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Riding the high of a big reveal event and preview flood, Baldur's Gate 3 has quickly shot up the charts to become one of the top-selling RPGs on Steam and, at the time of writing, the seventh top-selling game in general. Apropos of nothing, I can't help but notice that none of its competition will let you have sex with a grizzly bear.
If you're too pure to know what I'm talking about, prepare to be corrupted: last week, developer Larian Studios revealed, to rapturous applause, that Baldur's Gate 3 will let you sleep with a Druid who's currently turned themselves into a grizzly bear via Wildshaping. Coincidentally, it's risen 18 spots on the Steam charts since.
Have a gander at the other top-selling games on Steam and you'll notice a distinct lack of bear love. The only RPGs currently beating Baldur's Gate 3 are Dave the Diver, which I'd call RPG-lite but it is a fair tag for it, and Elden Ring. Dave the Diver is all about fish, so it gets a pass here. But Elden Ring? FromSoftware's open-world epic is notoriously full of bears, yet none of them are suitable partners on account of being 1) actual bears and 2) more interested in mauling than cuddling.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is less of an RPG, but it comes in at number eight on Steam and it's chock-full of grizzly bears, yet again, none can be romanced. For shame. The other RPG in the upper echelons is Cyberpunk 2077, and while it features plenty of chromed-up burly men who might reasonably be described as bears, true-blue loveable bears are in short supply.
You might be thinking that Baldur's Gate 3's surge in popularity should be attributed to the many other interesting, non-bear things we've heard since its high-profile preview event, like its lead writer fielding Starfield comparisons and convincing us that Monk is actually the best class. You may also argue that this kind of event, especially in the lead-up to the already well-received RPG's official post-early access launch, would inevitably ignite some hype no matter how many bears were involved.
You would admittedly have a point, but Larian's claim that releasing an RPG with "tender, consensual romance with a man temporarily transformed into a grizzly bear" is "giving the people what they want" is looking less absurd by the day.
Here are some Baldur's Gate 3 tips to help you survive this unbelievably dense adventure.
