14 DAY TRIAL // I have praised Skyrim in at least two previous Gamer Diaries for its freedom, for how it allows the player to do what he wants and when he wants it but when it comes to love, real virtual love, the game makes it strangely difficult for me to engage with women and get them to settle down.
In order to have a shot at love one needs an Amulet of Mara, which means either pickpocketing one from a certain temple or doing a rather boring if romance related side quest.
But this is not enough and the player, appropriately for me as an Argonian outsider, needs to also talk to yet another priest in order to get instructions about how courtship and domestic life works.
I only thought about marriage when I was about level 33, which means that I have gear that is much better than the love required Amulet of Mara, so for quite some time I pranced around the game world thinking that all women should be smitten with me and looking for new dialog options without finding them.
When I finally put on the trinket I discovered that there's no actual courtship and no teasing just a straight up rather commercial pact where the player character puts up the house and maybe the cash to start up a nice new business for the wife while she delivers an increase in the Well Rested bonus (even though marriage consummation is in no way resting) and a new type of food (nice going on the sexism, Bethesda) which is only marginally useful.
Sure, there's a wedding and some characters show up but it all feels strangely empty and un-emotional despite the fact that for my traveling hero this should be a very happy moment, finding love in the middle of the cold and brutal region of Skyrim.