Summary
Happy endings are great, and a good dramatic story can bring out wonderful, positive feelings. ButRomeo and Julietis still the cornerstone of so many narratives for a reason. There is just something about tragic stories that grips the audience like nothing else.
Perhaps it is the fact that, in life, things are often much closer to tragedies than fairytales, and people can relate much more to such tales. Or perhaps they can make the audience truly appreciate what they have right now, and that things aren’t as bad as they could be. Whatever the case may be, video games have done a fantastic job at adoptingdark and tragic storylinesto tug at the heartstrings of players around the world.
The love story inFar Cry 3is a unique perspective on both romance and the typical video game hero. Initially, the protagonist, Jason, is driven by his desire to save his friends, and his girlfriend Liza. However, as he begins his journey to find them, he begins to change,affected by the extreme violencehe witnesses on the island.
By the time he actually reaches his friends, they barely recognize him, including his original love interest. How the story ends is up to the players, with one of the options being that Jason is sacrificed by a newfound romantic interest.
Kratos just cannot catch a break. From the very first entry in the series, his love life is nothing but terrible tragedy, despair, and hopelessness. His first wife and child are murdered byhimof all people, even if he was in a deity-imposed blind rage at the time.
While the sequels did briefly introduce possibilities for romance, Kratos ends up wiping out the entire Greek pantheon, after which he ends up in Scandinavia. There, he finds a wife, and they bear a child. However, their time together is cut short, leaving him alone to raise their son.
Interestingly enough,Dishonoredbegins with the end of Corvo’s relationship, in the form of Empress Jessamine’s assassination. However, for the players, the story has only begun, and at the start, it isn’t even clear as to what exactly their relationship is.
As players journey through the bleak world of Dunwall, they begin to discover the passionate feelings and tragic story that the pair shared. Only towards the end of the game do players truly appreciate just how massive of a loss has transpired inCorvo’s life at the very start of the game, and whatlegacy their relationship has left behind.
Dragon Age: Originsdoes not necessarily have to end badly. However, in most cases, the prospects of romantic relationships are grim at best. Depending on the player’s choices, everything can end right then and there for the Grey Warden, ending their life and severing whatever ties they might have had.
Sometimes, no matter what the players do, things just don’t go as planned. For instance, players might have to let their beloved go in order to save the fate of an entire kingdom. Or their beloved leaves them behind, with next to no chance of finding them again.
The entire story of theDead Spaceseries isfar from light and breezy,but the fate of Isaac and his wife Nicole is particularly grim and often overshadows everything else happening at the time. The particularly excruciating element is that throughout the game, the hope that Nicole is still alive dangles before the player (and Isaac himself) on a constant basis.
The horrible reveal, that Nicole died before Isaac even arrived on the USG Ishimura, and whatever Isaac heard or saw was only a figment of his imagination powered by the Marker. This reveal devastated many players at the time, and it still stings to this day.
Undertalehas a few romantic storylines going on, and almost all of them can endhorriblydepending on the player’s choices. Given how characters comment on each other to the player, some choices can seem monstrous (and they often are).
Given how Frisk struggles to bond with anyone at the start of the game, Toriel’s warmth and love for them is a ray of sunshine in an otherwise dark underground. And the little hints of a bigger family and the ultimatereveal of her relationship with Asgorebecome absolutely gut-wrenching if anything happens to them.
All Steam reviews - Very Positive (36,766)
Mass Effect Legendary Edition
The third installment in the legendary series brings togethermostof the storylines from the previous games, and the culmination of the romantic plotline is a major part of it. While previous games can end on a somewhat positive note when it comes to Shepard’s love life, the end of theMass Effectsaga is anything but.
In thebest-casescenario, Shepard is seen taking a breath amidst the rubble and destruction of London, hinting at their possible survival. In all the other endings, Shepard unambiguously dies, leaving behind the love of their life, and no matter who the partner is, the final goodbye that the two share isnothing short of heartbreaking.
The Last of Usis no stranger to beautiful love stories about people finding what little warmth they canin an otherwise desolate worldfull of pain and despair. However, the series alsolovesto drive a stake through the hearts of both the lovers and the players rooting for them.
From Joel’s implied divorce to his loss of Tess, he is truly struggling to keep his heart open. Bill and Frank are also an incredibly interesting couple, who unfortunately also met an untimely end, with Bill left alone to fend against the hordes of infected. And of course, Ellie and Riley’s devastating story can leave no one unmoved.
