Summary
- Non-player romances in video games sometimes have a stronger impact than player-controlled ones.
- These romances develop subtly in the background, offering authenticity and complexity.
- Underscored by quiet moments, the best NPC romances feel more genuine and believable.
Romance in video games tends to revolve around player choices — dialogue wheels, affection meters, awkward flirt animations — but sometimes, the best love stories are the ones happening just outside the player’s reach. The relationships that unfold between NPCs, told through side quests, background conversations, or story events, often hit harder than anything a romance subplot could deliver. Maybe it’s because they’re not built to please the player. They’re just... There. Quiet, sincere, complicated, sometimes tragic — and always authentic.
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These are the best romances that don’t directly involve the player but still manage to leave a mark. From long-lost lovers to unexpected pairings that somehow make perfect sense, here are the best non-player romances in games, ranked from great to unforgettable.
1 Wakka And Lulu
Final Fantasy 10/10-2
Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster
- Released
- March 18, 2014
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Publisher(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
At first glance, Wakka and Lulu don’t seem like a couple. He’s a laid-back blitzball jock, and she’s all black leather, sarcasm, and stacked belts. But, they’ve been through too much not to understand each other on a deeper level. Both grieving the same loss — Chappu, Lulu’s former lover and Wakka’s brother — they find a strange comfort in each other’s presence that gradually blossoms into love.
What’s unique about their relationship is that it happens almost entirely in the background. Final Fantasy X never shoves it in players’ faces. There are no dramatic declarations or cinematic kisses. It’s in the way they talk to each other, how Lulu softens around Wakka, how he quietly supports her without overstepping.
By the time Final Fantasy X-2 rolls around, they’re married and have a child named Vidina. It’s a rare instance of a JRPG actually showing what happens after the credits roll. And somehow, it makes Spira feel more alive — like time moved forward even when the focus wasn’t on them. Their romance might be understated, but that’s what makes it believable.
2 Parvati And Junlei
The Outer Worlds
The Outer Worlds
- Released
- October 25, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Obsidian Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
- Private Division
- Genre(s)
- RPG
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Parvati Holcomb might be one of the most tender, well-written companions in any RPG, and her crush on Junlei Tennyson, the no-nonsense engineer of the Groundbreaker, is handled with more care than most player-led romances. What makes their story stand out isn’t the drama; it’s the gentleness. The awkwardness. The emails that take too long to write, the fear of saying the wrong thing — the vulnerability of putting yourself out there when you’ve never done it before.
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The protagonist doesn’t romance Parvati, but they play the ultimate wingman. Players get to help her build confidence, pick the right perfume, and even practice conversations. It’s sweet, wholesome, and impossibly rare in a genre that often treats relationships as side objectives.
And Junlei? She doesn’t just respond with affection — she sees Parvati. Not as someone broken or needing fixing, but as someone worth knowing, just as she is. Their romance is a slow burn, full of nervous energy and impossibly charming. In a world filled with corporate greed and dying planets, they’re proof that something small and soft can still survive.
3 Barret Wallace And Myrna
Final Fantasy 7
Final Fantasy 7 Remake
- Released
- April 10, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix Business Division 1
- Publisher(s)
- Square Enix
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Most players remember Barret Wallace as the gun-armed eco-warrior with a voice that can start avalanches. But beneath the rage, there’s a guy who’s trying to keep people safe — and someone who’s already lost more than he ever says. That’s where Myrna comes in. She’s not in the spotlight much, but in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake, she owns the bar and safehouse in Sector 7, and there’s clearly something between them.
It’s never spelled out. No side quest, no romance flags. But, the way Barret softens around her, the way she watches over Marlene, the fact that she runs the bar where AVALANCHE operates... It’s all there. Something familiar, something long-standing. Something that doesn’t need to be shouted from rooftops to be real.
This is a love that doesn’t need a dramatic arc. It exists in glances, in co-parenting, in unspoken trust, and in a story as chaotic and operatic as Final Fantasy VII, it’s that kind of quiet love that sticks with players the most. It stands as a reminder that sometimes, the strongest relationships are the ones that stay just out of focus.
