When Giant Bomb told me I could write up a list for their site to cap off the year, I decided I was not going to subject you to something like a Top Ten Games or Best Characters list. You’ve got a half-dozen writers on this site to write that in a more entertaining way than I ever could. Instead, I wanted to focus on something that played more of a part in my gaming life this year than it usually does: Love.
That’s right, my list is about my favorite love interests in video games this year. And trust me, I had a long, long list from which to cull. Just the fact that Date Everything! came out this year already puts the list of romanceable characters into the triple digits. So without further ado, here are my favorite digital sweethearts from new games in 2025.
8. Dorian (Date Everything!)
There’s something to be said for making the best first impression, and Dorian the Doorfellow does precisely that at the beginning of indie dating sim Date Everything! He’s not the first Dateable object you meet – that’d be Skylar – but he’s the subject of your first, tutorialized overtures of connection. They could not have picked a better option than this handsome, grumbly-but-affable aperture.
In addition to being a heckuva tutorial for dating one’s own household fixtures, Dorian is also a regular presence around the player’s house, with multiple variations for every doorway. He might initially come off as a bit aloof if you’re hoping for a bit more flirtation at the outset, but he’s also perfectly willing to offer his friendship while a romance develops over time.
7. Eris (Hades II)
Hades 2, like its predecessor, offers its chthonic protagonist – Melinoe, in this case – the option to pursue love with multiple people. Of the two female-coded love interests, I found myself more drawn to Eris. Don’t get me wrong, Nemesis is beyond stunning, but I can’t help but love Eris’s giggly, chaotic energy. Also, she calls Mel and the player out on their gift-giving and meter-filling ways at one point, which was just the right flavor of meta to win me over.
Besides the surface appeal, Eris also speaks to the part of me that was getting just a tiny bit bored with Zagreus and Melinoe being so darned Poe-faced about their tangled family situation. Eris’s purpose in gameplay and in the story is to shake Mel’s tree lest things start getting too boring, and she does that so well I can’t even be mad at her for it.
Honorable mention: Autumn, Nora, and Kat in Lost Record: Bloom & Rage
I think Lost Records: Bloom & Rage sort of got lost in the shuffle, and I get it. It lacks the vibes of spiritual predecessor Life is Strange, but it still has its own kind of charm, and I particularly liked protagonist Swann. She has the option to pursue relationships with all three of her close friends in the parts of the game set before the timeskip, with effects on the parts set in 2022.
While none of the romances feel particularly in-depth, that’s understandable given that the characters are teenagers. Autumn is sweet and considerate. Kat is feisty and adventurous. Nora flirts openly and has a rebellious streak. While the game as a whole doesn’t leave too much of an impression, the love stories add some dimension that it would otherwise lack.
6. Betty (Date Everything!)
Yep, another Date Everything! entry – get used to it. This time, we have another character who makes a beautiful impression early in the game: Betty, your bed. She’s every bit as lovely and comfy and safe as a bed, and it’s a delight when you awaken her. Betty’s storyline isn’t as fraught as some of the other Dateables, but that’s not a bad thing. The house is full of drama, and Betty’s refreshingly free of it.
That’s not to say that Betty’s a simple character or a boring one, quite the contrary. Betty’s got her own concerns and feelings – and if you’re not into the raunchier aspects of Date Everything!, then Betty’s storyline might make you a bit uncomfortable. But if you’re prepared for that aspect of the game, Betty’s one of the most wonderful characters to spend time with.
5. Blonde Blazer (Dispatch)
AdHoc’s Dispatch does a great deal of things right, and none more so than its characters and writing. The romance in Dispatch is one of its selling points, I think, and clearly a lot of energy went into crafting the two primary love interests. And while she’s not my personal favorite, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t see the appeal of Blonde Blazer, protagonist Robert’s handler in the SDN.
Blazer is gorgeous, has her stuff together, and unfailingly has Robert’s back no matter how unruly the situation gets – and it gets very unruly towards the end of the game. While she may not have the element of mystery and danger that Invisigal does, Mandy’s a wonderful partner to have on Robert’s side both on and off the battlefield.
