Games with exo-minded non humans to play as or to woo (SPOILERS)

Hello.

(EDIT: I wanted to put this in General, because I don’t want to restrict the list to featured CoG games. Hosted Games and Heart’s Choice interest me just as much. But for some reasons, I can’t. Is it ok to move it to Hosted Games to get suggestion for those too?)

So…I’ve been searching around the forum and the omnibus apps and it seems that there is no definite way to know which games contain Artificial Intelligence or non humans in general because even though ace is a tag, it hasn’t officially broadened the romantic scoop as some might have hopped so far.
I really wish they’d add some IA, xeno, Elves tags in the app.

Until we can have a xenoromantic/xenosexual inclusive game, if that’s okay, I would like to list games where it’s possible to play (MC) or romance (RI) a non-human character.

For IA, I know there are a handful of games with those, but I’d like to know those where they are romanceable (any: spaceships, computers, smart houses, aliens IA, phones, you name it)
And all kinds of non-humans: complete aliens, alien hybrids, true cyborgs, elves, dwarves, werepeople, (if they truly feel different from humans), enchanted swords, yokai, fae, etc…

Those who just read like superpowered human or undead humans (like wizards, undead (werewolves, vampires, etc.), humans ‘enhanced’ into cyborgs, merpeople) are more frequent, but not what I am looking for here.

Games such as (will add links):

The Aether: Life as a God

  • deity PC

Divine Ascension

  • deity PC

AI Aftermath

  • transhumanist angel-minded human RI (part of a human cult, has DNA alteration to get rid of all unbalanced emotions and feel in harmony with The Source)
  • transhumanist human RI with discreet cybernetic implants that makes him telepathic
  • blind spiritual human RI with natural telepathy, ability to use electromagnetic fields, etc.
  • moody dark warklock RI using rune magic

I, Cyborg

  • cyborg PC
  • cyborgs (/AI?) RI

Choice of Robots

  • android RI

Light Years Apart

  • computer flirty friendhship not quite RI
  • AI flirty…thingie. RI maybe

Empyrean

  • AI RI

A. I. Love You external location

  • AI house PC

Antivirus direct link (external location)

  • AI/virus spaceship PC

The Dragon and the Djinn

  • djinn RI

Heroes of Myth

  • demon RI

In the Service of Mrs Claus

  • shapshifting fairy PC
  • same faity type /goddess RI

Life of A Wizard

  • all classic high fantasy races PC and RI

Sordwin

  • D&D type elf /dwarf /changeling RI

Evertree Inn

  • dwarf /elf /brownie /halfling PC
  • half-elf or gnome (genderlocked?) RI

Choice of the Dragon

  • dragons PC
  • elusive dragon RI

A Squire’s Tale

  • fae RI

Unnatural

  • fae RI

A Kiss from Death

  • not longer human magus PC
  • a large choice of various fantasy RI, some genderlocked

Fox Spirit: A Two-Tailed Adventure

fox spirit/kitsune PC

The Daring Mermaid Expedition

  • mermaid (female genderlocked?) RI

Atlantis Academy

  • selkie / siren RI
  • merperson PC

The Sea Eternal

  • merperson PC

The Versus series

  • animal-like aliens /android RI (the later in the 2nd game)
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Welcome to Moreytown – PC and NPCs are “moreaus” which are animal-human hybrid creatures.

Werewolves: Haven Rising – PC and NPCs are werewolves

Also, the Meta section is usually for Discourse (platform) related discussion, I think, so I’m going to move this topic.

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I had realized my mistake and moved it before I got to read your answer. Thanks.
So I add Welcome to Moreytown to my list. :slight_smile:

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Emperyan has a possible romance with an AI/robot, but romance isn’t really the focus of the game. Still has some sweet moments though, I’d recommend it, as there doesn’t seem to be too much else that falls into this category.

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I’m pretty sure the Versus series also has non human romance options.

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I think Dawnfall counts, correct? And it’s a Heart’s Choice title, so should fit the bill for romance.

Oh and there’s Xi in Grand Academy for Supervillains (not romance-focused)

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Could you tell me more? Does these RO really feel and behave differently from humans?

There’s In the Service of Mrs Claus, where you play as an Elf/Fae and can romance Mrs Claus, a goddess, and two other elves.

