Josh Sawyer has been outspoken about his dislike of RPG romances for nearly two decades now, first in response to fans calling for more options in Neverwinter Nights 2, and more recentlywith the unprecedented success of Baldur’s Gate 3and its cast of amorous sweet-talkers. But that doesn’t mean Obsidian will never dabble with kissing companions in future games.
WhenPC Gamerasked if there’s at least one RPG out there that has done romances well, Sawyer had an answer in the barrel —Cyberpunk 2077. He even said that if he were to “base romances on anything, I’d probably do something like that.”
You might expect Obsidian to take cues from Larian, which has arguably set a new bar for RPGs (Sawyer even said thata hypothetical Pillars of Eternity 3 would be just “like Baldur’s Gate 3”), but his reasons for preferring CD Projekt Red’s approach are pretty compelling.
Why Josh Sawyer Prefers Cyberpunk 2077 Romance To Baldur’s Gate 3
There are a few key problems he has with romances in RPGs: a) they feel like checklists with “victory conditions”, b) they don’t mesh well with pacing, and c) it feels ‘odd’ to have such intimate conversations besides everyone else at camp. But Cyberpunk 2077 circumvents most of these issues, especially the muddier pacing. “You do something with Judy, let’s say, and then you wrap it up, you have a convo, and then she’s like, ‘I gotta do some things, bye,'” Sawyer explained. “She is gone, and you’re not going to hear from her until time has elapsed, and probably until you’ve progressed a critical path.”
In games like Baldur’s Gate 3, those walls where you may’t progress a character’s narrative any further are more noticeable because you’re stuck at camp with them. They don’t have their own lives outside of the adventure, so you’re left waiting for Gale to ‘unlock’ more dialogue, as opposed to your next meet-up.
In Cyberpunk 2077, “There’s a built-in pacing, so the development of the human component of that relationship is developed over content that is specifically made for the two of you […] They feel like they have their own lives, but you keep coming back together to continue that storyline,” Sawyer said. “It’s not to say that’s flawless, but I really do enjoy that way of doing them.”
It’s easy to understand why Sawyer prefers Cyberpunk 2077’s approach when considering why he was so against romances way back in 2006. At the time, he posted that he didn’t “like the idea that you can ‘win’ everything or get everyone on your side,” a sentiment he seems to still hold. CDPR’s approach certainly moves away from that mindset.
That being said, even with Sawyer lathering Cyberpunk 2077’s romance in praise, don’t expect to see Obsidian roll out the red carpet anytime soon.The Outer Worlds 2has “almost no romance”, and you can’t smooch anyone inAvowed. Maybe we’ll get to make out with a tarantula inGrounded 2, though, eh?
