As I sit here to write this, somewhere in the world David Cage is unspeakably happy and doesn’t know why. You’re welcome, you talented weirdo.
When I started playing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, I was aware there were “romance options.” I am not a romantic person in real life. I don’t care for romantic comedies, I don’t go all in for things like fancy dinners or wooing or any of that. When sticky sweet moments come up in a movie or TV show I’m watching, I often say “Barfff…” before I can control myself.
I’m just not a romantic person.
That being said, when I was initially flipping through my Witcher strategy guide, I happened to see a page dedicated to all the ladies Geralt can…”romance” in your playthrough. I had no idea that CD Projekt Red provided so many chances for Geralt to blow off steam with the ladies.
Impressive, really.
The more I came across ladies like this peach (above), I knew I’d have to be careful not to step on any toes in my playthrough. I knew there was a love triangle between Geralt, Yennifer, and Triss, but I also knew I could make matters worse by certain actions I might take.
I wanted to be careful.
(Speaking of perversion, every time I see and hear the above line, it makes me snicker. Add to that that this particular merchant was glitching out all over my screen and Geralt was eyeing his crotch region. I was beside myself in amusement.)
My first brush with potential sexual weirdness was with Kiera Metz:
She asked me out to a friendly dinner in thanks for something I’d done, and I was up front with her when I accepted the invitation; this was strictly as friends. Even so, she tried to seduce me, and I had to turn her down. We ended up lying on a blanket in the forest looking at the stars and then she ditched me.
Which was honestly fine with me. Geralt had enough going on; he didn’t need the complications of that lady.
But this was the first of many “opportunities” for Geralt to “express” himself physically with the digital ladies. Early on I had decided Geralt would abstain. Here’s why: he is in an impossible situation. He was with Yennifer for who knows how long. He somehow got lost and developed amnesia (color me shocked). During that tricky bout of mind-wipe, he meets Triss, and they form a relationship. When he gets his memory back (all this happens prior to the timeline of this game), let’s be honest, he is screwed. There’s no possible way that anyone gets out of this happy. Yennifer is moderately understanding, but understandably frustrated. Triss is also those things. No matter which woman Geralt chooses, I fear it won’t end well.
So, I made the call right off the bat: no sexy time for Geralt. His abstinence would be tactical.
Don’t get me wrong, I am by no means a prude; my choice to make Geralt chaste was a practical one. It seemed the nobler stance to just keep his digital physicality in check. And I felt good with deciding that from the outset.
Then, I chose what I thought was a fairly innocent dialog option and this happened:
I was actually saying at the screen, “Geralt! What are you doing!? GET DOWN FROM THERE IMMEDIATELY! DO NOT F*CK ON A UNICORN! DO NOT CHEW HER UNDERPANTS OFF!! STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!!! GERRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!”
Alas. To no avail.
They super f*cked on that unicorn.
I was then “treated” to an uncomfortable digital sex scene with the most awkward polygonal kissing. I was mildly mortified.
I’m not against sex. I’m just not into sex in video games. Maybe it’s just never been done in a way that I found convincing, but I always find it cringe-worthy. If I wanted to watch people have sex, I’d do that. But having it come up in games always feels a few shades away from realism…even if the rest of the game has been believable (you know, in a video game way).
David Cage seems to be a huge fan of the awkward sex scene, what with Heavy Rain and such. Not to be inappropriate, but, in reality, sex can be super awkward (and sort of hilariously so). In games, you have the added knowledge that someone (or a whole team of folks) had to render what you are seeing on the screen, and in a recording booth, some people had to make all kinds of interesting sounds to create what you are hearing.
It’s both extremely funny, as well as something I just shake my head at.
This isn’t a criticism. I’m sure there are people out there who love sex in video games; more power to them. I’m just not one of them. It always feels off to me. I’ve no better way to explain it.
So, with that being said, I now find myself in a playthrough of The Witcher 3 that includes my abstinence from all other ladies, with my apparent allegiance to Yennifer and her sexual unicorn.
It’s not what I had in mind.
Geralt. I want you to think about what you’ve done.
How do you feel about sex in video games? Are you pro, con, or do you vacillate depending on the game?
Categories: games
Rebekah Lang 
I don’t really mind sex in games but yeah Geralt and Yennifer’s sex scene was awkward.
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I was just staring at the screen like…wow…this is really happening.
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OMG YOU BANGED OUT ON A UNICORN OMFG NO WONDER IT’S GAME OF THE YEAR
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Indeed, Geralt did.
But it felt pretty cringy to me.
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LOL. It’s funny you didn’t post this one to Game Informer. Yeah, I agree it’s super awkward. Seems to be aimed at adolescent males. It’s better when sex is suggested, rather than explicit, in video games.
