Dark Heresy has "crazy romances" and "kinky stuff," but not because of BG3

Where were you when you first saw Astarion get it on with a bear in Baldur's Gate 3? I was on my sofa, innocently flicking through X (then Twitter), and while I'm hardly conservative, I was rather taken aback. As someone who's played a lot of Dragon Age and definitely didn't smooch the Desire Demon in The Fade, I'm accustomed to weird and wonderful romance scenes, but Larian certainly took the metaphorical biscuit. Warframe 1999's Eleanor romance path certainly followed BG3's example with, erm, alien tongues, making Owlcat's 2024 CRPG Rogue Trader look tame by comparison. The studio's upcoming PC game, Warhammer 40k Dark Heresy, is looking to push those boundaries, but it isn't BG3's "bear sex" that inspired it.

"I have like, 50 to 100 hours in Baldur's Gate 3," Dark Heresy's executive producer Anatoly Shestov tells me. "I played it with all of the different agendas [Dark Urge, for example] and I tried to analyze it from a developer's perspective. There are a bunch of brilliant solutions that build upon the expertise that Larian accumulated working on Divinity Original Sin - they are highly leveled up guys in this particular field [turn-based, tabletop-inspired RPGs]."

BG3's amorous diversions weren't what inspired Shestov in particular, though. Rather, it was the game's extraordinary scope for self-expressive roleplay (of which fantasy makeout sessions were just one example).

"From my point of view," he tells me, "the main thing that differentiates Baldur's Gate 3 from other games and [Larian]'s previous games isn't its reactivity or romances.

"It wasn't even the sex with a bear, for fuck's sake. It was the sheer palette of ways that you could express yourself at any given time. Not just in the combat, dialog, interactions or exploration; no, it's in the way it makes you think - it's the true tabletop way of thinking."

"I've got a party of five," he adds. "One is a crazy Selunite, one is a munchkin, one is a casual guy: they made a game where you can play solo with the option to switch to any of these different agendas." Which one is the munchkin, I wonder?

"This was always a reasonable, understandable, valid approach [to development], it was just too expensive," Shestov muses. "Baldur's Gate 3 was the first game that showcased that this expenditure has a benefit. So yes, Baldur's Gate 3 and its success influenced us and our understanding of how to allocate budgets to different aspects of the game, and how to analyze the players' experience."

I dig a little deeper into his comment about romance - after all, Rogue Trader's system was amazing (Yrliet is the only choice, let's be real) but a lot less complex than BG3's. I ask if Larian's approach has inspired Dark Heresy's approach to the feature, and how Owlcat has innovated upon it given that, in the post-Astarion landscape, it feels like every game needs romance.

"The overall ideology we have when making a game doesn't rely on quarters or metrics," he tells me. "We are genuinely making the games we like to play, and I don't know why, but for us a good RPG comes with the option to become intimate with the precious people around you - not just in terms of sex; sex is just an achievement, but the whole idea of going under the skin, going deeper than you expected.

"We're not changing anything about how we're thinking about romances," he continues. "It doesn't have any ties with Baldur's Gate 3, or Dragon Age and Mass Effect with their own brilliant romances. For us the sense of love, hatred, envy; any emotion is the pinnacle of character development as a whole, and we're using romances as just one way to achieve it.

"It isn't a just a check-box task to deliver kinky stuff. It comes from what you think will allow this particular character to evolve."

Dark Heresy will deliver some "crazy romances," however. "We're pretty open minded," Shestov says. "Because we've got one of the most talented narrative designers ever, we're able to deliver every time. We won't change anything; we're proud of what we're making, and we'll do our best to evolve."

Romance, for me, is something that's quickly becoming overdone. Larian certainly inspired developers to try their hand at it, but it feels like every RPG and its mom has some smooching these days. I'm excited to see how Dark Heresy builds upon Rogue Trader's systems - you might not be able to get cozy with a bear, but a Kroot feels like the next best thing.

If you're excited to experience Owlcat's vision of one of Warhammer's goriest stories, check out our Dark Heresy preview, with some added Shestov spice. Alternatively, we have a full rundown of the best Warhammer 40k games if you're looking for more grimdark adventures.

What are your thoughts on romance in videogames? Let us know on Discord, and tell us who you're planning on smooching in Dark Heresy.