Baldur’s Gate 3’s Laezel is “unlikable,” and that’s okay

pcgamesn.com:

“Who am I? Your only chance of survival.” This is Lae’zel’s formal introduction in Baldur’s Gate 3, and it’s emblematic of her character as a whole. Lae’zel will keep you alive, but she’s not here to make friends, and her abrasive nature has garnered her a solid reputation as one of the least favorite companions in BG3.

There’s no doubt that Lae’zel is a strong female character, but she bucks the trend of being a likable female character. PCGamesN caught up with Baldur’s Gate 3 voice actor Devora Wilde at WASD to ask her what it was like to embody such a divisive character in one of the best PC games of the year.

“It was really refreshing. I don’t think I’ve ever played a character that’s quite so unlikable-slash-honest,” Wilde divulges. “It’s very freeing to play a character like that. You don’t come across them very often.”

Lae’zel is very much a product of the githyanki’s warrior culture: ruthless, yet pragmatic – the direct opposite of Wilde’s self-confessed tendency towards people-pleasing. “That’s just the way she is, and if you find her rude or off-putting, then that’s not her problem.”

In some circles of the Baldur’s Gate 3 community, Lae’zel is beloved for being a straight-talking githyanki who knows what she wants; in others, she’s derided as a cruel and selfish killjoy, diametrically opposed to the slightest act of charity.

Wilde believes that Larian’s writing room knew that Lae’zel would be a divisive Baldur’s Gate 3 character, but she attributes it to creative honesty as much as risk-taking: “I think you could argue that all of the characters have a little bit more unlikability about them than usual.”

While companions in RPG games tend to align themselves in service to the player, Baldur’s Gate 3