The Red String Issue in Witcher 3

[Winter]

The Witcher 3 is often regarded as one of the best games of all time, with some even going as far to call it THE BEST Game Ever. I personally wouldn't go that far but it is great and a personal favorite of mine and I've even used to as a go to example of how to due certain story ideas in a game right... However, there are a number of flaws (I personal find the platforming, swimming and general movement to be rather lackluster, some (defiantly not all) of the voice acting is kinda lackluster (not a fan of Laura Rogers' performance as Tamara as she sounds, to me, almost lifeless) and there are honestly WAAAY to many side quests and I feel that many fans exaggerate how great said side quests are) but for me one of the game's biggest issues is how it handles romance options.

If there is a character whom you can romance the game will REALLY Push into having a relationship with said character. Like they include someone to be a shipper on deck who will, at every opportunity, push you to be in a relationship with said character. And if you don't enter in a relationship the game will basically chastise you for not entering into a relationship. And you can make it clear that you aren't interested in a romance with ANYONE and it will keep pressuring you every chance you get.

The worst of these is, IMO, Ciri with Skjall.

Just to test this, I picked every optional bit of dialogue and picked options in my first conversation with him and the time clocks out at about 2 minutes ad 40 seconds at most and yet the game acts as if you should be in love with him and will ONLY back off the subject if you, as Ciri, state that you prefer woman romantically... And then you go BACK Skellige and no matter how you interacted with Skjall (you can only really be indifferent towards him) the game has Ciri act like he was someone she cared deeply about even if you showed no real interest towards him. In fact, going with Ciri to find Skjall's body and bury him is one of the major choices that will affect if Ciri lives or dies.

At least with Geralt all the woman he can romance there's some history or you at least get to spend more then 2 minutes with them so you can actually get to know them but even then it's rather annoying how the game just assumes you'll be interested in a romance on the grounds that you've exchange more then two words with someone.

Luckily the writing and the chemistry between the actors is strong enough to carry the relationship and those who are the love interest DON'T try to force themselves so it avoids being full on Romantic Love Tumors but it still bugs the hell out of me and this is coming from a romantic.

[CharlesPhipps]

I think you're overstating the issue.

Ciri's interest in Skjall isn't necessarily romantic, though she CAN hook up with him if she wants because there's no reason for women not to be as horny as men in this series and they frequently are. Ciri feels an obligation to Skjall because she got the poor bastard killed while he was trying to help her.

Ciri has a vast-vast experience of psychopaths and assholes so meeting a genuinely nice person makes her feel an obligation to him.

Especially since his attempt to save her life not only got him killed but discommendated by Viking society.

[Winter]

I think you're overstating the issue.

Ciri's interest in Skjall isn't necessarily romantic, though she CAN hook up with him if she wants because there's no reason for women not to be as horny as men in this series and they frequently are. Ciri feels an obligation to Skjall because she got the poor bastard killed while he was trying to help her.

Ciri has a vast-vast experience of psychopaths and assholes so meeting a genuinely nice person makes her feel an obligation to him.

Especially since his attempt to save her life not only got him killed but discommendated by Viking society.

Fair enough but my issue is how this is framed. Unless you make it clear your not interested in Skjall the conversation in the sauna is asking you if your interested in Skjall and Ciri's love life is the main focus. The game will draw attention to Mistle (which is a WHOLE level of creepy when you know the actual relationship (they better fix that in the Netflix show)) even though she is not named and then starts asking if your interested in Skjall in a romantic way.

What bugs me is that the game doesn't want to entertain the idea of the two just being friends and indirectly drawing attention to Mistle is doing Skjall a deserves IMO. I love a good romance but I like solid friendships to and my issue here is that Skjall isn't given enough time to have either a kind of relationship and the fact that it pushes the romance angle so hard is annoying.

Again, we're given two minutes with him and it just feels forced. I don't mind the idea that Ciri feels she owe a good person who was punished for helping her but the framing comes off as "This is all due to romantic feelings between the two."

Please do note that I do feel sorry for Skjall and feel that he was needlessly punished and that works well I just don't like it when a game tries to pressure me into a romance.