4 Steiner And Beatrix
Final Fantasy 9
Final Fantasy 9
- Released
- July 7, 2000
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Publisher(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Captain Steiner spends most of Final Fantasy 9 shouting, clanking, and being the royal court’s most oblivious tin can. General Beatrix, on the other hand, is stoic, terrifyingly competent, and can wipe the floor with most of the party single-handedly. On paper, they shouldn’t work. But, over the course of the story, something surprising happens — they fall for each other.
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Their romance is a slow drip, with little moments of trust, shared battles, and clumsy admiration peeking through. Steiner softens, Beatrix opens up, and together, they represent something pretty rare: a relationship between two people who grow into each other rather than collide dramatically.
Players never get a front-row seat to their love story, but it’s happening just behind the curtain. They start fighting for the same cause, they start respecting each other, and eventually, they end up together. There’s something quietly wonderful about a pair that doesn’t need a grand confession — they just need time.
5 Chiral Artist And Junk Dealer
Death Stranding
Death Stranding
- Released
- November 8, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Kojima Productions
- Platform(s)
- iOS, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Action
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
In Death Stranding, most people live isolated, disconnected from the world and from each other, locked away behind bunkers and holograms. That makes the story of the Chiral Artist and the Junk Dealer hit even harder. Two people who loved each other but were separated by grief, miscommunication, and a world that had stopped making sense.
The Junk Dealer believes the Chiral Artist is dead, and he’s let bitterness consume him. But, Sam Bridges becomes the literal bridge between them — reconnecting their communication, unraveling the truth, and helping them find each other again. It’s one of those moments that feels earned, not because it’s flashy, but because it’s deeply human.
Their reunion isn’t perfect. There’s still pain. But, there’s also hope. And, in a game where players haul packages across mountains and ruins just to keep people connected, their love story fits perfectly. It reminds players what all that effort is really for — so people can find each other again, even in a world gone quiet.
6 Kafei And Anju
The Legend Of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
- Released
- October 26, 2000
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo EAD
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo 64, GameCube
There’s nothing traditional about the romance between Kafei and Anju in Majora’s Mask, which fits right in with the rest of Termina’s warped reality. Players stumble into their story while the moon threatens to flatten the world in three days. Kafei, mysteriously missing, is actually hiding — transformed into a child by the mischievous Skull Kid and too ashamed to face Anju on their wedding day.
The side quest to reunite them isn’t just one of the most elaborate in the Zelda series; it’s also one of the most emotionally loaded. Link helps them navigate secret letters, secret meetings, and a ticking clock. And when they finally reunite — mere hours before the apocalypse — they choose to spend the end of the world together, rather than flee. It’s a heartbreakingly mature take on love and commitment in a series usually more focused on magical triangles and boomerangs.
What makes it even more powerful is that it’s entirely optional. Players can finish Majora’s Mask without ever helping them. But, those who do are rewarded with one of the most bittersweet conclusions in the franchise — and a reminder that sometimes, love isn’t about happy endings; it’s about standing together even when everything’s falling apart.
7 Edi And Joker
Mass Effect 3
Mass Effect 3
- Released
- March 6, 2012
WHERE TO PLAY
Nobody expected EDI — the Normandy’s onboard AI turned into a humanoid robot — to end up in a relationship. And certainly not with Joker, the wisecracking pilot with brittle bone disease and an unhealthy relationship with sarcasm. But somehow, it works.
Their romance doesn’t unfold through a traditional questline. It creeps in through conversations, subtle shifts in body language, and the way Joker’s usual snark starts turning into actual affection. He’s wary at first, unsure if he’s being played, but EDI keeps pushing, curious about what it means to be human, to care, to love.
After EDI acquires a humanoid platform, rather than only existing as the Normandy's onboard AI, their bond becomes something real. It’s not just a novelty pairing — it’s about a guy who’s always felt physically limited learning to open up, and an AI learning how to feel. And somehow, in a universe filled with reapers, politics, and looming annihilation, this weird little love story ends up being one of the most grounded parts of the trilogy.
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