WHO IS DYLAS?

Dylas is one of the romanceable villagers/party members from the the hybrid dungeon crawling RPG and farming sim Rune Factory 4. You first meet him in monstrous form as the final boss of one of the early dungeons, known to everyone at that time as Thunderbolt -- a massive, mindlessly enraged horse-like creature with the power to command lightning. After defeating him, he transforms back to his true form as a part-human-part-horse man named Dylas. He takes up residence in your town afterwards, and struggles greatly to adjust to this new life after untold eons of being a beast. He's inscrutable and unfriendly, even prone to aggressive outbursts if pushed too far. But should the player decide to develop a friendship with him, they'll find that he has a sensitive soul and puts in a lot of unseen effort to improve his social skills, day by day. He works as a waiter in the local tavern, and he loves to fish during his free time. He's deeply loyal and gentle when he warms up to the player. And if the player decides to pursue a romance with him... well, you should play the game to find out!

Note: this game originally came out on the 3DS, but I only played the Nintendo Switch remastered port.

WHY DO I LOVE DYLAS?

Where to even start! He's a horse man, he's autistic-coded, he has long pretty hair, he's tsundere-adjacent and takes time and effort to win over with immensely rewarding outcomes, he's a good father (if/when you have kids with him), he's really tall, he has a deep voice that makes me shiver, he's kind of a dumbass in the loveable way that results in lots of funny moments...

Whenever I play games with numerous romantic routes, I always somehow end up drawn to the Problem Bachelor(/ette). The one with a bad personality that either undergoes a character arc with you, or slowly but surely lets you past their psychological walls to show you their complexities (or both). They're just the most interesting! Sure, the princely types who are already nice and likeable from the start are dreamy, and they tend to be just as pretty-looking as their messier counterparts, but they're kind of boring to pursue romantically in a story context? There's not much of a narrative journey to undertake. I'd love to marry a princely type in real life, but in a video game, I gotta have the struggle and the drama and the payoff.

Also? I'm just a huge furry.