Jamie F
A video game with focus on developing romance, full frontal nudity, and an interactive scene with a character who transforms into an enormous bear for coitus, looks set to become a mainstream hit.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is set for release on August 3, 2023 on PC and Mac via Steam and GOG.com, then on Playstation 5 on September 6. An Xbox version is also in the works.
The game has already caused a kerfuffle in the gaming world following online previews of its content. A short, early-release version of the game became the most popular game on Steam and GOG.com in 2020, raising the prospect of a bear sex-related game becoming a global smash.
In the game you assemble a party of characters to complete quests, along the way developing relationships that can blossom into romantic and sexual encounters. Some of these feature ‘choose your adventure’-style ‘dates’ in which you direct your character’s conversation and, ultimately, whether they have sex or not.
In one scene the playable character meets another character for sex, and is asked if they’re OK with getting down and dirty with a bear, because the magical character has a tendency to morph into ursine form when flustered. A preview stream of the game shows the character in bear form about to mount the playable character, before the footage cuts to a “Not safe for stream” message.
The game features full-frontal nudity, although it’s not yet clear how explicit the bear sex scene gets. PETA shouldn’t be too worried about depictions of animal abuse, though: as the bear is the manifestation of a humanoid character rather than just a plain old grizzly, it has very much given consent. The bear character also considerately warns his new partner that he is “large”.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is created by Larian Studios. The developers said that the sex and romance elements of the game, while often featuring fantastical hook-ups, were designed to reflect real human relationships.
“You don’t just do someone’s quest, then say some nice things, then get a sex scene… we’ve been trying to show two people genuinely struggling through a hard time and supporting each other,” the company said.
Speaking of characters you interact with, the developers added: “If you’re going to be an asshole to them, you can expect them to react to that kind of assholery you’ve inflicted on them. If you’re going to be good to them, then you have the opportunity to bond with them.”
They also said that if you treat a character particularly badly, you could end up being “sacrificed in an evil god sex rite,” which doesn’t sound like a particularly pleasant outcome.
