Baldur's Gate 3 spoils Karlach and Halsin fans with new kiss animations and leaves Astarion devotees in the friend zone

The latest Baldur's Gate 3 patch has changed Karlach and Halsin's kiss animations for the better - but left Astarion fans demanding more.

In the Baldur's Gate 3 patch 4, which went live on November 2, developer Larian made a few changes to the RPG. One of the most noticeable changes saw improvements to "the appearance of Karlach's kiss," as well as fixes to "some kissing animations for large female humans and female dragonborns." It didn't take long for fans to investigate these changes themselves, with several asking Karlach for a smooch soon after the patch was released.

Larian should be proud of itself as Karlach's new animation has made the Tiefling Barbarian's fans go absolutely feral. "THE NEW CASUAL KISSING ANIMATION FOR KARLACH IS MAKING ME INSANE," one Twitter user has shared, along with a clip of them locking lips with the companion. "Whoever animated the new Karlach kiss… You need to buy me more memory because I can't stop screenshotting," another fan revealed.

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OH MY GOD THE NEW KARLACH KISSING ANIMATION IM GOING TO HAVE A FUCKING STROKE LAKSDJALKSJDKLASJD pic.twitter.com/KTc0sm9nNDNovember 2, 2023

Similarly, fans have pointed out how much smoother Halsin's kissing scenes are. "Halsin has a new 'casual' kissing animation too, it matches the vibe of his romance well I think," one Baldur's Gate 3 player shared, along with a clip that proves it. "Short Kings & Queens stay winning with Halsin with #BG3 Patch 4," another has also said, along with a clip from their playthrough, which features the NPC crouching down to kiss a short Tav.

halsin has a new "casual" kissing animation too, it matches the vibe of his romance well i think pic.twitter.com/NnPXRCojYkNovember 2, 2023

Unfortunately, Astarion fans have been left feeling pretty unloved by their favorite companion, as his kissing animations haven't received the same treatment. Instead of feeling like a grand romantic gesture, Astarion's new kiss is simply a peck on the lips. As one fan has pointed out, maybe "Larian didn't have any budget left after animating Halsin's new kiss that all Astarion gets is a tiny boop"? Another Astarion fan has been friend-zoned completely after asking the companion for a kiss and the game skipping over the kiss animation completely. That must have hurt.

I saw Halsin and Karlach's new kissing animations and was wondering why people weren't posting Astarion's... I think I figured out why. #BaldursGate3 #Astarion pic.twitter.com/T7CmDw9rEMNovember 2, 2023

Elsewhere in the new patch, Larian has added the ability for Baldur's Gate 3 players to give themselves, and their party members, a nice sponge bath. How stinky must the whole team have been if this has only been implemented now?

Test out the latest patch with our Baldur's Gate 3 romances and relationships guide.

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training. My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.