The 'gayest game of all time' just won Game of the Year 2023

In a stunning turn of events that has left the gaming community gobsmacked, Baldur's Gate 3 managed to snatch up six trophies, including the coveted Game of the Year title, at The Game Awards 2023. In a world where Alan Wake 2 and its three victories exist, one might wonder what mysterious forces propelled the Dungeons & Dragons RPG, which hadn't seen a proper sequel in over two decades, into the limelight.

What

Larian Studios, based in the gaming hotbed of Ghent, Belgium, deserves applause for transforming the classic Dungeons & Dragons experience into a virtual escapade.

Guided by a Dungeon Master-like voice, visible dice rolls, and a cast of characters with performances supposedly better than your average night of tabletop gaming with friends, Baldur's Gate 3 allegedly shines on PC and now, as of recently, on Xbox.

The game just swept the Game Awards 2023, winning in six different categories including:

• Game of the Year
• Best Performance
• Best Player Voice
• Best Multiplayer Game
• Best RPG
• Best Community Support

One of the game's not-so-secret features involves an infamous potential rendezvous with a bear. Who would have thought what was missing from the rich tapestry of video game romance was a one night stand with a grizzly?

Larian Studios decided to spice things up during a pre-release live stream, revealing the game's romance options, including a gay encounter with a Druid named Halsin, who has a peculiar affinity for shape-shifting into a bear. Naturally, this revelation caused quite the stir on social media and even led to Larian's stream getting pulled from TikTok. 

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Baldur's Gate 3 takes inclusivity to a whole new level, offering players the thrilling opportunity to play as a gay and/or trans character. In a world where gender options are as diverse as a Dungeons & Dragons manual, players can explore 174 hours of cut-scenes and a staggering 17,000 possible endings. Because when it comes to fantasy storytelling, more is ALWAYS better.

The game's approach to sexuality is, to put it mildly, groundbreaking. 

In an industry often marred by awkward or downright cringe-worthy attempts at integrating sex into video games, Baldur's Gate 3 emerges as a beacon of progress, not just for its success at The Game Awards but for its unabashed and commendable approach to sexuality. 

While the gaming world has seen its fair share of romantic escapades, the game's treatment of sex stands out as a transformative departure from the historical mishandling of the subject in the medium.

Queer contemporaries

Unlike its predecessors and contemporaries, Baldur's Gate 3 embraces sex as an integral part of the gaming experience. The game's sex scenes range from romantic to sensual, funny, and even downright bizarre - mirroring the diversity found in real-life relationships. This departure from the exploitative and voyeuristic tendencies that have plagued the industry for decades is a refreshing change and a definitive step towards maturity.

While titles like Dragon Age, Cyberpunk 2077, and Mass Effect have made strides in queer inclusivity, Baldur's Gate 3 takes it a step further by not only breaking away from gender restrictions but by giving players meaningful choices before, during, and after intimate encounters. The game forces players to reckon with the consequences of their actions, adding a layer of realism and accountability to virtual relationships rarely seen before.

Sex, gender and sexuality

All characters in Baldur's Gate 3 are "playersexual," meaning they are attracted to the player regardless of gender or sexuality. Forget about the intricacies of fully developed queer storylines; let's just make everyone a potential love interest. 

The game's commitment to inclusivity extends beyond gender representation, allowing players to create trans and non-binary characters and engage in a wide spectrum of romantic entanglements, including polyamorous relationships. Baldur's Gate 3 unabashedly celebrates love in all its forms, shattering the conventional limitations imposed by many other games.

In a gaming landscape where sex has often been reduced to fast-paced montages or obscured by cutscenes, Baldur's Gate 3 brings the deed into the spotlight with unapologetic transparency. 

• Dialogue options before, during, and after intimate encounters let players navigate the complexities of virtual relationships with nuance. 
• Whether embracing advances or rejecting them, players have agency over their character's romantic fate, a refreshing departure from the limitations imposed by the gaming industry's historical reluctance to explore the subject matter authentically.

Baldur's Gate 3 isn't just a standout game of the year for its compelling gameplay and narrative creativity; it earns its place among the best for daring to challenge the status quo and providing a nuanced and inclusive portrayal of sex in video games. 

In a medium that often struggles with the labels of maturity, Baldur's Gate 3 stands as a testament to how far the gaming industry has come and how much further it can go in embracing diverse, authentic narratives.