Baldur’s Gate 3 players highlight disappointing “imbalance” in companion content
Larian StudiosBaldur’s Gate 3 may have some of the best companions in recent RPG history, but that doesn’t mean each of them are on the same level.
Baldur’s Gate 3 has firmly established its cast as one of the most memorable of the last few years, and the origin characters are at the center of that. The runaway success of the game in 2023 was largely based on the instant recognisability of characters like Astarion and Shadowheart, brought to life with excellent writing and voice acting.
But not every character has been received in the same way. Many members of the camp have a smaller role to play in the story of Baldur’s Gate, such as Halsin, who finishes his quest in Act 2 and doesn’t have much to do for the rest of the story.
Additionally, many players feel that Wyll doesn’t get the screen time he deserves, considering how important he is to the administration of the titular city.
Baldur’s Gate 3 players prove not all companions are born equal
One player on the Baldur’s Gate 3 subreddit said: “After multiple playthroughs, I’ve noticed that quite a few companions get far more focus/content in the story than the others. It’s at the point that it bugs me when some companions like Wyll or Karlach have barely anything to do, when others like Shadowheart or Lae’Zel are basically the main characters besides Tav/Durge.
“I recognize that this is largely due to development time differences or rewrites (like in the case of Early Access Wyll), but it still doesn’t seem fair. Even Gale, another Early Access companion, barely has anything to do until the end of Act 2 and a little into Act 3.
“I apologize if I’m crapping too much on Shadowheart, but when she gets like 10 unique cutscene triggers in act one and an entire second act story dedicated partially to her background, it gets very annoying. And when she gets a flashback in dialogue, we actually see a cutscene of it. But when Wyll or Astarion get flashbacks, we just get some narrator dialogue and no scene?”
Several players agreed, especially with the point made about Wyll, with another player writing: “Wyll literally has his father kidnapped by the main bad guys in the first act yet his content is so sparse and bugged. It’s absurd.”