As Baldur's Gate 3 Patch 8 arrives, Larian Studios releases a new animated short to celebrate the D&D RPG's final update – and it pretty much canonizes my favorite ship

Baldur's Gate 3 The Final Patch animated short

(Image credit: Larian Studios)

Celebrating the long-awaited arrival of Patch 8 for Baldur's Gate 3, Larian Studios has uploaded a new animated short – and it might just canonize a fan-favorite companion pairing.

Dubbed "The Final Patch," the animation's description on YouTube carries a bittersweet vibe with it: "After a lot of testing and a healthy dose of stress, the party is readying for one last adventure to mark the end of an era. But something feels different…" As it's accompanying the last Baldur's Gate 3 update, it also unfortunately stands as the last short to come from Larian, "To help us close the door on our last major patch."

The animation is just as chaotic and fun as its predecessors, though, starting with Astarion looking back at his adventures with fellow Baldur's Gate 3 companions Gale, Karlach, Lae'zel Shadowheart, and Wyll. The party then gets transported into Patch 8, where they each take on one of the 12 new subclasses – Arcane Archer Fighter, Bladesinging Wizard, Death Domain Cleric, Path of the Giant Barbarian, Swashbuckler Rogue, and Hexblade Warlock.

Baldur’s Gate 3: The Final Patch - An Animated Short - YouTube

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Eventually, Larian lead Swen Vincke himself swoops in, and the animation pans back to the party members in modern day, all playing Baldur's Gate 3 at home on different platforms (hinting at the new patch's added cross-play feature). Seeing each character "irl," so to speak, is fun in itself, but witnessing Karlach and Shadowheart living together is the cherry on top – a low-key canonization of the community's beloved Shadowlach ship, even.

As one commenter exclaims, "OFFICIAL SHADOWLACH CONTENT NOTHING ELSE MATTERS!" Another asks if the short means "Karlach and Shadowheart are canon now," because "HELL YEAH" if so. As a hardened Baldur's Gate 3 stan myself, I'm choosing to accept the animation as confirmation of Shadowlach – and nobody (not even Larian) can convince me otherwise now after watching The Final Patch.

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After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

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