Baldur’s Gate 3 leaves internet shocked with animal love scene

Developer Larian Studios left the internet and their live audience shocked after showing an explicit romance scene in Baldur’s Gate 3 featuring a bear.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is set to release on August 3, 2023 on PC and September 6 on PS5, and RPG fans can’t wait to get their hands on this much-anticipated title.

Ahead of the upcoming release date, developer Larian Studios held a four-hour live stream called the Panel from Hell, which gave showed off a ton of new, in-game footage and detailed some returning mechanics.

During the panel, the team showcased some of the relationship and romance scenes in the game. However, one of those explicit scenes showed the protagonist getting it on with a bear — leaving the internet (and a poor in-game squirrel) shocked at what they’d just witnessed.

Baldur’s Gate 3 animal romance scene leaves viewers stunned

Towards the middle of the “Panel from Hell” stream, members of the dev team at Larian gave a brief look at how romance options could play out in BG3.

The first romance scene showed off was rather tame, showing a Dragonborn protagonist going on a first date with one of the game’s companions, Karlach.

After the date scene with Karlach, Larian decided they will show off “another side of the spectrum” for the game’s romance. However, with this scene, they decided they would let the online chat and the audience dictate the choices made during the scene.

During the explicit romance scene with the Druid Halsin’s bear form, the camera humorously cuts to a nearby squirrel.

This time, the player character in the form of Astarion gets romantically involved with the Druid Halsin. When things are about to get hot and heavy, Halsin loses control and accidentally assumes his bear form.

Upon changing back to his normal form, Halsin apologizes. Before the next option showed up, Larian’s Swen Vincke noted the studio was “All about choice and consequences.”

Naturally, the first available option for the player to choose said: “Don’t apologize. I like it.” As many would guess, both chat and the live audience immediately called to select the first option, which led to the protagonist ultimately getting it on with Halsin in his bear form.

Thankfully, before things took too strange a turn, the scene humorously cut to a nearby squirrel eating an acorn, before dropping it in surprise at what was happening in front of it.

The internet’s reaction to the stream segment was a mixture of shock, confusion, and everything in between. Some comments included things like “Furries are eating good I guess,” and “Every day we stray further from God.”

Larian Studios was also banned on TikTok for the clip, as confirmed by the studio’s Director of Publishing, Michael Douse.

If nothing else, the scene certainly showcased the freedom of choice players have in Baldur’s Gate 3. For better or for worse.