Honorable mention: Kai in Avowed
Avowed is… not the game to play if you want romance. That’s not really the relationship you have with your companions or the NPCs. Or so I thought for most of the game. Then you have the very late option to confess your feelings to Kai, your first party member.
It’s not really a romance, more the prelude to one. But still, I appreciate how interest and affection are approached in the context of the game’s story. Kai may not be open to exploring tender feelings during the Envoy’s quest, but it’s a chapter to be written later.
4. Icarus (Hades II)
I stated above that I’m fond of Eris from Hades 2, but of the romanceable options from the game, none captured me quite like sweet Icarus. His chemistry with Melinoe is far and away the best in the game, as this ill-fated mortal attempts to aid the princess of the Underworld in a fight far beyond his ken. That’s right, I love this romance so much I’m actually going to start talking like a Greek poet, and there’s nothing you can do about it!
Hades 2 treats its storyline about complicated family dynamics, isolation, and the effects of generational trauma with about as much seriousness as it can muster. That’s one of the reasons the romances feel extra-special – they’re sweet and frivolous in a setting where that sort of thing shouldn’t exist. Given his mythological backstory, Icarus is probably the character who can best understand the position Melinoe is in, and he’s a wonderful character to encounter.
3. Eddie/Volt (Date Everything!)
What’s better than one smooth, sultry character putting the moves on you? Double trouble. I think I’ve seen more fans of Eddie and Volt than I have for almost any other character in Date Everything!, and I get it, trust me. The electrical duo are two halves of a coin: Volt, the outgoing entertainer who manages the in-house club The Breaker Box; and Eddie, the put-upon hardware holding it all together.
But it’s not just about the pair of pretty faces on display: They have an interesting storyline about caretaking burnout and the burden of responsibility; about as serious as Date Everything! ever gets, and it took me by surprise at first. I didn’t expect these two, of all Dateables, to be the ones with a storyline about respect and friendship that would tug on my heartstrings – but here we are.
Honorable Mention: Everyone else in Date Everything!
I’ve made a bargain with myself to only include three characters from Date Everything! on the list proper. And I mean to stick to that. But I’d be doing the game a disservice if I didn’t acknowledge the other Dateables, especially since I didn’t even mention my personal favorites on this list.
The point of Date Everything! is the sheer range of potential romantic relationships on offer. Whatever you’re looking for, Date Everything! probably has it. Messy? Check. Unquestioningly supportive? Check. Dom? Check. Sub? Check. Weird, wonderful, and brimming with enthusiasm? Check, check, check, and I haven’t even covered half of the Dateables in the game.
2. Invisigal (Dispatch)
While I have already sung the praises of Blonde Blazer further up in the article, now I get to talk about my girl, Invisigal. Much like the former, I felt like I got a read on her from her introductory scene – prickly, uncouth, and not nearly as interested in redemption as her colleagues. But the longer I played and the more time I spent with her, the more interested I was. By the time of the bar fight, I was fully invested in seeing where her connection with Robert took them both.
Being totally honest here, I think the version of Dispatch I like the best is one without romance – poor Robert’s got enough going on without also defecating where he reluctantly eats. But I’m also a sucker for a well-written romance where both characters become better for having met each other, and that’s exactly what we get from the Invisigal route.
1. Hans (Kingdom Come: Deliverance II)
Okay, look. I’m aware that there is a contingent of fans who have something against Hans being a love interest in Deliverance II, for reasons that don’t interest me. It’s their loss, because the pair-up of Henry and his erstwhile frenemy Hans Capon was the most enjoyable romance I’ve seen in a game in 2025 – equal parts fun, funny, and sweet while also catalyzing some character growth on both sides.
Henry’s love story with Hans feels like something that has developed organically over years – because it has. The two characters’ chemistry snapped in the original game, and their enforced proximity and better understanding of each other in the sequel create the perfect transition into a genuine romantic connection. Sure, I could have done without the conspicuously crossed swords in the foreground of their love scene, but by the time it came around, I was just so happy that I didn’t care.