The Soul Stone War has an elf and a half dragon RO.

The Shadow Society has one non human RO, I think? Not sure, though.

In The Sea Eternal you play as a mer person, but can only romance humans. Though I read you can romance a whale? Again, not sure about that.

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Evertree Inn / Sordwin. Can play as a human or one of different fantasy races (dwarf, elf, brownie, halfling). In Evertree Inn, one of the ROs is either a half-elf or gnome (depending on MC’s race). In Sordwin, one of the ROs is an elf, another is a dwarf, and another is a changeling. The half-orc ally from Evertree Inn will become a romance in the third game, Lux.

Heart of the House, one of the ROs is actually a being from another world.

Heroes of Myth, one of the ROs is actually a demon.

The Versus series is full of alien ROs. I think there is at least a fling with a character of an Avian species, two ROs are part of a godlike species. The second Versus game also lets you start a romantic, asexual relationship with an android.

Unnatural features a werewolf RO and a fae RO.

In Shadow Society, technically none of the ROs are actually human. Though one of them is more non-human than the others as they still behave human.

The Superlatives: Shattered Worlds features an RO with a Martian alien.

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Usually I would say check out my game Moonrise here, because werewolves, but I think all the ROs act too “human with enhanced abilities” for what you’re aiming at. If anything, the player character is the most alien, especially if you consistently choose the more bloodthirsty options. As a sidenote, you can portray your PC as asexual and seek queerplatonic relationships, or no relationships at all. Asexual romance options do no equal non-human ROs.

I think agree with @Bidulette and @hotmess.exe that Dawnfall is your best bet. The PC is an alien, can be asexual and aromantic, and, out of the 5 ROs, four are aliens iirc.

Either way, I hope you find what you’re looking for! Moonrise is here and Dawnfall is here.

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Thank you so much!

I now know what I’m going to play next!
I hope the list is going to help others as well. There are many games to choose from now, after all.

If you think about othere games, or think that some don’t exactly qualify regarding the prefered xeno-psychology feature of the PC or RO, please don’t hestitate adding comments and I’ll do my best to keep the list up to date.

If you’re a moderator and want to handle the list yourself, I’d actually be glad so you’d be very welcome.

In any case, thank you for helping! :ok_hand:

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Oh yes ! Dawnfall. I forgot this one. Added. Thank you. :vulcan_salute:

I haven’t played Grand Academy for Supervillains. Who (and what) is Xi?

Ok. I have many questions now.

Can you tell me more of what you mean by being from another world in Heart of the House? Are talking about a ghost, a demon, an alien, an angel?

I’m surprised Heroes of Myth only has a demon RO… No elf dwarf halfling half orc at all, there? (It may seem petty to others, but it’s actually that a bit of a let down for me …wish I knew to expect that before buying it.)

So… what are the RO in Shadow Society?
I think only the one who really behave alien is going to feel interesting to me, indeed.

Maybe we can write spoilers now. I’ve put a warning in the title of the topic. Of course there is the spoiler tag too, right? Because I’d really like more details. :nerd_face:

Heart of the House - I don’t remember it clearly. I think Oriana was a sort of spirit, trapped on this world in servitude.

Heroes of Myth doesn’t feature high fantasy races. There are humans, there is magic, and there are demons. Except for Meredith, all ROs are human.

In The Shadow Society, our earth is the “light world”. The MC stumbles over into the “shadow world”. The ROs all take human form, but they are essentially shadowy shapeshifters who can take any form they wish to take. Their minds are human-like, though concepts normal for people form the light side might be foreign to them just as their concepts and world may seem alien to us. One of them, Q, is even less human. Using just the first letter of their name here as all the ROs are gender variable and change their names according to their gender.

I might also add Choice of Magics. One of the ROs is a shapeshifter.

If you are open for work in progress games:

In The Passenger, the MC is an eldritch abomination trapped in a human casket. One of the ROs, Roach, is also an eldritch being.

In Insight, you actually can’t play as a human but only as one of a few different races of that world. Only one of the ROs is a human, the others are members of one of the various humanoid races.

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If I may nitpick none of these are really “xeno-minded”, they’re all more or less mentally like humans. None of them have an actually alien mindset.

