Baldur's Gate 3 Review

GamesRadar

Who is your favorite Baldur's Gate 3 companion? Our producer Maddy thinks it should be Gale. So sit down, get comfy and let her try and persuade you to try out his storyline over the other companions on offer. She should probably touch some grass...

Transcript

00:00I feel sorry for Gale, the wizarding prodigy of Baldur's Gate 3. Not because he has an explosive

00:05orb in his chest, or that Elminster keeps coming to camp and eating his cheese, but because he is

00:11so often overlooked by the fanbase. When people think of character development and depictions of

00:17real world abuse and trauma, almost every single Baldur's Gate 3 fan will think of Astarian. Not to

00:23discredit Astarian's story in the slightest, it's masterful writing, but a lot of people don't

00:30give Gale's story the chance it deserves. He's complex, depicts issues that often go overlooked

00:36when men speak up, and not to mention his romance just makes me feel warm and fuzzy whenever I go

00:41down that path, which is every single playthrough. So buckle in, because I am going to try and convince

00:48you to give Gale's story a proper try, even if it does mean romancing a complete nerd.

00:55A lot of people see Mr. Dakarios as a clingy young man, with a penchant for eating your magical boots,

01:02but it's not entirely his fault. When the game first launched, a bug sadly put a lot of people

01:08off exploring the Wizard of Waterdeep storyline, myself included. Larian admitted that the character

01:14approval ratings being so low were a bug, and Gale should never have wanted to be yours simply

01:20because you breathed within a 60ft radius of him. It was a scar that would take a while to heal in the

01:25fandom, and a lot of people to this day still see Gale as the easiest companion to romance because of

01:32this. It put so many people off, and a lot of my friends have told me they haven't romanced or even

01:39wanted Gale in their party because of this overbearing introduction. It's a shame really, as Gale's

01:45backstory is just as turbulent and detailed as the other companions. Perhaps except Will, who was

01:52woefully underdeveloped in my opinion, but that's a matter for another day. His story has so many

01:58layers and complexities that people are just not willing to give the time of day. He's the only companion

02:04I see where people don't really talk about the deeper issues. Everyone just seems to take him at

02:09face value of a wizard with delusions of grandeur. The one thing people seem to overlook is that Gale

02:16is in fact a survivor of an abusive, turbulent relationship, where power dynamics were never

02:22going to be on his side. I mean, this man literally dated a god. You're never going to be on equal footing

02:30with a god. The dynamic between Gale and Mystra, the mother of all magic, is kind of icky. It's made

02:38clear that Gale was first noticed by Mystra from a young age for his magical abilities, and as time

02:43went on she ended up becoming his teacher, muse, and eventually his lover. It sounds as if, when Mystra

02:50first came into his life, he was very impressionable, something that is never outright confirmed but

02:57hinted at. All of the gods in this universe are selfish and cruel, but Mystra took advantage of a

03:04young human male, stringing him along and promising him and showing him powerful magic, only to tell him

03:11he wasn't good enough to have it. Mystra took him as a chosen, initiated a romantic relationship with him,

03:18and twisted his views on not only romance, but himself. Gale even admits that magic is his life,

03:25so it's obvious why Mystra could so easily become his entire world.

03:31The saddest part is, Gale talks as if all of this is normal in relationships. Not being equals,

03:38being taken advantage of and manipulated. He speaks so calmly and indifferently to what he's experienced.

03:46This is further backed up by the fact Gale feels he needs to perform grand gestures to show his love to

03:52you. He made love to you as gods do. He takes you to the outer planes to prove to you everything he

03:59could be and provide for you. Nothing is simple for Gale, and he feels as if he has to achieve

04:05greatness to prove himself in both life and romance. This is the mark Mystra left on him.

04:12In Act 3's romance scene, Gale truly believes he has to be a god to be the best version of himself.

04:19If you tell him you like him as he is, just a regular mortal man, he doesn't believe you.

04:27You would really prefer me as I am?

04:30It's heartbreaking. It's so obvious Mystra left a mark which made him believe he was never good enough

04:36and would never achieve greatness. A lot of people think Gale himself is manipulative,

04:42but perhaps don't appreciate that everything he experiences is heavily tied to how he was treated and

04:48manipulated by Mystra. He believed he had to have more to keep her. Yes, Gale wants the Crown of

04:55Karsis for power, but he doesn't want it for evil. You can see that Gale doesn't really want power later

05:02in the game. He's content with being a university lecturer. He also doesn't eat your magical boots for

05:09fun. He literally needs them so he doesn't die. He's a book nerd with a cat, a library,

05:17and a weakness for a good glass of wine. There's a reason his God of Ambition ending is considered

05:23his bad ending. Mystra is the worst person and I will die on that hill.

05:31There's a lot more to delve into with Gale, and I could talk endlessly about my favourite wizard. I haven't

05:37even mentioned the fact he became a hermit, which obviously affects the way he interacts with your

05:42tav at the start of the game, or that he was so ready to end his life to appease his ex-girlfriend.

05:48Gale's trauma really hit home with me, and the fact there was representation of something I have

05:54personally experienced in my own life in a video game was a moment I'll never forget. When I realised

06:01what Gale's story was about, it hit me like a sack of bricks. Astarion hit home with many sexual abuse

06:09survivors, Shadowheart shone a light on religious trauma, and Gale offers representation for those

06:15who have felt suicidal and unwanted, people with agoraphobia, loneliness, and grooming victims. Gale

06:24made me realise we are not the traumas we have faced, but how we come out of it at the other end.

06:30We can be content with just being. We don't need to prove ourselves a god. Just being here, alive, is enough.

06:43I used to believe Mistress Forgiveness was worth dying for. But I was wrong.

06:51You showed me just how much I have to live for.

07:00You showed me just how much I could find myself in my life.

07:02You showed me continually that things are like you, and I didn't know why it's going to be

07:04toach. We don't need to know what our spirit will be of.

07:06You showed me just how much I have to allow my spirit to be as an act.

07:09You showed me just how much I was looking for.

07:10I saw you guys at being here today.

07:11You showed me and I showed you guys that I was in my life.

07:12You showed me what you had to be, and I just talked about yourself with your spirit.

07:14You showed me that you had to be 찾ia.

07:16You showed me just a little bit of your spirit.

07:19You showed me just a little bit of light.

07:21You showed me that I had to do something with a long part of the faith.

07:22You showed me when I was abernate.

07:22You showed me completely.

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