Baldur’s Gate 3’s Dark Urge revelation is a huge missed opportunity

While the Dark Urge is a beloved part of Baldur’s Gate 3, the way the game handles one key story moment leaves much to be desired.

The Dark Urge Origin character is a highlight of Baldur’s Gate 3, offering a deep storyline with a customizable character that has some players questioning why it’s not the default option over Tav. However, there is one pretty glaring oversight with their storyline: How the rest of the party reacts to the revelation of the Dark Urge’s backstory.

Note, spoilers for the Dark Urge’s backstory to follow.

At the start of the game, the Dark Urge is an amnesiac with innate murderous desires. It’s up to the player (and their dice rolls) to determine whether they can resist their murderous desires or embrace them, adding to the violence and brutality of the Sword Coast.

Once you make it to Act 3, you’ll finally learn the truth about the Dark Urge: They are a Bhaalspawn like Orin the Red who actually masterminded the plan to steal the Crown of Karsus and create a mindflayer army to wipe out all life. This also means the Dark Urge is the reason why most of the companions have illithid tadpoles in their heads and they worked with Enver Gortash and Ketheric Thorm before Orin’s betrayal.

However, despite how shocking that reveal must be to those who have been traveling with the Dark Urge for a while now, your party members don’t really react much to the news.

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If you talk to your companions right away, they have some things to say. Astarion, in particular, has an interesting response in which he says he’s grateful that the situation allowed him to escape Cazador’s grasp. Still, the fact that these reactions are so missable and are never followed up on makes it seem like everyone gets over it ridiculously fast.

That’s particularly glaring when it comes to Karlach, who was already betrayed by Gortash and has serious trust issues because of it. It would make sense if, upon learning that someone she relied on previously worked so closely with the man who ruined her life, Karlach struggled to reconcile the person they know with the monster behind the game’s central conflict – especially if she’s dealing with a murder hobo Dark Urge.

I’m not alone in finding this odd, as one Reddit user also questioned why other characters seem to barely react to the Dark Urge’s past saying, “In my shoes, even if I came to like Durge and even if Durge was actively being a good person, I’d at least ASK them about it.”

Given what the Dark Urge did and how much the party has suffered because of their actions, it really doesn’t make sense for everyone to immediately be fine with them after learning the truth. Baldur’s Gate 3 is a game with many decisions and revelations that result in real consequences, from Shadowheart having the option to change deities to Wyll and Karlach leaving permanently if you attack the Grove in Act 1.

This would have been a great opportunity for the Dark Urge to have to build back relationships or lose certain companions depending on their actions throughout the game. Or, as an extreme challenge, the Dark Urge could lose their allies and have to solo the rest of the game – perhaps fighting their former allies as they go.

I can understand the reluctance to make too much out of the Dark Urge backstory reveal. After all, those other examples involve some player choice, and some players may feel like they’re being punished for choosing the wrong character at the very beginning of the game.

Of course, some narrative disconnect is to be expected in a game like Baldur’s Gate 3. There are plenty of instances where the player’s actions and the companion’s reactions don’t entirely match up, from everyone letting the Alfira situation slide to characters not caring if you ignore side-quests they might be compelled to care about.

Still, I can’t help but feel like something important is missing given how huge the Dark Urge’s backstory revelation is and how minimal the reactions are.