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Sex in video games isn’t new, but Baldur’s Gate 3 takes romance to exciting places. Intimate moments in video games have a long and controversial history. However, Baldur’s Gate 3 captures those meaningful moments in a relationship without feeding into being needlessly explicit. There’s a story, character development, and a beautiful artistic style to complement those moments. These are excellent features that prove future games can embrace sex without fuss.
Baldur’s Gate 3 – The Trials Of Romance
Like most RPGs with romance, players wondered if they could have sex in Baldur’s Gate 3. Well, you certainly can. These aren’t cheap love scenes that come after spamming conversations and constantly agreeing with them.
Instead, you must learn about and relate to your companions. Of course, it differs as the characters all hold unique personalities, wants, and desires. It allows the companions to feel real and behave in dynamic ways.
Baldur’s Gate 3 also forces you to think about who you want to have sex with. You can raise approval with one companion while killing it with another. The character of Minthara is a prime example of that.
There are still aspects involved that we love from traditional RPGs. Baldur’s Gate 3 enhances them. Yes, you do have to raise approval. But you can go on little “dates.” They’re fun quirks that add to the excitement that eventually leads to spending the night and having sex with your Baldur’s Gate 3 romantic interests.
Sex Scenes in Baldur’s Gate 3
Baldur’s Gate 3 has full nudity with the sex scenes if you want it to. You can always toggle it off, but Larian Studios is not hiding from its M rating. The fact that you can have sex with a Druid in his bear form speaks loudly enough. Before the game launched, Larian Studios revealed the bear during the Panel From Hell Release Showcase, triggering a funny TikTok ban and excited fans.
The game is performing well, no matter what. In fact, by day two of the PC release, the game received more than triple the expected player amount:
Probably should stay away from the IT team for a while – told them they should expect like 100k or so at max https://t.co/TY0aSrmWEx
— Swen Vincke @where? (@LarAtLarian) August 4, 2023
It’s tough to know if players are in for the story, the characters, or Beargate. What is clear is that the ability to have sex, with full nudity at that, has not harmed Baldur’s Gate 3. There’s a growing acceptance of a feature now seen as normal, if not expected.
Plus, we know how seriously Larian Studios took the scenes. They employed intimacy coordinators for their actors. It’s not something you see often in the video game world.
Bridging the Gap in Video Game History
We all know that Baldur’s Gate 3 is not the first RPG to include sex or nudity in romance scenes. BioWare’s Dragon Age and Mass Effect series participated in it. It still took time. Dragon Age: Origins saw characters in their underwear, while the sequel showed even less. Mass Effect was ripped to shreds over a brief scene with strategic shots that showed little.
Later on, BioWare felt more comfortable revealing nudity at a scale almost close to the sex in Baldur’s Gate 3. It’s most apparent in Dragon Age: Inquisition, where the devs took a bolder approach to the delight of fans. It proved how well you can please your fans by giving them a well-rounded romantic arc that happens to conclude with sex.
Around that same time, you had games like Saints Row IV that poked fun at RPG romances and sex scenes. Fans still enjoyed the more outspoken, lighthearted approach to the idea. It was a good indicator of how willing game companies were to address the matter.
However, it’s been ten years or more since those games. The willingness of Baldur’s Gate 3 to highlight sex without harming its sales is a breath of fresh air. Maybe now more game companies won’t hesitate to include them. It is a solid start to bridging the gap, so it won’t be as wide in the future.
Related:
Baldur’s Gate 3 Lae’zel Romance & Approval Guide
Baldur’s Gate 3 is available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
