I mean think about it, V’s going above and beyond for these people, without a second thought. They’re dying, they should be working in a cure, or settling their affairs in order, but they go out and give everything to help these people, for no other reason than they’re chooms.
Don’t get me wrong, V can be close with a romanced option, but to me it always has that videogame pitfall of “and your reward is sex”.
19 Comments
I prefer to keep the relationships at friendship. Admittedly, I’m mostly asexual IRL, but I agree that the friendships seem more meaningful to me.
I dont feel that way, I as the player want to be close to Judy as much as possible.
My bestfriend out of the four romance options is Panam, but my greatest friend is Judy 🙂
after that River and Kerry are a vibe, I usually bang River just to hear Johnny complain about me making him have sex with a cop lol
I’m not into video game relationship mechanics in general, but I do find I appreciate Vs friendships more than relationships.
Reward sex is a feature not a pitfall
the best of “friends” can hook up without a relationship lol.
Panam don’t give no fucks when everything is done 😂
River keeps in touch
Judy talks about her adventure
I romanced Kerry so 🤷🏼♂️
Even the random side mission people hit V up
But I’d agree mostly that V and his friends are pretty solid.
Its because the friendship is natural, the relationships are not
Canonically this whole thing happens over a couple of weeks, you can find friends and companionship in a couple of weeks, but the only relationship you’re going to have after a couple of weeks is one of lust and desperation
Panam is a dumpster fire of a person who lives life day by day
Judy is broken and alone
Kerry is an aging rockstar with an inferiority complex
Who the f**k romances river
Anyway, these are not people that you can develop healthy romantic relationships within the short time, you can have fast fun, you can change their lives and make them better in the long term, but there’s no real love there, and I think it shows perfectly in the tower ending when you see where they end up
Panam hates you but is back with her family
Judy found love and is living a peaceful life
Kerry has success and confidence
Who cares about river (but seriously, river is a good guy and is willing to give up everything for his family)
Sex feels like a goal because… It is… Your time is limited, have fun and hit it before you potentially die
I kinda find that the story is fundamentally lesser if V doesn’t find love (that aspect, and not building the friendship with Johnny). Love is a fundamental component to the cyberpunk genre, and yes, you can find it in friendships, but the story pushes V as a character in a situation where love is an important thing for them to come back and live. I’ve seen playthroughs without the partnerships, and tbh, the story doesn’t feel anywhere near as interesting with that element removed.
And this is coming from someone who is asexual.
(That said, I prefer the sister dynamic between FemV and Panam over the relationship one with MaleV and Panam)
I agree, the friendships felt a little more natural to me than the relationships. I’ve tried every romance in the game and I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t need anyone else but Johnny. Play some music for me magic Relic man.
My V and Judy just being buds makes me happy. Shes in such a shit place, with shit people, and we pull her out of it, help her get her feet underneath her, and when she leaves she still keeps in touch.
She wants to be happy and wants V to be happy.
I can’t stand Judy personally.
I feel like she just likes me for the killing I do for her.
My V is a female Nomad and Panam is her bestie, so much so I got a Panam-related tattoo
The romantic intimacy and love in the game feels very poorly done imo. River is bad obviously but everyone else feels only a bit better when you romance them. Panam and judy are great friends, dating them feels kinda off. Judy is the best transition tho i think
While I disagree I do think my friendship with Judy as male V was ten times more interesting than my romance with her as femV
I think its because once the romance happens… thats kinda it, theres the extremely underwhelming “I really wanna stay at your house” mission and a few decent text convos, but it kinda feels like the writers knew how to start a relationship but werent sure how to write an established relationship.
But on what you describe as the videogame pitfall of “and your reward is sex”, thats why Laezel from BG3 is one of my favourite vidya game romances, since it starts off with casual sex and then gets into the character development.
Wrong. Judy and I are attached at the hip. We love each other, ok?
I love the sisterly bond that develops between Fem V and Panam
In most of my playthroughs I leave judy waiting in her apartment with Evelyn chilling in the bathtub. Never been a fan of either character and as soon as I no longer have to deal with them I don’t.
the best way to test this is the devil ending..