History PlatonicWritingRomanticReading / VideoGames

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' has the official couple as Jude and Milla. However, in Jude's route, he gets [[ShipTease ship-teasing]] with any of the party members. He is the first person who is really kind to [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer Elize]] and becomes important to her, with implication-to-outright-stating that her dream is to become Jude's bride. There is a ton of, though [[ObliviousToLove onesided]], teasing with his childhood friend [[GenkiGirl Leia]]. And then there's [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything that tethering thing]] with Muzét. Whether the developers were a little ''too'' open or having fun with ship-teasing all over the place or because they honestly never intended it to go that far, most people saw more natural chemistry between him and the other girls. [[AmbiguouslyGay Even with]] [[HoYay Alvin]]. The flirting with Alvin is almost certainly deliberate, with how Alvin constantly draping his arm over Jude and flat out asks him very on [[HomoeroticSubtext whether he swings both ways.]]
* Inverted in ''VideoGame/TronTwoPointOh'' (alternate continuity than ''Film/TronLegacy''), Monolith seemed to be trying to imply some interest between Jet and Mercury, but the pair had a critical lack of scenes together, and Mercury spending half that screentime under a memory wipe put a severe damper on it.

** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' has Meryl (in her ending) imply that Ocelot raped her ("Torture?" "''And things even worse than that.''"), which is tone-deaf for a number of reasons -- not least that every later appearance of Ocelot, especially since ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3'', has shown him to be a NobleDemon and [[SingleTargetSexuality gay]]. Apparently, the localiser was shocked when people interpreted Meryl's dialogue this way; the line is excised from the VideoGameRemake, and the graphic novel adaptation reveals the actual incident was Sniper Wolf (the only female FOX-HOUND terrorist, and [[HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday extremely heterosexual]]) forcing Meryl to watch Snake's torture.

* ''VisualNovel/AceAttorney'': The relationship between Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth was meant to be entirely platonic male friendship, based on the creator's experience as a kid where he was accused of theft and wondering what it would have been like if someone had stood up for him. Fans overwhelmingly prefer the two to be together romantically; it doesn't help that some their lines sound ''really'' [[HoYay homoerotic]] out of context, like Edgeworth's infamous "unnecessary feelings" line. Said feelings were meant to be him having a suppressed HeelRealization over being an AmoralAttorney, but you need to have actually played the game to know that.

* ''VideoGame/Persona5'' has Ryuji and Ann, who have been friends since junior high. Their VitriolicBestBuds dynamic seems to come across as BelligerentSexualTension. The game does make efforts to potray the two as PlatonicLifePartners, by having Ryuji bluntly reject Ann's offer for a date and asking her to introduce him to a rival model, while Ann is hinted to have a crush on [[PlayerCharacter Joker]] during her Confidant events. However, there are still some moments and cutscenes in the game's story, which can easily cause the player to [[MistakenForRomance second guess the nature of their relationship]], such as Ann being shown to be the most devastated and later upset at Ryuji, [[spoiler: for seemingly making a HeroicSacrifice to save the rest of the Phantom Thieves during their escape from Shido's Palace]], which can be a bit awkward if Joker is dating her, since he's just shown standing around smiling as he watches his girlfriend look like she's on the verge of confessing her love for his best friend.

** The franchise as a whole has lots of glaring HoYay elements, many of which are [[FanPreferredCouple a lot more appealing]] than the official pairings, but the games rarely ever acknowledge them in the text, sticking to innuendo only. What makes it this trope is that male/male NotLoveInterest pairings are often much more developed, with Snake and Otacon having a long-term friendship and living together in a nuclear family [[HasTwoMommies with a child]] [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots by the fourth game]]. Theories as to why this is are varied -- is it an [[ButNotTooGay attempt to write sincere queer love stories without alienating a straight audience]]? {{Queerbaiting}} a YaoiFangirl and LGBTFanbase contingent? An AffectionateParody of the buddy-focused 80s action movies that ''Metal Gear'' {{Pastiche}}s, or even a {{Deconstruction}} of that aspect of them? Or is it genuinely accidental?

* In ''VideoGame/TronTwoPointOh'' (alternate continuity than ''Film/TronLegacy''), Monolith seemed to be trying to imply some interest between Jet and Mercury, but the pair had a critical lack of scenes together, and Mercury spending half that screentime under a memory wipe put a severe damper on it.

* ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' has a particularly massive and now [[BaitAndSwitchLesbians infamous]] example with the titular character and TheLancer and fellow Umbra Witch Jeanne. Similar to the ''DMC'' examples below, Jeanne wasn’t intended to be the LoveInterest just TheRival turned friend after being cured of brainwashing, whilst ButtMonkey and NonActionGuy Luka was the actual traditional love interest with Bayo being TheTease to him. However in the [[VideoGame/Bayonetta2 sequel]] Luka had far less importance in the story whilst Bayo and Jeanne’s bond was played up to hilt with them living together and being extremely affectionate to each other. The main story even concerns Bayo dropping everything to rescue Jeanne’s soul from hell in what can easily be seen as a romantic rescue. So a good deal of fans were upset when the [[VideoGame/Bayonetta3 third game]] brutally derailed the Bayonetta/Jeanne pairing [[spoiler:having Luka as definitely Bayo’s lover and the father of her child Viola whilst killing off Jeanne. Made even more painful by the fumbling of Bayonetta/Jeanne‘s relationship being still apparent in the third game, especially in the Paris section.]] The fact that several developers along with creator Hideki Kamiya showed ShrugOfGod support for the Bayonetta/Jeanne pairing and a good deal of official art depicting them in intimate fashion also didn’t help in the slightest.

* Isaac, from the ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' series, has a warning for his fellow {{Heroic Mime}}s: Don't have a [[RedOniBlueOni talkative best friend]] (Garet) [[ExpositionFairy who constantly reminds you that]] [[SaveThePrincess you have to rescue]] [[ChildhoodFriendRomance your girlfriend]] (Jenna). [[ShipperOnDeck The fealty to the pairing]], plus scenes where the two interact directly, could easily be misconstrued [[TriangRelations as intent on him staking his own claim]]. (And since you're a Heroic Mime, you can't say anything to counteract that impression; not even to the Player!) Furthermore, don't make things worse by allowing [[TheSmurfettePrinciple another female]] [[FanPreferredCouple on the team]], [[WhiteMage no matter how]] [[TheMedic useful she is]] (Mia).