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It’s episode four of RPS’ indiepodcastIndiescovery and this week the team got into the Valentine’s Day spirit and had a long chat about our favourite indie game romances (any excuse to gush about how hot the characters are in Hades, really). We get gabbing about our favourite game OTPs, the fabulous representation of queer romances in indies, and then finish with a cursed (not horny) Cosmo-style dating quiz.
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Episode Notes
Our initial frolick into the realm of video game romances starts with the first games we remember playing with romance options. For Liam, that would beHarvest Moon: A Wonderful Lifeon the GameCube, the ninth entry in a series that is considered the great, great grandpappy of allfarming games. Rebecca’s is theGabriel Knight seriesfor PC, a game that she remembers being quite sweet in amongst the murder-mystery-ing. For me, I lament about villagers moving away in theAnimal Crossingseries, which will never stop feeling like you’ve just been broken up with, and my frustrations with having to choose either Yennefer or Tris inThe Witcher- of which my choice is NEITHER.
We then jump into our favourite romances in indie games. Liam kicks us off with Gregg ‘Be Gay, Do Crimes’ Lee and Angus Delaney fromNight In The Woods. Rebecca’s OTP is Anna and Ashley fromSimulacra, a surprise pairing in what is an incredibly creepyhorror game. My vote goes to Red and her giant sword boyfriend fromTransistor, which leads us to chatting about all of our favourite dateable weapons inBoyfriend Dungeon.
We then get into a bit of chatter about representation and how indies have recently led the charge for queer romances outside of the hetero norm. There’s been a great deal of progress in a short amount of time for LGBTQIA rep, so we dive into why that’s the best thing ever.
To sign off on all our romance hot-takes, Liam prepared a saucy (but, again, not horny) dating quiz where Rebecca and I each get coupled up with an indie game through hilarious, if completely cursed, multiple choice questions.
This episode is a little more loosely structured, so here is a quick list of other games we mention in passing:A Year of Springs,Monster Prom,Firewatch,Unpacking,Bustafellows(and otome games in general),Mystic Messenger,Stardew Valley, and a big ol’ chat aboutHades.
For this week’s hyperfixations, Rebecca has startedDanganronpa 2, a dangerous decision for someone who became completely obsessed with the first game, I’m diving straight into the deep end in cosmic horror fishing simDredge, and Liam is trying to recover from the emotional devastation of finishing Telltale’sThe Walking Dead(hopefully listening to Paramore’s new album is helping, bud).
