I haven’t reached the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Baldur’s Gate 3 epilogue just yet - I’m still in the middle of Act 3 - but some of the narrative and character changes made in the latest patch have rubbed me and others at TheGamer the wrong way. In Stacey Henley’s words, it 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:“f♏lies too close to the sun”.
Minthara, a companion who could previously only be recruited by joining her side and more or less committing genocide on a grove full of tieflings, can now simply be knocked out and talked to at a later point in the game where all of that drama can be ignored. Party members like Karlach still won’t be very pleased about the evil drow joining your ranks, but letting this once deadly enemy skirt around malicious allegiances and become your buddy goes against everything Larian’s RPG is all about. Each playthrough is about embodying a character and making decisions that stay with you, sending you on a path that can’t be diverted from. You should have to commit genocide to recruꦍit her, since once this gun is fired you should stick to it. Instead, Baldur’s Gat𒀰e 🌸3 wants to let players have their cake and have sex with it.
Lae’zel and Shadowheart deserve to be mean queens in Baldur’s Gate 3
Lae’zel and Shadowheart begin the game as stern and reserved women with good reason to keep their problems hidden, operating on the whims of traumatic conditioning they believe is impossible to escape. Over the course of dozens of hours, depenꦏding on choices you make, they may open up to you or explore past memories in ways that were previously impossible. They didn’t have the capacity to do so, and only after spending time with Tav or going up against difficult experiences can they gather the mental energy to grow as people.
You can’t get them to open up or grow as characters if you aren’t willing to play in a certain way, because if your outlook on life and primary ideals don’t match theirs, of course things are going to go awry. Minthara is exactly that, with Karlach leaving your ♎party seconds after invading the grove or going along with the drow’s plan. Without that, we suddenly have the paragons of good and evil chilling out in camp with no consequences. It doesn’t feel right.
Certain gamers wanted Minthara in their party but weren’t willing to take the necessary steps to make it happen, or at least weren’t willing to embark on a second playthrough. Things you miss in Baldur’s Gate 3 are almost as important as the things you don’t, like characters and narrative beats that may remain uncovered depending on your moral compass. Missing out makes me want to seek these components out, or at least encourage myself to step into the shoes of a character I may never have entertained otherwise, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:even if I suck at being the bad guy.
What stood out to me about Lae’zel was a change in the patch notes that reads: “If you are romancing Lae’zel or are in good standing with her, she will be less abrasive when asked to hang out i🔯n camp.”
This translates to ‘Lae’zel will be less mean now’, and discounts a hardened personality she has fostered over decades of life that shouldn’t simply fade away because she’s shacked up with the player. Softness will pierce through at times, but it doesn’t feel right to discount that part of her personality or imply that her upbringing can be cast aside so trivially just so we can flirt with them or not be offended if the act of embracingဣ affection or baring herself doesn’t come easy. I’d prefer to put in the hard work to make that possible rather than a patch doing it all for me. You can bring up a hatchling you share with her in the epilogue, implying you’ve also had a child together, no matter whether you’re playing an origin character or your own Tav.
Shadowheart is somewhat less aggressive in her language and mannerisms, but remains happy t😼o cast you aside if you mock her belief in Shar or outright refuse to alter her worldview through friendship and lived experiences. Play your cards right, and she will turn into a certified sweetheart, but like all characters in this game, we must work for that.
Except when it concerns women, apparently, because in the modern landscape many are taken in by the allure of dommy mommies who could take you to bed as well as snap your neck depending on the mood they’re in. We want bulging muscles and tough personalities as observers, although incorporating those characters into our own stories before asking us to navigate them is a step too 💫far, especially when it a𝕴cts as a barrier to emotional and physical gratification. So we rejoice when the odds are adjusted and our dreams of being crushed between the thighs of a raging githyanki are granted. All of it comes across as hollow, however, like we’re doing these characters a real disservice.
This is before we go into the misogyny that has been directed at more confident and masculine presenting women in the past, and still to this day in regard to video games. Abby from 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Naughty Dog’s 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Last of Us Part 2 is a prime example, who, due to her toned muscles, practical attire, and general attitude was seen as inferior, like we were forced to step into someone’s shoes wh༒o wasn’t as appealing because of how she deviated from normality. When it was revealed she was also responsible for Joel’s death in pre-launch leaks, this criticism evolved into rampant misogyny and transphobia that extended beyond the game and to the actors and face models responsible for bringing her to life. It’s strange, considering the game’s other protagonist, Ellie, is a lesbian woman who also goes against traditional feminine presentation. These are both strong female characters who take no shit and won’t hesitate to kill those who wrong them, but in a linear narrative blockbuster where potential sexual conquest isn’t a possibility, early bouts of hate eventually devolve into indifference.
Lae’zel and Shadowheart, much like Ellie and Abby, are driven, attractive, and consistently queer-coded women unafraid to wield the power at their disposal, even if it results in some viewing them as mean or failing to fulfil the roles we eඣxpect them to occupy. That’s exactly thꦆe point though, and if we want to see more powerful women in media we consume there must be a willingness to accept everything that encompasses.
Hardened personalities and layered ൲trauma must be challenged and unp🌜acked before eventually being embraced, but only if we’re willing to put in the work. To remove these important elements as part of a new update or complaining about having a hard time coming onto them in Baldur’s Gate 3 is no solution, and discounts the progress that needs to be made.
