Baldur's Gate 3 already has more Scousers than 99 percent of games | GAME3A
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Baldur's Gate 3 already has more Scousers than 99 percent of games

When was the last time you heard a Scouser in a video game? I remember it vividly. It was 14 months ago, after I had written an in-depth article about...

Nancy Ing Aug 10, 2023
Baldur's Gate 3 already has more Scousers than 99 percent of games

When was the last time you heard a Scouser in a video game? I remember it vividly. It was 14 months ago, after I had written an in-depth article about the lack of Scouser representation in games. At that time, I could only mention Conker's Bad Fur Day and a few grunts in Worms before stumbling upon Jason Isaacs' portrayal of the flawed robot Skew in The Last Worker. The game ultimately turned out to be disappointing, but I still appreciated Isaacs' accent.

A friend then introduced me to Eternal Threads, a time-traveling mystery featuring the voice of Jennifer Varda as Raquel. Scouser voice actors playing Scouser characters, you just love to see it. Since then, I've been scouring the entire Land Between for a Scouser, only to come across Welsh and Irish accents. I was delighted to hear grim Yorkshire tones in my demo of Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin, but the developers couldn't confirm if anyone from Merseyside is involved. And all this time, we could have had a Scouser Captain Price as well.

The past year has been barren in terms of Scouser representation. While I didn't expect games like Pikmin 4 or The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to feature Scousers, I held out hope that expansive RPGs like Final Fantasy 16 would satisfy me. Unfortunately, no such luck.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Already Has More Scousers Than 99 Percent Of Games

You can imagine my joy when I heard those familiar, lovely tones behind a locked door in the early hours of Baldur's Gate 3. A guy named Andorn was guarding the entrance to a chapel and went into panic mode after I had slaughtered his friends outside. As I prepared my virtual D20 for a deception check, his lines of dialogue kept replaying in my head. I couldn't believe it. A Scouser. Or more precisely, a Faerûnian with a Scouse accent. But to me, it was all the same.

Poor Andorn had only two or three lines before I broke down the door and shot a crossbow bolt into his chest. They weren't particularly interesting lines and probably not very memorable to most. They didn't impact the plot and were likely just inserted to show you how to perform surprise attacks on enemies. Essentially, he's a tutorial NPC. But he's more than that. He's a Scouser tutorial NPC. And I love him for what he represents.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Already Has More Scousers Than 99 Percent Of

So far, I've only spent a few hours in the Western Heartlands, but encountering a Scouser during the first half of that time is incredibly uplifting, especially considering that I've spent at least a quarter of that time creating my character only to ruin their appearance with a silly hat. Andorn is the only local from Merseyside I've come across during this time, but his presence alone gives me the strength to carry on, to find more of our kind, and to hear every word they have to say.

In the hope that Andorn is just the beginning of a long line of Scouser characters in Baldur's Gate 3. I hope that some of them are more than just tutorial NPCs (no offense, mate). I won't deceive myself and hope for a glorious Scouser companion, although that would be fantastic, but some NPCs who give quests or moderately important characters would be perfect. But don't expect me not to harm them. Not even their Merseyside origin can ensure that I spare them from my wrath.