Bodies, Bodies, Baldur’s: Celebrating the Trans-Inclusivity of ‘Baldur’s Gate 3’

There are so many reasons to play Baldur’s Gate 3, even if you’re not super familiar with this genre of game. One major reason that players are fawning over the game (myself included) is its in-depth character customization system, with which you can truly create a character tailored to your own sense of aesthetics and personalization.

But there was one aspect I wasn’t necessarily expecting: tailoring your character’s genitals. Few games really let you explore genitalia in any meaningful way, yet BG3 has gone the extra mile to really ensure that your character feels like an extension of you—in even the most intimate way possible.

I know, it’s easy to be glib when you’re talking about private parts, especially when you get to cycle through multiple options for vulvas and penises. It’s especially easy to be glib when the default option for vulva is, essentially, a landing strip. But I wanted to take a moment to highlight, and celebrate, the trans-inclusivity that this game is offering.

Baldur’s Gate 3 allows you to go beyond the standard “pick a gender” options most games stick with, and instead lets you choose which “body type” you’re most comfortable with instead. There are four options: 1 and 2 are traditionally “male and female” presenting from the top up, and 3 and 4 are the same, but buffer. You can then choose any voice you’d like from a preset of 8, as well as what pronouns you’d prefer your character to be referred to with (nonbinary is an option, which is amazing!). And, finally, you can choose what set of genitalia you’d like your character to have.

Many took to the internet to claim that such customization was unnecessarily political in a fantasy game. To those people, I don’t know what to say, because if fantasy is whatever you want it to be, why not let people be who they truly are within it? That’s just good design, plain and simple.

(featured image: Larian Studios)