With every cozy game, there is one aspect that players are always keen to know the details of: romance options. Like its peers, Palia has multiple romantic options for players to consider, albeit with a more simplified take on the system, and players are free to love whoever they choose.
** This guide is still in progress and we will continue to update it as we gather more information**
In this guide, we will detail all the information on who players can romance in Palia and explain how to romance a villager and what benefit you gain from doing so.
Related: Palia: Early Tips & Tricks Guide
How to Romance a Villager in Palia
Romancing a villager in Palia is similar to other cozy games and requires you to put in some time to win over a villager’s (or multiple villager’s) heart.
Each character in Palia has a Friendship meter, and a select few have a romance meter, which can be unlocked after meeting certain requirements. As you interact with characters by talking and giving them gifts, you’ll increase their friendship with you. However, you can only talk with characters and earn friendship points once a Palia day, which lasts an hour in real-time, and you can only gift an item once per real-time day. In my case, I took a liking to Tish, so I got her some lovely pearls, flowers, and things to help with her furniture crafting.
As you level up their friendship, you’ll get some extra rewards like renown and the key to their rooms, as well as a quest to complete that will net you some additional rewards that vary depending on the villager.
Related: Palia: How to Upgrade Inventory Space
Once you reach level three friendship with an eligible villager, you’ll need to finish up their quest and give them a specific item to opt in for the romance track, namely the Box of Chocolates from Zeki’s shop, which will unlock their romance. You’ll know it’s the correct item given its description: “a box of candies, usually given to show romantic intentions.” Once you have done that, the romance track will be unlocked for that character.
All Romance Options in Palia
There are currently nine romance options in Palia, all of which are available to you regardless of your body type or preference, so you can choose whoever takes your fancy. The developers have stated they plan to add more options in the future. It’s also worth noting that you can romance multiple characters.
Here are the current romance options for you to consider:
| Image | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
 | Einar | A charming robot-like villager who loves to fish and has a fondness for shiny pebbles. |
 | Hassian | The abrasive hunter of Kilima, often found wandering the land with his hound Tau. |
 | Jei | A tall, dark, and handsome tailor who is responsible for the fashion of Kilima. |
 | Jina | A young, ambitious researcher who is keen to discover the secrets of humans past history. |
 | Kenyatta | A punky, albeit moody young woman and the village mayor’s daughter. |
 | Nai’o | A young farmer who works alongside his family to provide the village with the best produce. |
 | Reth | A bad boy chef who loves to cook and get a bit flirty with his patrons, as well as care for his sister, Tish |
 | Tamala | A mysterious woman found in Bahari Bay who takes a shine to your character. |
 | Tish | A cheerful, kind young woman who makes furniture and supports her brother Reth in his cooking pursuits. |
What Benefit Do You Get From Romancing a Villager
The benefits of romances in Palia are pretty small all things considered. For one, the rewards are meant to be more focused on learning about the character and are narrative-driven rewards.
The developers have made it clear they want the main way players to learn about and see each character’s story is through their friendship and main story. Through unlocking their romance, you’ll get more into the world of Palia and its lore, and have a few extra tidbits and story bits that are a little more romantic, but not too much else yet. The idea is that these are completely optional, run alongside the main story, and do not feel like a necessity for players but add a bit of flavor.
With that said, you get a couple of things from your friendship and romance tracks, the most notable being a Romance Pin, which is unlocked after completing a character’s romance track. This pin is meant to signify your commitment to that villager, and while wearing it, you will earn bonus relationship points with those villagers, and other characters will comment on it. You will be able to wear two Romance Pins.
Related: Palia: How to Increase Focus Amount & Bonus
It’s worth mentioning the game is currently in beta, and there are plans to expand these friendships and romances further, which will likely come with new additions, quests, friendships, and completely new villagers.
As more of the Gamepur team jump in, you can expect us to update this guide with any more details we find about romances in Palia.
