Self-confessed director says team ‘builds thoughtful relationships’ with companions rather than romantic options

Carrie Patel, game Director of Obsidian Entertainment’s Upcoming Role Playing game (RPG) Declaredconfirmed that the title would not feature any companion romance options and explained some of the reasons why.

In a recent interview with IGNPatel said that the developers are “building thoughtful relationships with our companion characters,” but that romance is not on the agenda at the moment.

“Personally, I’m all for making it an option, but I feel like if you’re going to do it, you have to really commit and make sure that you’re giving it your all in a way that feels right. “It’s both true to the character, but also creates an engaging player experience,” says Patel.[It’s] It’s not something we do for. Declaredbut I wouldn’t say never.

She then suggested that adding a romance system to such a narrative-driven game would be a huge undertaking, requiring many complex systems and a variety of possible paths to meet player expectations. Even so, it’s undeniably a bit disappointing that such an important RPG doesn’t offer some sort of option for those who are romantically inclined.

It’s hard to ignore the fact that Baldur’s Gate 3 caused waves with its plethora of detailed romantic paths, with players particularly fascinated by Shadowheart and Astarion (sorry Gale) and admiring them with thirsty posts on social media.

Even an older RPG title like The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrimfirst released in 2011, offered a very limited set of romance options by allowing the player to marry a list of eligible characters.

Whether the players meet up or not, please excuse the pun, engaged with fully platonic relationships in Declared hasn’t been seen yet, but I’m curious to see what the game has in store for us when it releases later this year on PC, Xbox series X, and Xbox series S.

To learn more about RPG games, check out our guide to best RPGs right now or read about best single player games.