Baldur's Gate 3 looks like it's gonna eat Starfield's lunch when it comes to romances

Elf and dwarf holding hands looking at each other
(Image credit: Larian)

"Have you ever considered the joys and pleasures of sexual congress with a wildshaped Druid?" propounded Baldur's Gate 3 lead writer Adam Smith alongside today's showcase. "Because at Larian, we have, and ultimately landed on the side of giving the people what they want: tender, consensual romance with a man temporarily transformed into a grizzly bear." Alright man, you know what, sure.

The joys and pleasures of sexual congress with a wildshaped Druid are not quite for me but I keep an open mind, and watching Larian demo one such romance scene at its final Panel From Hell preview presentation of Baldur's Gate 3 between fan favorite elf vampire Astarion and the hunky druid in question, Halsin (who eventually goes full grizzly bear mode), I was struck by the sheer amount of effort put into the scene.

The lead-up features a tasteful sprinkling of Austin Powers-esque scenery censorship when our duo gets in the buff, the second time we've witnessed this "king of all gags" in gaming in less than a month⁠—thank you, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. There seem to be a myriad of ways the scene with Halsin can play out, including vanilla, bear mode, and "sorry, I think I've got a headache tonight," which can be opted into or out of at various points in the conversation. 

At the final moment of ursine coitus, the camera cut away to a nearby squirrel watching from a tree branch⁠—the little guy dropped his little acorn, mouth agape like something out of Shrek, and let me tell you, I was hooting aloud.

The earlier demoed date in downtown Baldur's Gate with tiefling barbarian companion Karlach Demonsbane was a little bit more familiar and tame, though she does seem to have some manner of hell-bomb surgically inserted in her torso. Just like the grizzly scene we saw earlier (badabing) this sequence looks both impressively bespoke and well realized, but also open ended. Do you request a bottle of wine from your grumpy half-orc server, like a regular Don Juan, or opt for tea for the table like some kind of fuddy duddy? Getting lucky with Karlach Demonsbane hangs in the balance.

That's what has me excited for BG3's romance storylines, just like the wider game: this promise of über high production values coupled with a classic RPG sense of choice and reactivity. In the presentation, Larian's writers described how its romance subplots have a large number of permutations depending on how you approach them, the main quest, and side stories, with some companions even being open to polyamory and others wanting to stay exclusive.

Live SQUIRREL reaction. (Image credit: Larian)

Look, I'm not trying to dunk on Starfield here, I'm really excited for it, but romance has never been a strong suit or even really a focus for Bethesda. Remember how in Skyrim you'd just wear the amulet of "I'm single and ready to mingle," then bring an NPC back to your house where they'd just kind of hang out and sleep in your bed? At least Skyrim seemed to know what kind of game it was, but beginning with Fallout 4 Bethesda started chasing more authored companion love stories that just never landed super well.

Starfield's got plenty of its own selling points, but in terms of those four dopey astronaut employees you'll get to start workplace relationships with, buddy, there's just no chance⁠—they are gonna get annihilated by Larian's stable of demon girl mommies and freaky bear druid daddies.

I sense a change in the wind: the great slumbering masses of Tumblr-core BioWare romance fans, the type of gamers who made fan cams of Anders and Fenris in Dragon Age 2 have been reawakened. CD Projekt has offered something similar on occasion, but with BioWare having gone dark for so long, this sardaukar has wandered the wastes of the internet with no unifying cause. If BioWare was Rob Stark (I guess Anthem is the Red Wedding maybe?) Larian is Jon Snow. Baby, there's a new King in the North. Get ready for an unprecedented economy of Astarion-fueled fan cams and fanart.

Associate Editor

Ted has been thinking about PC games and bothering anyone who would listen with his thoughts on them ever since he booted up his sister's copy of Neverwinter Nights on the family computer. He is obsessed with all things CRPG and CRPG-adjacent, but has also covered esports, modding, and rare game collecting. When he's not playing or writing about games, you can find Ted lifting weights on his back porch.

Read more
Two characters from Avowed looking to the left and standign in a jungle with a shaft of light piercing through it
Those mad lads at Obsidian were bluffing us: Avowed does have a tiny bit of companion romance, as a treat
A BG3 Tav kissing Karlach in one of the updated Patch 6 kiss animations.
All Baldur's Gate 3 romance options: who you can pursue
A man shouting while waving his sword in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.
Baldur's Gate 3 and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 show that the future of RPGs is in games way more ambitious, weird and unexpected than anything Bethesda and BioWare have to offer
A fungus-infected bear attacking in Avowed.
Avowed is overrun with bears and I need to find out why
Withers Big Naturals mod image - Withers with big naturals
Larian celebrates 100 million Baldur's Gate 3 mod downloads by bringing 'Withers Big Naturals' to consoles
Dragon Age Dreadwolf antogonist, Solas the elf, with a huge wolf walking next to him through smoke
Dragon Age voice actor says his favourite way to play Inquisition is as a woman who romances himself, which is apparently 'the best'
Latest in Baldur's Gate
Baldur's Gate 3 player character made to resemble Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher.
Wait a minute, Geralt of Rivia actor Doug Cockle was in Baldur's Gate 3 this whole time
Half Orc wearing rare Bhaalist Armor in Baldur's Gate 3 standing in front of Astarion and Karlach
It turns out you can get Baldur's Gate 3's best assassin armor without killing a baby angel elephant and joining a cult, all you have to do is pickpocket a ghost
Gale, a wizard from Baldur's Gate 3, looks very bloodied and very sad at the player while a celestial midnight blooms behind his depressed mug.
Baldur's Gate 3's stress test update has, mercifully, made one of its new OP cantrips halfway balanced again—but it's really still quite good
Withers Big Naturals mod image - Withers with big naturals
Sure, why not, here's a guy beating Baldur's Gate 3 without a race or class at all
Baldur's Gate 3 - Lae'Zel looks disaproving
Lae'zel's voice actor Devora Wilde also auditioned for Shadowheart, Karlach, 'And probably Astarion?'
An Oathbreaker Paladin restoring their Oath in Baldur's Gate 3.
Baldur's Gate 3's Patch 8 is so big, it needed its own patch before it even released, and we're one step closer to a Permanent Booming Blade Economy
Latest in News
spectre divide
Spectre Divide and its studio are shutting down after just six months: 'The industry is in a tough spot right now'
Naoe looking at the wrist blade in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Ubisoft backflips, says Assassin's Creed Shadows will support Steam Deck at launch, but I doubt I'll actually want to play it there
Henry from KCD2 wearing nice outfits
'Diversify your fashion endgame' with this Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 mod that gives Henry fly new gambesons, pourpoints, and caftans
Masked Counter-Terrorist in helmet in forefront with sunglasses and beret-wearing CT in background touching headset
There's hope yet for Classic Offensive after its Steam rejection: The team behind the Counter-Strike 1.6 revival mod is in touch with Valve about its 'concerns'
Recently appointed Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan.
Here comes Intel's new CEO: a semiconductor veteran that won the same prestigious award as Jensen Huang and Lisa Su
BURBANK, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 15: Protestors attend the SAG-AFTRA Video Game Strike Picket on August 15, 2024 in Burbank, California. (Photo by Lila Seeley/Getty Images)
8 months into their strike, videogame voice actors say the industry's latest proposal is 'filled with alarming loopholes that will leave our members vulnerable to AI abuse'