Problem of course is that a character with a genuinely alien perspective is unlikely to be compatible with basic communication, much less romance. To quote the game Eclipse Phase on alien contact:

They may view us as prey, or as tasty hosts for their parasitic children to feed on. Our very existence may challenge their deeply ingrained ideological beliefs. A refusal to engage in sexual conduct with them may be viewed as an insult. A single error in protocol could spark a war.

And that’s the start. Hell, even if they do understand romance an alien or similar being may view romance with a human as being akin to bestiality.

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I hear you.
By writing xeno, I hoped for high level of exotism. Not alien. Not to the point of communication to be impossible, sure.

If we just write non-human, then; cyborgs, vampire, and any kind of furry or shifter are usually included in the definition. And I don’t want that.

Why? In Moreytown most characters are just real life human furry with little to nothing exotic, and certainly least nothing alien from a human perspective.
Most elves are just either nazis or hippies with cosmetics.
Vampires have nothing beyond their boring drive for blood and optional nazi mindset.
And those are hardly the very definition of exotic.

I need true cultural, psychologic differences, disregarding how they look.

The Eclipse Phase species qualify. Simply, the trope “all real xeno species see humans as prey” is old and indeed doesn’t allow for anything romantic, as it involves trauma and the Stockholm.
C’mon, where is the imagination?

What about collective minds whose members doesn’t look and behave like insects ?
Non-carnivorous plant species?
Commestible species (the inverted trope),
Emotional and higly intelligent vessels who we can be symbiotic within?
Spirits that are not either ghosts or demons?

Is there something fresh, something bright yet to be found anywhere?

I still believe there is a great nuance between the definitions of just exotic, generally xeno, and completely alien.

Xeno still fit it best. Xeno doesn’t have to look dark.

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Nonhuman ROs in TDUP:

  • A “deep one” lovecraftian tentacle-faced cultist
  • A shapeshifting demonic spider lady
  • An animated suit of armor
  • A dragon

Semi-human:

  • A skeletal witch
  • A couple of tolkien-esque elves
  • A couple of tolkien-esque dwarves
  • A satyr
  • A half-dragon
  • A halfling or two
  • A half-demon
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Omg you’re here. :neutral_face:
Thanks for the precision I’ll implement then to my list.

…You know you’re one of my favourite devs/writers? Not that it anything to do with anything. Just… Yeah, It’s nice having your post. :no_mouth:

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Grand Academy for Villains series has non-human ROs like Xi, a cyborg that’ll eventually become part of an AI hivemind in Book 1; and there’s The Devouring Horror, or Dev in short, a non-corporeal creature of horror in Book 2.

The MC also starts as a baseline human (probably), but they’ll have an option to transformation to a monstrous form as an elective.

There’s also Keeper of the Sun and Moon where your MC can be a human magi or some non-standard fantasy race like cambion, nephilim, kitsune, etc.; while the ROs are mostly non-humans, from the 3 races mentioned earlier, to a siren, shapeshifter and a wraith.

I’m not sure if this can be included but in Tower Behind the Moon, depending on your magical path, the MC starts out as a human archmage that’ll eventually ascend to a lich, a living star, a living continent, etc; and one the ROs is an angel.

Finally, in the Superlatives series’ Book 2, Shattered Worlds, one of the RO is your Martian secretary/bodyguard.

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In my opinion, i think Shadow Society can also be counted as non-human ROs story. As the title says, most of the ROS are Shadow ( except for one, i forgot that RO’s name).
Also, the vampire masquerarade series, choice of vampire ( For wizards, enhance humans, yes they are superpowered human ( or human with abilities), but for merpeople, undead, vampires, for me, they are different races. They, along with werewolves, can all be listed in the supernatural species (or unnatural) , not humans who have superpowers).
Or if you want, choice of magic ( there maybe 1 or 2 ROS that is shapeshifter, i don’t know if Shapeshifter was considered to be a non-human, but i still recommend this one ).
Another one in my recommendation is Hero or Villain: Battle Royale. Some ROS will definitely be Alien races.
I know this is an old thread but it still fascinates me to write down. So i’m sorry if it causes inconvenience. Have a good day everyone.

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