Lucanis Romance Super Disappointing
I had to stop bringing Neve with me because he flirts so obviously with her and gives me scraps. Being one of the clear forefront winners for romance before the release, wtf were the writers thinking...
Forum Discussion
Ironically to your user name because I've been thinking about this -- after getting locked out of Lucanis, I went for Davrin. I actually really enjoyed Davrin's romance for what it was -- anything was better than the awfulness I had just been handed. Which ticked me off even more that Davrin's romance was overshadowed by my continued outrage about Lucanis. The game refused to stop rubbing in my face that they ripped the Lucanis romance away from me. Davrin had one super hot moment when flirting, I was actually fanning myself a little bit, and had hope that there would be major payout. Every time I thought, maybe it's for the best that it didn't work out with Lucanis -- Davrin's mega hot, emotionally available, AND I can get a griffon stepkid? HELL YEAH. I can overlook the repetitive conversations that don't do anything to move his story forward, and the bizarre obsession with the game about fiber and griffon poop, I feel like there are plenty of other things that could have served Davrin's precious voice time better. But then I had to be affronted with Neve and Lucanis flirting, Lucanis asking me dating advice for Neve like we're best friends (like what???? I was not the one who wanted to end this romance, I don't give a !@#$ about your gooseberry pie, Mr. I Don't Have Time.)
I had the thought that they ended up doing for Davrin what BG3 failed to do for Wyll. Both of them being lawful good. Davrin is a great example of being a good guy who also has that sexy undertone when he wants.
BUT I feel like BioWare Wyll'd every single character including Davrin by the end in making Rook decide their fates for them, in such a binary simplistic way. What the hell. Every single character I was screaming inside because I could think of at least three additional choices to make for them instead of the super weird and frankly insulting two that I utterly disagreed with, or hated the results of. For every single character.
Also, I think the marketing team in dread and terror saw how popular BG3 was and why, and tried to like sneak DATV into the nest like we wouldn't notice??? Deep and complex romance, mature themes, nudity! There was NO nudity I saw outside of the character creation, none. Why have that be a thing if it's not a thing? And the initial awesome flirting with Davrin sadly devolved into a sterile nothing burger in the end.
The entire game was so watered down that it lost all flavor. Super sad. I can't believe how much they botched it when it came to the characters.
I completely agree with everything you said. I chose Davrin to try to romance first, partly because Larian botched up so many things about Wyll's romance (modders have fixed a few thinigs here and there, but not the overall disdain that Larian seemed to have for Wyll) and was hoping, according to the marketing like you said, that DATV did all of this right!
But, what seemed like a nice little romance starting, turned into repetitive food and poop scenes with Davrin, like you mentioned. So, I started another game to romance Lucanis - I mean, he's Italian right - a natural romantic... am I right? In looking for some way to get word to BioWare (haven't found much of a way to do that) how much they blew it, I found all the info on this board and now I'm depressed even about Lucanis. And, you hit the nail on the head about Lucanis asking for dating advice with Neve while I'm "trying" to romance Davrin - now that I know the whole story, that just sucks that they throw that in your face!
It's almost like they intentionally made all these romances and side romances, and as I'm finding out now there is no nudity - all to just say "screw you fans for now liking Anthem," or something... I don't know what could have been in the minds of those who surely knew of all the success that BG3 has had, and surely they looked at mod resources *(Nexus Mods an obvious place) to see what all the fans really wanted to see in a game - you can tell what they didn't get right in a game by what mods are usually made and become popular. It makes me wonder if humans or an "up and coming" AI is actually running EA and BioWare.
So, I'm at the point of no return in the story with Davrin - now that I know nothing more happens, I don't really have anything much pulling me back to finish the game. Just the obvious curiosity of what happens in the end in general is the only thing - I obviously won't be happy with any of the romantic endings.
This game is fit for young innocent fans, not adults! Outside of a little gore and a few slang words, there's nothing else "adult" about this game. Given 10 years in the making, I'm fairly sure the cost of this production is quiet steep and with the results at this point, raise your hand if you think they'll make a profit.
The best thing BioWare games have going for them, relative to other game studios, is that they actually take the time and effort to give the protagonist a voice. Cyberpunk was too lazy to make a 3rd person cam - Bethesda took a step backwards from Fallout 4 (which had a speaking protagonist) to Starfield by not having speaking lines for the protagonist. At least Bethesda games are easy to mod, though.
I'll likely end up cancelling my EA PlayPro plan - I guess I can't ask for a refund of any sort for this game, but I may try just to tick them off.
