The second video in our homage of video games from the 2010s is here! This time you may not be reaching for tissues like the last video. Or well you might be depending on your relationship status. Times are a little tough right now and we all need a little love in our lives. If you’ve got your special someone make sure to appreciate the little moments you have. And if you’re stuck on your own during quarantine than don’t worry. The feeling is virtual.
Here’s our list of couples that will inspire even the most cynical of love skeptics. These couples have survived the post-apocalypse, war and the greatest criminal of all: self-sabotage. You know what I’m talking about. So let’s get into it. As usual, if you’re liking this new style of video or even this series, let us know by giving us a like or a comment! For the rest of our 2010s series open up a tab with this link.
– – – WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD – – –
1. Shepard & Garrus – Mass Effect (2010 – 2012)
Commander Shepard can get it. She can get it on with anyone on that damn ship but it’s really only natural that she falls for Garrus. Garrus Vakarian is the Robin to Shepard’s Batman. He’s her best friend, her comrade in arms and someone that will always have her back. Not to mention he’s cuter than a box of puppies and is so charming my PC overheated.
You first meet Garrus way back in the first Mass Effect game, he’s a C-Sec officer who’s tired with all the office politics in the Turian military. Aren’t we all. Initially, you’re unable to romance him in the first game but due to popular demand, he becomes an option in Mass Effect 2 and 3.
With Garrus, it’s more than just the physical stuff, minus the whole Turian chafing thing. It’s the fact that in this crazy messed up universe Garrus has only one friend and that’s Shepard. And for Shepard, well there’s nobody you would trust more than Garrus. In a world of impending doom, love is hard and seemingly has no place, but Garrus will never be the one to let you down. He’s the beacon of hope that always reminds her that she’s not alone and that they’re in it together. They’re a team. There is no Shepard without Vakarian.
2. BJ Blazkowicz & Anya Oliwa – Wolfenstein (2014 – 2019)
William J. Blazkowicz who goes by the unfortunate nickname B.J. is living in a post-World War 2 timeline where the Allies have lost, and the Nazis have taken over. A former American agent B.J. sustained critical head injuries during the war and has been sleeping it off into 1960 in an asylum. Way to nap through your country’s defeat B.J.
14 years later into B.J.’s coma he’s given a rude awakening when the asylum he’s in is attacked by Nazi soldiers. Together, he and Anya cut and run to escape into a life of Nazi fighting. Of course, love ensues. The world of Wolfenstein is dark and grim, and it seems like the Resistance is at the end of a losing battle. B.J. wants but does not allow himself to believe that love will ever happen in his life. Not with the way the world is. But that all changes when he falls in love with Anya. Even by the end, he can hardly believe that their relationship is real.
Anya and B.J.’s relationship is the glimmer of light amidst the hardship of humanity’s struggle. Both refuse to surrender no matter how dire the circumstances. There’s this moment in Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, after B.J. has sustained some life-threatening injuries where he just wants to give up on living. He knows he’s dying and he doesn’t want to be a burden on Anya. But gurl refuses to wallow in his pity party. She’s never going to give up on them no matter what.
3. Geralt & Yennefer – Witcher 3 (2015)
Are you team Triss or team Yennefer? Or did you romance them both? Ya dog! I know I’m inviting a lot of hate to this video with this relationship but there’s a lesson to be learned here. That sometimes try as you might, you can’t fight fate. And Geralt has always been fated to be with Yennefer.
The thing about fate is that it’s going to happen whether you like it or not. You can try and fight it, which they did. But in the end, they always end up together. Is it the easiest relationship in the Witcher? No. They’re both headstrong, proud and strong-willed. But the messed up person that Geralt thinks he is, well Yennefer is messed up in the same way. They understand each other in a way that nobody else can.
She is the person that is never far from Geralt’s mind and one that he will never hesitate to choose in any situation. They keep annoyingly trying to deny the relationship, but in the end, they keep coming back to each other. You’re the one, Yen.
4. Nathan Drake & Elena Fisher – Uncharted: A Thief’s End (2016)
Are your couple goals more white picket fence and kids? Or more world-hopping treasure hunting? Why not have both? It certainly worked out for Nathan Drake and Elena Fisher.
Now, this relationship happened a little earlier than our timeline permits in 2007 with the first Uncharted game. But it’s on this list because Drake and Elena only found the true meaning of love in A Thief’s End, 2016. Back then, Nathan Drake was a freewheeling flirt with only one thing on his mind. Treasure hunting. What begins as a red-hot flirtation between Elena and Drake turns into a real relationship over the course of the next three games.
Their love by no means starts off as a fairy tale and their marriage even less so. Drake and Elena got married off-screen after the events of Uncharted 2 but by game 3 they had split. We don’t get to see what happened, but I think we can all assume that Drake wasn’t ready to say goodbye to his adventuring days. Instead, he lied to Elena and snuck off. Maybe he just needed that one last hurrah or maybe he just needed to learn to communicate better. But by the end of 3, they both realized neither one wanted to leave the other and they were going to make it work.
The treasure that Drake was searching for wasn’t Avery’s riches. That would have drowned him. Instead, the treasure he was looking for all along was the love that he already had. Awwwwwww.
5. Deacon St. John & Sarah Whitaker – Days Gone (2019)
Days Gone is less a game about the end of the world and more about survival. It’s about how there’s still hope and love to be found amid this cruel post-apocalypse. At the beginning of the game, we’re introduced to rough biker man Deek. Two years alive at the end of the world. Deek has lost the love of his life, his wife Sarah and spends a lot of his time being angry about it. He can’t help but think about her, talk about her and regularly visits the memorial he’s made for her. In the meantime, I can’t get my boyfriend to text me back…
Deacon never lost hope that Sarah was still alive. So, when they eventually do meet again as much as we want to see that Hollywood moment where they run into each other’s arms. They don’t. They stare at each other, too overwhelmed to process what’s happening. They both want to be there together but it’s not that simple anymore. They’re both different people now.
It’s hard to watch them both struggle with their internal conflicts. But it makes the raw emotions they feel at the end of the day real. Their love is undeniable no matter how much they’ve changed.
So, there we have it, our list of videogame couples that will make you believe in love! Do you have any more couples you’d like to add in? Comment your favourite relationships below! And if you liked our 2010s series do check out our other articles.
• 10 Video Game Moments From The 2010s That Wil Make You Ugly Cry
• 10 Surprising Games of the 2010s That Nobody Saw Coming
• 8 of the most WTF Moments In Gaming of the 2010s
