10 Best Gaming Love Stories

You don’t always think about love stories when it comes to gaming, but there are quite a few that stand out. Some of gaming’s most famous characters have had them and while some of only brief, they share a human side to these often hard to connect with characters.

Here are some of the best love stories in gaming history.

10 Ellie and Riley

The Last of Us: Left Behind

The Last of Us is an iconic game and a big reason why is the relationship between Joel and Ellie.

There is another impactful relationship in the series though, and that’s with Ellie and Riley in Left Behind.

Gay relationships are rarely explored in games and here, Naughty Dog managed to explore a teenage relationship of that variety and did so in a smart and touching way.

While Ellie and Riley start off as just good friends, throughout their hijinks in the mall together, you see an obvious closeness that speaks to more.

This all culminates with the two dancing together and sharing a kiss, which, while brief, is a revelation to the two of them, which is sadly short-lived.

This is because as soon as that moment happens, the two then get chased by zombies and eventually both are bitten, leading to a bittersweet ending with the two of them waiting to turn.

Of course, Ellie never does and has to leave Riley behind, getting the slightest glimpse of teenage innocence before her world is turned upside down.

It’s a short but sweet love story that gives insight into Ellie’s character and mindset in a big way and an integral piece of Last of Us media to consume.

9 Squall and Rinoah

Final Fantasy VIII

Final Fantasy VIII might be the black sheep of the franchise, but it houses one of the best love stories within.

Squall and Rinoah start out in the most innocent of ways, meeting at a school dance of all things, and from there, they go on one hell of a journey.

Squall slowly lowers his protective emotional cover to her and, as she becomes the literal enemy of the free world, he does nothing but stand by her no matter what fate has in store for her.

There isn’t a better moment to encapsulate this than when the two of them are alone, floating through space on a spacecraft, and Squall promises to defend her no matter what the world throws at her.

This sentiment even comes into play at the very end of the game during the final boss fight, and the final sequence shows just how much these two truly need each other.

8 Geralt and Yennifer

The Witcher 3

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a cruel world, but in that world, there are some moments of levity, and a lot of them take place with Geralt and Yennifer.

Their relationship is a wild one, involving memory loss, cheating (sort of), a kid that isn’t really theirs, and a lot of bloodshed.

Despite that, despite Yennifer working for an army that wants Geralt dead, despite Geralt falling for Triss due to amnesia, they manage to pull through it all.

Their relationship is fascinating and while it’s far from perfect, they are destined to be attached to each other, whether by fate, a literal spell, or by their care for Ciri, they battle through it all.

Of course, you can choose Triss if you want, but everyone knows that it’s Yennifer and no one else when it comes to what Geralt wants.

7 Noah and Mio

Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Xenoblade Chronciles 3 is a heart-wrenching game in many ways, but the biggest wrenches come from the story of Noah and Mio.

They’re not obvious lovers at the start of the game, but you know something is clearly there, and as the story reveals itself, that becomes the understatement of the century.

These two are literally destined to be together, having been together in countless cycles before, and even find themselves together in their evil versions of N and M as well.

Both are tasked with a tragic job, too. As senders of the fallen soldiers, they share many scenes of playing their flutes to send the souls of the dead to places unknown, and through this strife, they grow closer and closer, commiserating over their tragic assignment in life.

They are destined to be together, yet in order to save the world, they must be ripped apart at the end, leading to one of the most tragic sequences in the series.

Both are separated permanently for their worlds to survive, and while I still don’t understand exactly what happened there, all I know is it capped a beautiful story between the two and made for one of the best love stories in recent memory.

6 2B and 9S

Nier: Automata

This is another extremely unique love story, as 9S and 2B never even get the chance to voice their true feelings to each other.

Whether the love is platonic or romantic, that’s up to the player to decide, but regardless, the two are bound together, almost literally.

It starts off as a simple military mission with the two partnered up, and it quickly has 9S playing the part of the lovesick puppy dog for 2B while 2B is an ice queen focused on the mission and nothing else.

As time goes on and a gamut of insane and horrific events happen, 2B starts to soften up and shows how much she cares for 9S.

The tragic part is that this only happens after the 1000th time she has to kill him once he learns the truth.

Each new iteration of 9S shows that 2B is beginning to show true emotion toward him, and you’re hoping for that ultimate payoff between the two, which, sadly, never comes.

