between his brothers-in-arms and romantic salvation. John Marston’s love for his absent family might lead to bloodshed… but spare a thought for rancher Bonnie MacFarlane, whose unrequited affection for the main character is something we all get to experience. Luckily, as in real life, further stages await.