I’ve only had a couple of characters, one’s I would expect to flirt with me, try to flirt with me on their own. Everyone else you have to seek it out in my experience. This really smacks of the “it’s because of your search history dude” trope. Stop choosing flirty dialogue and getting fauxfended when they flirt back. I agree it seems a little easy to pursue some of the romance trees, but it really isn’t in your face as much as these stupid articles would make it seem.
It reeks of immaturity in general, or maybe more cynically, the perception of a bunch of nerds that have never had a sex life. There are so few games that handle sexual and romantic relationships realistically, and now that we have one nobody knows what to make of it.
Some characters take things slow. Opening up gradually, sharing some wine, holding hands and enjoying a single kiss on a night alone together. Eventually this ramps up naturally.
Some characters on the other hand are like, “you ready to fuck? I’m ready. Love? Never heard of it.”
Both of these are normal and it’s cool to see both represented in the same world.
How the hell is this “realistic”? Everyone being playersexual, animal sex scenes around every corner?
You know you can turn off nudity and such, right? You know you can choose not to flirt with the origin characters, right?
I’m gonna be honest, from what I’ve played, it honestly seems like the people complaining about the party members hitting on them too much have just been clicking options without fully reading them. It kinda sounds like the writer here inadvertently started romances with every single party member.
Yes, if you get their opinion of you up high enough, they will open up the possibility of romance- but you can tell them that you’re not interested in them in that way, and the topic will never be brought up again. And yeah, the game is considerably more sexual than a lot of other RPGs. I don’t think there’s any denying that. But the author does make a good point in that it disrupts the usual structure of sex in video games. To me at least, in a way, sex in BG3 feels like it’s part of the world; rather than something that just exists for some late-game cutscenes.
Seriously. Gale started hitting on my friend because he would interact with him regularly. And my friend just picked the “you misunderstood, we’re just friends” option. Gale was like “sorry pal, let’s keep being good friends” - hasn’t brought up wanting to take things to the next level since.
I love how this game handles sex and romance, it’s unashamed with a sex-positive mindset, something that just seems natural to me but I guess I’m just weird.
Weirdos of the world unite! I’m all for equal-opportunity horniness lol.
I guess it’s unnatural for a large group of people, since a lot of people aren’t sex positive due to upbringing or some other factors.
I’m personally mostly okay with how the game handles sex and romance, and I also have friends who are completely okay with the game’s nudity as well (heck we even have a multiplayer character running around naked in camp lol). But I do have some other friends who were taken aback when character customization came up and genital customization was a thing.
“I’m no prude” and then rant at how too horny BG3 supposedly is… Yes you are very prude fellow.
Nah. I’m a prude: I prolly won’t play BG3 now. I’m big on sci-fi and I’ve never liked overtly horny interactions. The Culture novels handle it well and it didn’t annoy me. Vernor Vinge had problems deciding if he was writing scifi or rape fantasies.
I’m here for motherfucking space lasers.
You can turn off nudity in BG3, but it won’t push your buttons if you exclusively get off on space lasers.
Pew pew baby.
I don’t want every one of my games to be turned into porn. I am not a teenage boy who was taught that sex was the epitome of humor and life enjoyment. I want a little more mature writing than that.
Besides, the way that these game developers write sex scenes and romance could not be further removed from my lived experiences.
So, how was your bear sex different from the game?
They posted a counterpoint, too
https://www.pcgamer.com/baldurs-gate-3-is-the-horniest-rpg-ive-ever-played-and-i-love-it/
I do think it should be a bit harder to romance in this game. Because you don’t need to even try and to me that’s kind of a problem. Like I got people just sitting at camp who haven’t been in any quest with me or you just met and they’re already down for the dirty. Ready for the horizontal cha-cha. A little of the devil’s dance, a little campsite rodeo… I think a little effort isn’t asking too much. But they all acting like the Absolute is in my pants and they’re ready to get blessed!
I think the problem here is thinking that sex == romance.
There is also no way to just be friends. The friendly option are also the fuck options so if approval gets too high you need to actively be an asshole to them.
That’s the actual problem I think. Imo it’s fine for them to try to flirt with you, but almost all the non flirt options in those situations are kind of mean. There are also some options were I’m just not sure if I am being nice or starting down the relationship path.
Is this hug going to comfort them or is it already sexual? I don’t know. Which is all the more hard for me because I’m playing a kind old dwarfen paladin who just wants everyone to get along and be happy.
Just like real friendship.
Only as seen as a straight man.
My first playthrough I sent lae’zel straight to camp, never spoke to her again. At some random point before even act 1 ended, her romance dialogue came up.
My theory is the tadpoles ramp up sex drive to absurd levels, unless you’re shadowheart apparently. Illithid orgies must be incredible.
Toxoplasmosis
Aaah, so it’s a homage to Cronenberg’s 1975 movie Shivers
Hobbes had developed a parasite that was “a combination of aphrodisiac and venereal disease that will, hopefully, turn the world into one beautiful mindless orgy.”
Unless you’re shadowheart? I told her I didn’t hate her god and the next day she was hitting me with the “I’ve never had a confidant quite like you… You’re very special to me…”
She hadn’t even told me about the religious stuff yet when the option came up. Although if you read her mind about it as a woman, not only is she dead serious, she’s deeply confused and embarrassed to be realizing she’s bisexual.
No interest in doing a male file in order to find out whether Gale, Wyll, etc. would react with the same awkwardness, but I felt that. Normally, the devs just address it by making everyone openly bi from the get-go, and I appreciated the smallest shred of realism.