Their love story was meant for a less cruel world, as the one in Nier: Automata is far too dark to allow such a thing to blossom, and you’ll be wondering what if for a very long time after finishing this jaw-dropping game.

5 Deacon and Sarah

Days Gone

Days Gone is one of the more underrated games of the past 10 years, and one of the best parts of it is the love story you witness, which is largely in flashbacks between Deacon and his wife Sarah.

They are the most unlikely couple you could imagine, with Deacon being part of a biker gang and Sarah, a scientist, but despite that, they manage to work.

You get to see the moments of peace between them, roaming the countryside together and even getting to witness their wedding with the now infamous line “Promise to ride me as much as your bike.”

Despite that corniness, it’s clear the love between the two is strong, and that’s only bolstered by the two outstanding voice-acting performances.

It makes things all the more tragic when Deacon and Sarah are separated during a mass evacuation and, while Deacon thinks she’s long gone, their eventual reunion is one of the most thrilling and touching moments in the game.

You can feel what a momentous occasion it is for both characters, and it’s played very realistically and hits every mark it’s supposed to.

Days Gone may not be the classic it should’ve been, but it has a lot of heart.

4 V and Panam

Cyberpunk 2077

V is marked for death during his story in Cyberpunk 2077, and if you venture out of Night City, you can at least find some solace in your final hours with a woman named Panam.

She’s far from a damsel in distress and, instead, is a badass member of the Aldecaldos who helps V on various missions throughout the game.

She and V realize their situation isn’t great and that either could die at any minute, but despite that, they are brought together closely through all of the bullets and explosions filling up the majority of their lives.

Their banter is fantastic, and even in moments where things get tense, their love for each other shines through with every line.

While their relationship is optional to pursue, it’s an awesome love story that plays out, and it can lead to one of the best endings for V, where he might not only get a chance to survive but live out his life by Panam’s side.

3 The Boss and Naked Snake

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

Metal Gear Solid 3 is one of the best in the series and while the gameplay is amazing, the relationship between The Boss and Snake makes it so memorable.

Is it romance, duty, admiration, or all of the above that brings the two together during the course of this story?

The answer is somewhere in the gray area, and it’s one of the more unique love stories imaginable.

The Boss is Snake’s mentor and teaches him almost everything he knows while being known as a fierce operative in her own right.

Neither shows much emotion, but the undertones are there, it’s clear there is love there of some kind and even though it’s never quite clear what that kind is, you know it when you see it.

Of course, this love story can’t possibly have a happy ending, and it becomes soul-crushingly clear how it’s going to end near the end of the game.

This makes for a sequence that many gamers are going to dread when they have to play through it in the remake, which will surely inflict trauma on a whole new generation of players. Good luck.

2 Master Chief and Cortana

Halo

Halo doesn’t seem like the place for a love story to blossom, but one certainly does behind the visor of the iconic Master Chief.

This love story is between Master Chief, a super soldier, and Cortana, an AI that guides him on each mission.

It starts as merely a platonic-seeming work-like relationship, but each game, the relationship evolves more and more.

You start to hear the care in Cortana’s voice, and you get the same back from Master Chief as this seemingly impossible love story begins to bloom.

Of course, this is the gaming world and, for some reason, these love stories aren’t allowed happy endings.

The same goes here as she grows out of control, dies, comes back, takes over the world and then dies again.

We can ignore how this one ends, though, as those first few games with her at Chief’s side give us one of the best back-and-forths in gaming and a unique “never could work” relationship that hasn’t often been seen.

1 Cloud and Tifa

Final Fantasy VII

Some of you may be seething that this isn’t Cloud and Aerith, but there is no doubt who the true power couple of Final Fantasy VII is.

Tifa and Cloud are childhood friends who go through a lot of trauma together and when they finally reunite years later, the attraction between them is immediate.

Tifa knows something is up with Cloud, but she knows who he really is, and you can see the chemistry between the two of them bouncing off the screen whether you’re playing the original or the remake.

Cloud plays it cool, but Tifa breaks down that facade with little effort, and they share many deep conversations throughout the game. You can tell how jealous Tifa gets whenever another girl is out for Cloud.

Of course, the arrival of Aerith turns this into a full-on love triangle, but we all know how that one ends.

Tifa is so vital to Cloud later in the story when he falls into the Lifestream, but her love for him never wanes, even when he’s legitimately comatose.

They are perhaps the most important love story in gaming history, as it was the first one to show how deep and intricate a love story could be while remaining a big part of the larger plot.