Some say that the hardest part of Baldur’s Gate 3 is the Rapahel fight, or the Iron Throne, or even the final showdown versus the Netherbrain. But, in truth, it’s letting down the companions who are coming on to you without getting awkward. Lae’zel comes on pretty strong, while Gale tries to woo you with beautiful scenery. It’s pretty flattering, but you may have eyes for someone else.
Unfortunately, rejecting them means you won’t get to have too many deep conversations with them, or won’t be able to plan fun hangouts, besides their companion quests. It seems Larian initially planned to address this via a separate friendship system in addition to the romance system, but it didn’t quite work out.
Why Can’t We Be Friends?
In a conversation with Edge magazine (via PC Gamer), Kevin VanOrd, the writer for Lae’zel, revealed that the devs originally wanted to make the romance system a bit deeper by including a friendship feature. Unfortunately, time constraints meant that it couldn’t be implemented into the final version of the game.
“We had a lot of great ideas that never made it into the game because of time constraints. I would love to have a friendship system in addition to a romance system, where you get special events like dates,” he said. “I think it would have been really cool for characters to have romances with each other, outside of the player.”
I’m Literally The Only Person To Play Baldur’s Gate 3 This Way
I might have proficiency in Charisma, but not in Rizz.
That honestly sounds like fun. Imagine a night out drinking with Astarion, or a tabletop game with Gale, or even a duel with Lae’zel. Just because they’re not romance options, it doesn’t mean we can’t hang out. Of course, that would mean a lot more dialogues and animations, and Larian would probably have needed way more time.
As for the romances themselves, VanOrd loves seeing fan art and ships. “Something what makes me happy is getting to see all the wonderful artwork—safe for work and not safe for work—with which players interpret the characters,” he concluded.
- Released
-
August 3, 2023
- ESRB
-
M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence
- Engine
-
Divinity 4.0
- Multiplayer
-
Online Co-Op, Local Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
-
Full cross-platform play.
