Sometimes, when two video game characters love each other very much, their models awkwardly bump up against each other while a voice actor does a usually very good job of making you feel less ashamed about knowing that the romance of it all could easily have been interrupted by a badly timed t-pose if the devs weren’t as locked in as they usually are.
Anyway, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, despite Bioware previously having been a bit coy about wangs, is one one those RPGs that proudly boasts the option to engage in the kind of virtual romance that’s just about socially acceptable, provided you don’t start looking up the prices of certain unofficial merch. This is detailed in explanation of the ESRB rating for it that’s finally arrived, as well as a rather hilarious bit of cherry-picked dialogue that’s got players giggling.
“The game contains some sexual material,” this summary reads, “characters kissing, moaning, and straddling each other; characters caressing each other while in their underwear; dialogue referencing sex (e.g., ‘Think about us having sex’; ‘Are you trying to have sex with me?’). Characters are sometimes depicted topless for prolonged periods of time (e.g., character customization) and/or during love scenes. The word ‘f**k’ appears in the game.”
As you might expect, ‘Are you trying to have sex with me?’ – given the multitude of contexts and meanings it could have, from flirty, to p**sed off, to mocking, and to a thing that could just be said by a companion who wants you to stop rummaging through their inventory – is the bit that’s gotten folks talking. Who says it, many on Reddit have asked, while others have offered guesses including, Lucanis, Bellara, Rook themselves and, er, Solas.
Lucanis looks to be earning the most nods so far, with one user decaring: “the only person awkward enough to ask the question this way is Lucanis and it will destroy the internet if it happens”. No pressure on the fella, then.
It doesn’t look like we’re quite at the stage of people fan-arting characters saying the line into existence, as they did with “I will bring myself sexual pleasure later, while thinking about this with great respect” – the sus line of choice from Dragon Age: Inquisition’s ESRB summary, but hey, there’s time yet.
If you’re struggling to make it through the final stretch before Veilguard comes out on October 31 and you can find out who says the thing, make sure to re-watch what we saw of the game at September’s State of Play and check out our hands-on preview from earlier this year..