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HA! I briefly considered it then decided it might be seen as inappropriate for them so I opted not to. I wouldn’t want to offend anyone on there, and I know there are a lot of underage folks who read both the regular site and the community blogs so…just seemed safer not to. Even though I wasn’t being explicit or gross. I’d rather be safe than sorry on this one.
I wholeheartedly agree. I am always more for the subtle approach and the suggestion more than the SHOVE IT IN YOUR FACE AND EXPERIENCE IT sort of thing.
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I’m being very naive here I guess… Can you believe I didn’t even k ow there were games with actual sex scenes in there? Lol, even the picture of Geralt in his birthdays suit on the unicorn made me cringe! Fun post, Rebekah! You made me smile during my commute in an overflowing train. Now I hope nobody was reading over my shoulder! 🤓
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I can’t remember what the first sex scene was in a game I saw/played, but it always feels weird to me.
And I have to say, the idea of you on a crowded train looking at an image of Geralt of Rivea, nude on a unicorn, made me laugh! I’m sorry if I caused you any discomfort.
:)
I’m sorry. I’m still amused.
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You didn’t cause discomfort, rest assured. Even reading your comment made me smile once again. That Geralt, who would have thought!!
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I was able to break things off with Yennifer so I am once again back on track for my eunuch playthrough! Success! Sweet, chaste success.
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Oh I’m glad. I could see in Geralts face that he was mightily uncomfortable sitting there on the unicorn! Btw I know s guy in real life named Gerald. I will never be able to see him and not think of unicorns again…
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As a friend of mine pointed out, Geralt probably WAS uncomfortable: that unicorn was probably scratchy on nether-parts.
Oh DEAR! Now that’s funny!
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Hilarious!! And that over breakfast!
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Also sitting on a Unicorn or horse naked sounds really scratchy.
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Oh my god, I just laughed out loud super hard at this.
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My favorite quote was “no sexy time for Geralt: his abstinence would be tactical.”
Until “They super f*cked on that unicorn.”
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Well it’s all true; they DID super f*ck on that unicorn.
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“Geralt! What are you doing!? GET DOWN FROM THERE IMMEDIATELY! DO NOT F*CK ON A UNICORN! DO NOT CHEW HER UNDERPANTS OFF!! STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!!! GERRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!” Quote of the century.
As for my feelings when it comes to sex in video games, I prefer it when it doesn’t show up at all, or just implied. But the sex scene here…
*Dies* WHAT- THEY SERIOUSLY HAD SEX ON A FREAKING UNICORN!!!!???
“Video games are a mistake”- Shigiru Miyamoto (Oh, wait, this is just a parody of “Anime is a mistake”.)
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Ha! Thank you. It was very close to what I was saying out loud at my television screen. :)
I’m with you: I’d far rather have it implied than shown. It always just looks janky and weird and I feel like I should look away which is ironic because many people created this scene for myself and others to SEE.
Awkward…
And yes, they seriously had sex on that unicorn. I was like…how would that even be possible? I mean, logistically? In reality, anything even similar would be painful at best. Oof.
HA! Imagine if Miyamoto actually said something like that. The game world would have a collective crap attack. I’d laugh so hard.
Have you seen the spoof account on Twitter of CEO Kaz Hirai? Whoever manages that account comes up with some priceless goodness.
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I was wondering why people would have sex on a unicorn. It’s really freaking weird and illogical as you pointed out before. I could only imagine what would happen if Geralt and Yennifer accidentily fell off while having sex… Or if the unicorn got uncomfortable and galloping the heck outta there.
If Miyamoto actually said that video games are a mistake, chances are, the internet would explode to the point where it’d be erased from history! And I have seen the spoof account of Kaz Hirai. Parody twitter accounts are hilarious if done right, like that one.
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Oh! I should have mentioned it was a STUFFED unicorn. It was once real, and now taxidermied for their…pleasure?
Still…weird. And yes, falling! Super ouch. The whole thing brings about more questions than answers.
And yes, the internet would explode. Or implode. Some form of ‘ploding would occur.
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Oh, So the unicorn was fake. Phew! Yep, falling off the horse would really hurt, especially if you’re naked!
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Sort of. The unicorn was apparently real, then died, and THEN was stuffed. So it was a formerly living unicorn, now kept for sexual furniture.
Now there’s a sentence I never thought I’d write…
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I’m not really for or against it in games in general, but I totally get how it can be super awkward. Most games I come to for story and if I can choose how a character behaves I try to stay true to my idea of that character so I can appreciate your intended tactic for Geralt in your play through. I try to play my characters according to how I feel they would act. For example my Mass Effect 2 Shepard is a lot less “refined” than he was in the first game, but that’s just how he came out of the other side of those experiences. He’s more prone to choices that he wouldn’t have considered before.
Now I’m wondering what kind of person my Geralt will be…
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Isn’t that an interesting thought? If I were to go and finally play through all the Mass Effect games, I’d probably choose an abstinence run.
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