Who's kicking the squirrel in Baldur's Gate 3? I just wanna talk

Baldur's Gate 3 squirrel — (Image credit: Larian Studios)

Talking with the animals in Baldur's Gate 3 can, and likely will, go terribly wrong - as one player discovered during their playthrough.

Twitter user and streamer @Toasty_xo recently shared a video demonstrating the Speak With Animals spell that can be performed by Druids, Rangers, and Bards. In the video, Toasty approaches a squirrel that's just minding its own business. After interacting with the woodland creature, the squirrel decides to nibble on their character's leg.

After shaking off the basically rabid squirrel, Toasty is presented with three choices. They can 1) Kick the animal, 2) Study the creature's behaviour, or 3) Leave. Much to my horror, Toasty picks the most aggressive option and their character gives the squirrel a tap with their foot - except it's not a tap, it's a full-blown punt that hurls the squirrel into a nearby tree as blood spurts out of its body. I haven't been the same since I saw the clip.

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Please brace yourself before you watch the clip below. Although entirely fictional, it's still potentially upsetting for animal lovers (mainly me).

first time I tried Speak with Animals, I fucking love this game 11/10 would recommend lmfao #BaldursGate3 pic.twitter.com/cxsHiwIjIrAugust 2, 2023

Clearly, Toasty didn't know just how bad this kick would be, as in the replies to the tweet, they seem to be somewhat remorseful about what they did to the poor little guy. "I DIDN'T KNOW IT'D ATTACK ME AND I DEFINITELY DIDN'T KNOW I'D CRIT IT," the Baldur's Gate 3 player says in the replies to their tweet. "I was so excited to use this spell, how quickly the tides turned," they also added, replying to someone else who was just as surprised.

I'm not sure who at Larian Studios thought that it would be okay to add this sort of feature in the game, but whoever they are - I just wanna talk. All jokes aside, it's a very exciting day for Baldur's Gate 3 players as today is the day they can officially play the full game after months of early access - at least on PC.

PS5 players will have to wait until September 6 to get their turn, unless they're too busy playing Starfield on Xbox Series X/S which comes out on the same day.

Just can't wait for the full game's launch? Check out our Baldur's Gate 3 launch live blog to get regular updates ahead and during release.

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.