On one front, if not the other. I’m not really interested in a lot of her fighting style, so we’ve barely spoken.
I like it. It’s like college
We had very different college experiences.
As a European, I spent college doing academic work and being an adult.
Now all your other comments make sense.
What, being European?
Xenophobia isn’t really my bag. It comes off bordering vicious puritanism and I’m left wondering whether it’s the result of being ignored, or just the reason. I sat and did my work too, but goddamn.
I think the whole thing is fine, just…progressing way too fast to be believable, and hard to be “friends” without being cruel.
If we’re talking about the nudist option, I’ve been continually asking myself why that exists when we already know why. It’s eyebrow raising but if I wish it were the worst thing happening to me today. I can grumble and move on.
I have a bit conflicting thoughts about this. On one hand yes, the “let’s fuck” option comes a bit too easily: simply talk to them a few times, ask about their day, don’t be an ass and you’ll get laid on day 3.
But on the other hand, the game is also filled with situations where you make a single wrong comment and the conversation instantly turns to a fight, which ends up in a bloodbath.
I guess these balance each other out. The game is just generally fast with getting to a (quite extreme) conclusion in both ways, and I don’t really have a problem with it.
Lol, I mean you’re not wrong.
I just feel like… idk, maybe at night we use the weave… put on some music and see where the night goes.
I find the writing for each more or less appreciable, but I do think they need to slow their damn roll, definitely. Not only do all but two of them want me, somehow I ended up reaching this point at the exact same time with all of them and we might as well have solved the whole thing by massive camp orgy and called it a day.
I’m quite sure some of this can be gated behind specific plot points so the progression makes sense. I’m over here completely ignoring the plot for the side quests in Act 1.
Asterion says he “knows a place,” which is predictable because Asterion would bang a tree if it weren’t for the cock splinters. But he also very specifically said that same day that he’s never been to the underdark before, and he literally can’t know a place. We just passed an NPC that told us not to make the slightest perceptible noise or we’d attract ravenous monsters and we’re going to be murdered.
Maybe we should wait to offend god until after we get outside, perhaps?
Asterion would bang a tree if it weren’t for the cock splinters
Oh please, I get the feeling Astarion could make a Cenobite blush…
When you swap underwear with another character they don’t even mention it, no options to seduce NPC’s for fun or profit, sex doesn’t go into a turn based mode with various special traits and action options based on class and alignment…
I’m just saying if I made it then it’d be far hornier.
I want to roll dice to determine how good the sex was
Multiple skills to use there, Acrobatics, Performance, Survival, and Religion.
Survival
What are you planning to do cunnilingus with that requires the survival skill
Eating, for one.
Bioware or someone should take notes, there clearly is a market for this according to this thread.
How am I supposed to identify as my character and get immersed in being them if people want to have sex with them?
I had to choose penis type for my character, it would be a waste not to use it
Is there hydra?
Horniest RPG? The armors in this game are the least sexy I’ve encountered in years.
I guess it makes for a better “dividing” of the experiences. For instance, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 took it all the very wrong way. It might have a very compelling storyline and great character moments, but I’ll never know because 90% of my time spent playing would involve a subservient girl dressed in micro-shorts whose breasts are each the size of her head. Plus, it has a ton of pervy scenes that are pretty much mandated for the story.
At least in BG3, the nudity/sex/lingerie seems to be somewhat optional to focus on, and doesn’t generally distract from the experience.
Yes, I like the way they did it. They could also (maybe they already have) add some more underwear options.
This is so cringe.
crazy how we went from Mass Effect to No Sex Please, We’re Gamers.
We’ll hang, okay?
Some of us grew up. The others insist that “mature writing” means “haha sex penis”.
ugh, ‘growing up’ doesn’t mean ‘no sex please’,
growing up is understanding how complex narratives about the human experience sometimes include a sexual nature, and that some people just enjoy that aspect in general and that’s okay.
I don’t know if this an American puritanism revival thing or what, but it’s odd to see the absolute rejection under the banner of i guess “that’s just for kids”?
Sex-negative mindsets are dumb. It’s a core functionality of our nature. People mistook modesty for anti-sex and here we are.
I don’t mind sexuality and romance, not even in my games. I do mind what amounts to fan service porn and constant sex shoved in one’s face. The article makes good points.
constant sex shoved in one’s face.
How is it shoved in someone’s face when it can be easily avoided? Turn off nudity and avoid making horny comments to the companions. The game is just a reflection of the players actions. The article is literally projecting their own hangups with themselves.
I was thinking that it was the horniest game I’ve ever played, but I didn’t see it as a problem. Also, a bit of topic, but the steam reviews from mad players who “accidentally” did the nasty with the unintended persons is hilarious. They should have selected the nohomo dialog option.
I think the relationship threshold for the sex stuff needs to be higher. In my playthrough, I was propositioned by at least 3 different characters, and I was literally roleplaying a serial killer. I made no attempt at all to get them to like me. I think that stuff should only happen if the player has been seeking it out. And I don’t just mean the sex scenes themselves, horny dialogue and thinly veiled suggestions should happen less often and later in the story (like at least halfway through, certainly not in act 1). It especially stands out since the rest of the writing is pretty good, so an obvious “hey Player, wanna see a sex scene” moment is very out of place.
I’ve been playing the game with my characters completely naked so far. Hide the armor and take off their underwear and they’ll just run around in their birthday suits in battle, in the open world, and in cutscenes.
I think it’s really fun especially when you have shitty lvl 1/2 armor that looks stupid anyway. Maybe I’ll unhide their armor once I get some nicer looking gear. For now it’s tits and dicks everywhere.