Video games are full of romance, if you know where to look. Whether it be through visual novels or RPGs letting you choose who you end up with, narratives about reuniting with one true loves, or even fanfiction reading between the lines of a game's subtext, romance is never too far from our thumbsticks. It makes a lot of sense - people feel passionate about video games, they become emotionally invested in the stories and characters, and so they care about what happens to them. For all RPGs are, as their name states, about role-play, we tend to see our characters as self-inserts, especially when it comes to romance - we choose the NPC we feel the most affinity to, not the one who is the best fit for our character. But sometimes, the most powerful romances don't involve us at all.
One of my favourite examples of this trope is 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Outer Worlds' Parvati Holcomb. Parvati is one of the first characters you meet in the space-faring RPG, and the one who best encapsulates its atmosphere. I enjoyed the game enough at the time, but absence has made the heart grow fonder as more and more games have leaned away from meaningful choices and reduced everything down to dramatic but ineffectual binaries. Removing the element of player choice allows for grander set-pieces, but often leads to shallower stories.
The Outer Worlds deserves a lot of credit for its depth, not only in how you impact the world, but in how the characters interact with it independent from you. That shines through in Parvati's romance. In the game, she has a crush on fellow mechanic Junlei Tennyson, but is unsure what to do with those feelings. Part of this is a natural shyness and lack of self-confidence, but most of it comes from the fact Parvati is asexual. This can often be the cause of anxiety with new or potential partners, but the fact Junlei is cheeky, flirtatious, and highly confident only exacerbates this.
This is why Parvarti's story is so important. Firstly, we have a lack of asexual representation in gaming - contains just four, and that's from only two games: Siffrin and Mirabelle from In Stars and Time, which isn't even out yet, then Parvati and the player-character (who can optionally tell Parvati they too are asexual during the discussion) in The Outer Worlds. So of canon characters in games you can currently play, that would be just Parvati. As ever, wiki lists aren't always complete, but those are low numbers.
It's not just that Parvati is asexual though, it's that her personal quest still revolves around romance. A lot of people think of asexuals as completely rejecting love and all the closeness that comes with it, and this viewpoint isn't born of malice but of ignorance. While most people love their partner, they also think of sex as the natural way to express that love. When someone wants to opt out of that expression, it's reasonable that one might assume they opt out of the whole thing. Characters like Parvati show the nuance that exists in asexuality.
However, this isn't why I love Parvati or her story. Lots of things are important. Eating vegetables is important. Carburettors are important. That doesn't mean I have to love them. It's because of the closeness the quest offers that I love it. The framework is not too inventive - first you talk to Parvati, then Junlei, then Parvati again, before gathering some basic items. On paper there's nothing to it, but the game's not played on paper. Every conversation, every cutscene, and every item has a deeper importance that leaves a more resonant connection long after you've forgotten about how much XP it earned you.
Parvati is not the only gaming romance in which the player is a bystander - plenty of games feature couples too, like 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Mass Effect 3, which sees Garrus and Tali get together so long as🌳 you leave the pai📖r alone. It's also not unique in featuring a fetch quest - you may be aware that video games have used those before once or twice too. Her asexuality obviously adds another layer that helps it stand out, but mostly it is just a game that cares about its characters and asks you to care along with it.
As gaming's solitary major asexual character, Parvati is an important part of gaming history. But she's not just a piece of representation or a flag disguised as a person. She's a core part of why The Outer Worlds has stuck with me for so long, and a fantastic character in her own right. Pride Month is as good a month as any to recognise her value.