Baldurs Gate III Gets Relationships Right

Baldurs Gate III gets relationships right

so one thing ive always hated about the relationships in rpgs is the much-meligned 'give them stuff until they sex with you' thing but also that they make navigating interpersonal relationships overall too simple. you first meet them, ask a laundry list of questions, that opens up quests with handy little markers on the map, and if you go to those locations they progress the plotline. its like they tell you their goals and tragic backstory right away, and then you give them what they want until they're your friend. what they want (unless their name is evil McBadrun) is a net good for the world, and you're rewarded for always supporting them. (the obvious exception being solas dont even go there)

but BGIII doesnt make it so easy for you. Shadowheart immediately gets her hackles up if you ask her too many questions too quickly. Asterion gets angry if you're too simpering about his tragic backstory. You pretty much know that Wyll is lying/wrong from the jump, but pointing it out will piss him off. Gale has a thirst for power that he never quite shakes, and you have to talk him down from making the same mistakes again.

So far every character quest ive done culminates in a moment where you have to save your companions from themselves. The shadowheart and gale plotlines are particularly tense, you feel like you're at a real crossroads in your friendship and choosing the words wrong will ruin things forever.

I was a EA player, and I remember articles about how everyone in the party is a bitch who spits at you when you're nice to them. Shadowheart and Asterion in particular were kinda advertised as the 'main waifus' and people got mad when those two dont just automatically want you to save them and be their friend. I could make a joke about 'gamers who cant have relationships be too complicated or else they'll fail the quests' here but you get the point.

While full release made them a lot less rude, the companions are still complicated people who you need to navigate your feelings with whilst also trying to do whats right. I'm really glad that a rpg like this exists, and i hope it marks a change for these kinda games in the future.

I'm in the middle of Act 2 and here's my opinion of all the companions so far.

Lae'zel: I didn't like her at all first, but then she told me she loved how I stink and I realized she's just an angry little guy. She's so pissed at all times and I like how she hisses at me. Girl you are fucked up. 10/10, will romance her at some point.

Shadowheart: Ngl she was a little bland but very easy to get approval with so she was my bestie early on. Now that she's revealed her religious trauma I think she's a poor little meow meow. She should be a tumblr sexyman. 10/10, will romance her at some point.

Astarion: Went in hating his ass thinking he was overhyped. Got brainwashed quickly by the horny voice and the laugh lines. Hated him again when he kept being a little bitch. Hugged him oh so tenderly. He likes it when I tell people to kill themselves. 10/10, will romance him again.

Gale: Was considering romancing him until the ex reveal. Big turnoff for insecure bitches (me). Act 2 started and I got interested again because of the angst. He's funny and his dialogue is the best written/wittiest out of all the companions. Accidentally led him on. 10/10, will romance him at some point.

Wyll: Thought he was a bit bland at first ngl. Very standard backstory. Probably the best-looking companion out of all of them. Got extremely easy approval with him despite not bringing him around often. Then I realized he's charmingly silly but deeply genuine with his heroic aspirations. 10/10, wyll romance him at some point.

Karlach: Best girl, no contest. Loved her from the start. Big, fun, funny, good heart, and boy she can do a LOT of damage on the battlefield. Absolutely waifu material. Touchstarved and gorgeous? I'm straight but she could get it type shit. I want her to split me in half with a single pelvic thrust. 10/10, will romance her at some point.

Halsin: Liked him from the start. He's fucking massive. My Tav looked at him with lovesick puppy eyes in every early custcene so I was considering romancing him in the beginning, but he's way too nice for them lmao. No notes, he's literally just a giant teddy bear of a man and I love him. 10/10, will romance him at some point.

All in all it's pretty impressive how Larian got jackpot on all of these little freaks. I can't say I dislike any of them.

honestly if you walked away from ANY of the npc’s storylines and didn’t understand that literally all of them were about autonomy… we played different games

Lae'zel's tent

Nomadic design and more practical than others, dark colors and very pragmatic overall. Proudly displays Githyanki heritage with tent, sigils, and rugs.

Grinding stone very nearby, several trophies to be proud of (ogre head, gnoll head, mindflayer head - giant bone?).

A set of deer bones(?) and a deer hide stretched and drying, a bloody bowl, a bucket, a pile of stained blankets.

The head trophy near a handmade dummy made to look like a mindflayer embedded in a stump - the stump looks like it was already there, so maybe she set up camp near it on purpose.

Several animal hides in her sitting nook with a bowl, pair of bones, and vegetable(?). Her tent is spartan, a simple pillow, some broadly-woven linens(?), a couple hides.

The filigree patterns are interestingly delicate compared to the overall state of her tent, it reminds me of her armor (surprisingly pretty for a pragmatic culture focused on economical choices)

Larian studios: "Haha yeah isn't it funny that you can sleep with a druid in bear form? That's so--Look at me, look me in the eyes. there is no such thing as an "evil race". the players handbook is full of shit. personality traits based on race and species are bullshit. Every individual has the capacity for good an evil based on circumstances" *wizards of the coast security tries to drag them off stage*

Larian, clinging to the microphone: "DRAGONBORN HAVE TAILS! TIEFLINGS CAN BE PURPLE! QUEER CHARACTERS HAVE EVERY PLACE IN FANTASY MEDIA! YOU CAN AND SHOULD ROMANCE MIND FLAYERS NO! NO! LOOK AT ME! DRINKING POTIONS IS A BONUS ACTION! DON'T BELIEVE THEIR LIES!"