Baldur's Gate 3 Patch 7 doesn't change one bard's grisly fate, but I'm glad she's dead

Within the first few hours of a Dark Urge playthrough, there are two signs that things aren't about to go the way you planned. The first, infamously, happens if you so much as think about biting off poor Gale's hand as he reaches for help through his portal. It's an evil trick on Larian's end – while you would expect to follow the dialogue to its natural conclusion, by either chickening out or doubling down with a dice roll to bite his hand off, your agency is snatched away. There's a fade to black, a quick munch, and suddenly one of the game's main characters is permanently dead. 

But if that feels underhanded, what comes next is outright devious. Early in Act One, friendly tiefling bard Alfira visits the party's camp, bright-eyed and keen to follow your adventure. She sleeps at camp, but come morning, the Dark Urge wakes up next to her mutilated body, drenched in blood after subconsciously tearing her to shreds. Unlike Gale, in which do-gooders will have avoided merely by not thinking about snacking on his digits, Alfira's fate is wholly unavoidable (unless you take the very meta-gaming step of knocking her out before she can visit). 

Is it grim? Beyond measure, as very few characters in Baldur's Gate 3 die as brutally. Is it undeserved? For sure – Alfira is a sweetheart. But, am I glad that she's still dead, following Larian's confirmation that Patch 7 hasn't made her a full-time party member? You better believe it. 

Don't fear the reaper

Sure, I feel bad for Alfira. She's disarmingly friendly, and unlike many of Act One's characters,  has no ulterior motives (besides crushing on Lakrissa). In my first-ever playthrough – not as the Dark Urge – I watched her go from mourning pupil in the Emerald Grove, to reaching the city of Baldur's Gate with ambitious plans to open a school for bards. 

But, as Alfira would undoubtedly back up if she was still here, art is suffering. The Dark Urge is not a playthrough for perfect happy endings, unless your fairy-tale finale involves swimming in red streets of minced Baldurians. During the first act, you're not meant to feel in control – and when the whole drive of Baldur's Gate 3 is to adventure on your own terms, losing that independence hits like a sledgehammer. Unfortunately, Alfira is the sacrifice that's needed to sell all of this – one final, bloody twist of the knife to ensure you won't underestimate the stakes again. 

Funnily enough, Alfira's death is pretty much the last time in the Dark Urge's story that you're truly trapped into committing an atrocity. From there on out, you're given a lot more options to push back on their innate bloodthirst, if you so choose. You can trace everything back to Alfira – it can be an unforgivable low that you never want to sink to again, or a jumping-off point for an evil playthrough to chase even nastier highs.

When your evil mind-controlling butler Sceleritas Fel attempts to have the Dark Urge kill their romantic interest in Act Two, there's no doubt that the threat of a dead party member is serious. Having already woken up in Act One's Alfira soup, you know the game isn't playing around. At this point you know the consequences for giving in –  it's why you rally so hard to pass every dice roll, to pick the perfect dialogue choices. To be good.

By the time Act Three rolls around, the Dark Urge's redemption story is Baldur's Gate 3 at its very best. Learning of your Bhaalspawn roots is your last chance to accept that loss of control and write your fate off as predestined, or fight harder than ever before to defy it. The latter is a hard-fought redemption – at every twist and turn you're tested, or offered easier paths through challenging encounters if you simply give in. But for those who can barely stomach upsetting a character, let alone slaughtering them and everyone they've ever loved, the memory of Alfira is enough to stay resolute for one last act. 

So yes, Alfira fans, I'm sorry that your favorite Bard is still dead. But I wouldn't have it any other way, as without her murder, the Dark Urge's story wouldn't be half as impactful as it is. "There are no new companions," wrote Larian in the game's latest patch notes. "There is only death." Perhaps for one single, brutal night that's true – but thanks to Alfira, it doesn't have to be the case forever. 

Baldur's Gate 3's Dark Urge is the wickedest I've ever felt in a video game