Baldur's Gate 3

Launch Trailer.

Available Summary:

Baldur’s Gate 3 is a story-rich, party-based RPG set in the universe of Dungeons & Dragons, where your choices shape a tale of fellowship and betrayal, survival and sacrifice, and the lure of absolute power.

-Steam.

Jack's Summary:

I have a ridiculous number of hours in Baldur's Gate 3. This game is worth playing regardless of trans characterisation and representation.

Dragon Age: Inquisition and Dragon Age: Veilguard have more trans representation but are, in my opinion, inferior games in terms of roleplay outcomes, writing, and the player's impact on the world state. I literally never thought I'd say anything like that, because Inquisition is very close to my heart, but there you go.

Unlike Inquisition and Veilguard, this game does not have an obvious trans storyline. There is one trans humanoid character (a woman named Nocturne, voiced by English trans woman Abigail Thorn), but I had no idea of her backstory despite finishing the game multiple times. Discovering her trans identity depends on making one choice which I typically don't make. Valeria, a Celestial Hollyphant, is voiced by English non-binary actor Roly Botha, but is not stated to be trans in-game. Kerz, an optional companion of the player, is referred to with gender-neutral pronouns, but isn't really a character, per se. They're more of a... resurrected husk.

During character creation, players can choose to play as a man (he/him), a woman (she/her), or a non-binary person (they/them). Players can also choose what genitals their character has, independent of which gender has been selected. There are four body types; slender masculine, slender feminine, muscular masculine, and muscular feminine, with those body types (again) being independent of the other choices.

Unlike in Veilguard, choosing a trans configuration of body parts and identifiers will not cause characters to remark on your trans backstory. You can roleplay as a trans man or a non-binary person or a trans woman in a relationship with women or men, and sex scenes will feature whatever genitals you choose, but your identity is completely normalised and not remarked upon. I personally enjoy that approach to transness.

My main complaint about the gender options would be this; if you choose she/her or he/him pronouns, there are some pieces of dialogue which will misgender you with they/them no matter what you do, because some interactions were only recorded once.

I have been misgendered with they/them in real life, typically by healthcare workers who pair such comments with far worse rhetoric and abuse, and who ignore my steadfast presentation as a typical (almost boring) man who only uses he/him. One reason to avoid coming out as trans, in my experience, is that people who referred to me like any other man will suddenly start using they/them and she/her, with both sets of pronouns being equally dysphoria-inducing for me. So, obviously, being misgendered with they/them is puts me on edge.

For this reason, being referred to incorrectly in-game is a bit uncomfortable. The game's so bloody good, though, that I largely got over it. I skip the dialogue if I need to. You can decide what you're personally comfortable with, and what's likely to make you dysphoric. Cis players will also be misgendered with they/them in these interactions.

The genital options are also not particularly diverse. People with genital variations, whether innate (intersex) or acquired (trans) may not see themselves represented in the available options. It would be cool to have a couple more options which do not represent a typical penis or a typical vulva, when/if the game devs have capacity. It would be a cosmetic change which would mean a lot to some people. However, for what it's worth, Baldur's Gate 3 has a very active modding scene which includes genital mods.

Speaking of genital variations... throughout the game there are multiple body-shaming comments referring to small phalluses. This includes a poem about a cleric who is "cursed" with a very small penis, and so magically enlarges his genitals, thereby having "conned" his partners... and a poem about a man whose wife left him because he didn't have a large enough penis. The point of these poems is to laugh at men with small phalluses. They're pitiable and unwanted.

I encourage you to check out these articles for an intersex, trans-inclusive perspective on why genital-shaming is harmful:

• Who Gets Hurt When We Joke About Genitals?

• Body Shaming is Unacceptable, Even if Directed at Vile People: An Intersex Critique of “Small Dick Energy”.

Is this game still worth playing? Fuck yeah, it is. The genital-shaming needs to be addressed, though. Phallus-shaming is anti-intersex, anti-trans, and sexist.

CONTENT NOTE:

Obviously, there is a lot of violence in this game, with combat being a central part of the gameplay. In the settings, you can turn off mature content, including genitals, cinematic nudity, and the option to hide clothes during character creation. Gore, blood, and mature dialogue cannot be turned off.

An optional side quest involves investigating the death of a woman who killed herself, and you can interact with her ghost for dialogue related to her suicide. If you want to avoid this, refuse to help Oscar Fevras in Act 1, or refuse to help Lady Jannath in Act 3.

If you play as a character named The Dark Urge, the violence, murder, and disturbing themes are significantly more intense and frequent.