Gameboys is a 13 episode Philippine young adult gay romance. The cast is fresh faced and young, and the plot is light with a bit of seriousness. The story takes place during the COVID-19 pandemic, so everyone is quarantined. Because of this, the majority of the action takes place online in social media, live streaming, and video chats. To keep the story moving and hold your interest, the cast is overly emotive and almost comic. And it works very well.
The story is about two boys who meet during a livestream gaming session. Cairo Lazaro (Elijah Canlas) is a popular gamer who loses a match to newcomer Gavreel Alarcon (Kokoy de Santos). They connect post game on a video chat and Gavreel becomes extremely flirtatious and a bit bold with Cairo, who acts annoyed by the interaction, but doesn’t end the conversation. This is a basic romance storyline, and the online mode of communication keeps it fresh and at times feels like a modern epistolary story.
Cairo comes off more as gay curious than closeted and is titillated by Gavreel’s attention. They go back and forth a number of times before they have a misunderstanding about Gavreel’s gal pal, who is also his ex, Pearl (Adrianna So). Since Pearl and Gavreel were once a couple, they still have a tight connection that confuses Cairo and causes some doubt and misunderstanding. And since Gavreel is out and not at all new to the gay dating scene, one of his boyfriends comes into the picture to cause some drama. After all, this is a romance.
Because the story takes place during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, sickness and death cannot be ignored. There are moments when Cairo and Graveel talk about family members who have passed and are in the hospital. Gameboys handles the topic of loss and guilt very well, using it to build the characters and give them some depth in a way that feels truthful. And to keep the story light, it never lingers on the topic too long.
In the end, Gameboys is a series that knows what it is and is better for it. And although Gameboys is made for a young adult audience, it can still be enjoyed at any age. It’s light and surprisingly enjoyable.
