Starfield offers players a selection of romance options, but they fail to match up to what Baldurs Gate 3 brings to the table. While the potential romantic partners available in Starfield do give the game some extra roleplaying opportunities, there are a few areas where they unfortunately fall short. At the very least, players do get a selection of characters to choose from, in addition to the option to keep their protagonist single, should they so desire. However, romance in Starfield does have some stumbling blocks that happen to appear in areas where Baldur's Gate 3 has excelled.

It wasn't much of a surprise when Starfield's romance mechanic was revealed. After all, romance has become something of a trend in Bethesda RPGs. Skyrim had a large amount of characters that were available for the Dragonborn to marry, and many of Fallout 4's companions doubled as romance options as well. Romancing a character typically had them speak more affectionately of the protagonist, while in Skyrim they even offered the chance to get a house together. The fact that Starfield ended up following the trend of romanceable characters makes it seem like a mechanic that can be expected in Bethesda games to come.

RELATED: Starfield Pipes Have Some Problems

Starfield's Romances Are Lacking Something Compared to Baldur's Gate 3

In total, there are four romanceable characters in Starfield that the player can choose from. They consist of former soldier Sarah Morgan, cultist-turned-astronomer Andreja, cheerful explorer Barrett, and space cowboy Sam Coe. All of them are members of Constellation, so the player should become familiar with each of them over the course of the game. Ironically, this ends up being one of the weaknesses of Starfield's romances, since despite their different backstories and personal missions, their goals are ultimately the same. In addition, while players can certainly play a devious, cutthroat type of character, that doesn't gel with any of the romance options' personalities.

Even before going into the options, one advantage for Baldur's Gate 3's romanceable characters is their variety. There are eight of them, and all are quite different. From the cheerful tiefling barbarian Karlach to dashing human warlock Wyll, there's bound to be a character for almost anybody. In one notable twist, while all of Starfield's romance options are solidly moral people, Baldur's Gate 3 offers more roguish players some valid options with Astarion and Minthara.

Baldur's Gate 3 has a numbers advantage, as well as a greater variety of partners than Starfield, but where its romances truly shine is the strength of their writing. While Starfield's writing isn't bad, when it comes to interesting relationships, Baldur's Gate 3's romances overshadow Starfield's. The Starfield options have their own stories, like Barrett's lost husband and Sam living as a single father. However, BG3 manages to take full advantage of its unique characters when designing their arcs. The best example may be Karlach, whose inability to touch anyone due to her infernal engine makes the scene where she and the player can finally touch incredibly powerful. Starfield's love interests are nice people with decent stories, but the conclusions to their stories ultimately don't have much of a punch behind them.

Baldur's Gate 3 releasing shortly before Starfield created a contrast between the two, and while Starfield has more recruitable companions, the romances among them don't measure up. It's still possible for players to still find a romanceable character that they like, and it helps that all four of them are quite competent, with good skills to offer. The issue is that at the end of the day, the romances aren't as satisfying as they could have been. Baldur's Gate 3 truly delivered with its romance options, and Starfield has not able to reach the same level.

Baldur's Gate 3 is available now for PC and PS5.

MORE: 6 Things Fallout Can learn From Starfield