Baldur’s Gate 3is a game about gathering up a party and romancing your favourite out of all of them. There’s something about the Dead Three and a Netherbrain, but who’s really paying attention to that part? Your party consists of a diverse group of people and the devs made sure that there’s at least one that’s your type.
While many of us pursued the muscle mommy or the bearded nerd,a vast majority went after the party’s resident goth, Shadowheart. Her character is the most fleshed out and has the best side mission as well, so I can see the appeal, even thoughI’m forever loyal to Karlach. However, it seems Shadowheart actor Jennifer English isn’t surprised at how many players chose to romance her character.
Jennifer English Knew All Along
In an interview with Fall Damage, English revealed, “when I learned that Shadowheart was the most-romanced character, I was pretty unsurprised, if I’m honest.” That’s some confidence, given the glamourous bunch of misfits she was up against. However, she said that there were two reasons why she was so sure of herself.
The first was Baldur’s Gate 3 writer John Corcoran’s writing. He was behind Shadowheart’s romance arc, and when English read his work, she knew that audiences were absolutely going to love it. It’s true, we see the character going through emotional highs and lows, and questioning herself at every turn. Who doesn’t find such vulnerability attractive?
The second, and rather unknown, reason English mentioned was watching a certain person blushing at her dialogue delivery in the recording studio. Aliona Baranova, who was a performance director for Baldur’s Gate 3 is also English’s real-life partner. “I had a ‘blushometer’ in the room,” she said. Baranova could not keep a straight face when English was delivering some especially steamy dialogues, and that’s how she knew she nailed them.
With that kind of backing and support, it’s no wonder English wasn’t surprised that a whopping 51 percent of players chose to Romance Shadowheart when Baldur’s gate 3 first came out. Of course, the numbers may have changed after all the repeated playthroughs, but she was everyone’s original darling.
