Superheroes are sexy. Who can honestly say they have watched the Marvel Cinematic Universe and still don’t want to smooch Captain America? It’s bisexual kryptonite, or whatever the magical stones are called in this world, and it’s no surprise that so many of its heroes have become enduring symbols of popular culture on a global scale. However, the same can’t be said for their video game counterparts. If you told me you had the hots for Thor in Marvel’s Avengers I’d probably ask you to stand on the other side of the room, with much of the game’s cast reflecting that of a poorly constructed porn parody.
What I’m trying to say is that romance in games is much harder to pull off than in cinema or television, with player agency required to make relationships feel worthwhile and convincing. Films and similar mediums do much of the legwork, while games need to take constant interactivity and immersion into account when sweeping us off our feet. This is why sprawling RPGs like Persona and Fire Emblem are able to pursue romantic connections between characters that feel heartfelt and natural. We spend dozens of hours with these people, beginning as strangers before graduating to friends, and if we play our cards right and make the correct decisions, being lovers isn’t too lofty a goal.
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Japanese games pioneered this virtual smoochery with dating sims, exploring the idea of fictional romance with games that weren’t afraid to tell deep, compelling stories with a bit of rough and tumble too if you were so inclined. The genre continues to advance, with Western developers adopting it in recent years with fantastic games like Boyfriend Dungeon and Heart of the Woods, making use of traditional visual novel dialogue while expanding upon them with combat, exploration, and more conventional design conventions that allowed them to grow more and more accessible. We love smooching, and who can blame us?
Mass Effect and Dragon Age likely learned more from Japanese visual novels than many of you might care to admit. Their choice-driven dialogue system and perspective on morality would lead to romance and intimacy if you made the right decisions, with the eventual sex scene acting as a reward for players before the final battle. It was somewhat juvenile, but allowed such a system to reach a mainstream audience in a way that was easy to understand. Firaxis Games’ Marvel’s Midnight Suns could expand on this formula significantly, especially with its huge roster of superheroes and focus on personal relationships between characters that are developed by the whims of the player.
Details on the game remain light until its full gameplay reveal next week, but it’s being pitched as a tactical RPG where you fight and live alongside a team described as Earth’s last line of defense. Blade, Wolverine, Iron Man, Magik, and Ghost Rider are just a few of the big names making up the Midnight Suns, all of whom you’ll be able to communicate and bond with outside of battle and before missions. From the creators of XCOM, this game feels like a meaningful expansion of that series with a licensed coat of paint. You could make your own soldiers in XCOM, but they very much felt like playful avatars ripe for customisation and upgrades as opposed to a fully rounded character you could grow close to on an emotional level. Their death was a frustration, and you’d certainly miss them, but you’d live to fight another day.
Midnight Suns could be different, especially with a cast made up of so many recognisable faces. You can’t afford to lose them, knowing how valuable they are in battle and that the knowledge they’ve accrued over the years is essential to the world’s survival. Marvel’s Avengers crumbled because it couldn’t help but make comparisons to the cinematic universe with characters and locations that far too often felt like cheap imitators. Midnight Suns appears to be going in a vastly different direction, adopting an aesthetic that reminds me of classic PS2 games like Ultimate Alliance or Rise of the Imperfects more than it does any of the comic book films released in recent years. That’s a valuable asset, and will allow Firaxis to distance itself from the zeitgeist of popular culture comic books are so integral to.
I’d love to explore the history of these characters from a new perspective, breaking down the barriers of renowned superheroes to reveal a centre of vulnerability. Whether this leads to friendship or romance, I don’t really mind, but if Firaxis wants us to care for these people while living, fighting, and potentially dying alongside them, the relationships need to reach that level of sophistication. I’m not sure how I feel about smooching Ghost Rider though. Worried I might burn my tongue. There’s also the fear that Disney wouldn’t let interpretations of their heroes be shown in compromising positions or relationships that go against established canon. But as I said before, this is so distant from the MCU that Firaxis should be free to take all these properties and do whatever it likes with them. That’s the key to a great game, and something that past efforts have continually failed to recognise.
Being a hopeless romantic means I have a habit of jumping into games that allow me to pursue relationships, knowing that my emotional investment will likely be rewarding with a climax that takes the developmental journey of these characters into account. Midnight Suns could more than deliver such a thing if Firaxis plays the right cards, creating a sense of passion, aggression, and tension between a group of heroes who are fighting to survive amidst the coming apocalypse. Just let me smooch everyone. ‘Nuff said.
Wait what do you mean I can’t?! Fuck sake.
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