If you’re not into the gaming scene, you may not have heard about Baldur’s Gate 3, a D&D-based role-playing adventure for PC and PS5 that won the Game of the Year Award and allows you to play completely naked. That’s right. While many nude mods have been made over the years to remove a game character’s clothing (Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn comes to mind), Larian Studios made the bold and unprecedented choice to do the modders’ job and not censor the heroes’ genitals at all, in a game that cost hundreds of millions and that took over a decade to produce. They even give you a choice of penis and labia!
This is a promising sign for ending the nakedness taboo and our body shame culture. Most players either embraced the nude option or didn’t care. We saw no outrage, no shame, no protests from parents, nor any sensationalism from misinformed reporters looking for a scoop. And this isn’t just some obscure title made by an indie developer; this was literally the BIGGEST game of 2023!
No doubt, the nudity in Baldur’s Gate 3 serves to titillate its mostly male players, especially when those players opt to make a female heroine who is, let’s face it, young and pretty. But the beauty of the game is that it unintentionally promotes the nudist/naturist perspective, whether Larian Studios intended it or not. The naked hero or heroine you play is depicted in a very natural, matter-of-fact way. There is no focus on nipples or genitals (you do see it from time to time, but only when those parts naturally come into view). You also never see any lurid, sexy poses, and your lack of clothing never leads to sex (there is sex in the game, but it’s separate from the nudity). You can explore, fight, and fully interact with the game and its inhabitants, all without wearing a stitch, and your nudity never factors into the equation. Playing Baldur’s Game 3, it’s easy to imagine a world where the human body has been accepted and normalized, where your choice to wear nothing is as valid an option as wearing jeans, a loincloth, or full plate armor. As a lifelong nudist/naturist, this game is a literal dream come true.
Thelana in Baldur’s Gate 3
Of course, I had to play as my naked heroine, Thelana. I could have also played as Xandr, her lover, but if I am to be honest, I much prefer looking at her body than his. Now, this isn’t the first time I’ve made my girl in a video game. Thelana graced my screen in Skyrim and Street Fighter VI, but I was never given the option of removing her pesky underwear, so she could never quite be herself. A clothed Thelana just isn’t Thelana.
That being said, the BG3 version of my heroine isn’t quite perfect either. She is much bigger and more muscular than she is in the books, and she stands taller than most NPCs, even though she’s supposed to be about 5’2. I would have liked a more robust character generator like in Street Fighter VI, but BG3 only offers you the choice of two female body types: WWE wrestler and elvish waif.
For those D&D players out there, I chose barbarian for her class to get the ‘unarmored’ bonus to AC (since she can’t benefit from armor, obviously), but I multi-classed her into a rogue for the rogue’s hide and sneak attack abilities and their expertise with the bow.
Again, it’s a bit odd when you’re cavorting with fully armored humans, tieflings, and elves, and you’re just standing there with your pubic area fully exposed. Even the goblins and orcs have the sense to cover themselves with the bare minimum rag. There is an option to remove your party members’ clothes, however, which was a tempting idea, but in the context of the story, it didn’t make sense, and I like to think Thelana’s nakedness is unique to her race. Still, none of the NPCs acknowledge her naked body, nor do they ever question it. In Skyrim, at least, I was often admonished to “at least put on . . . something,” which would have made for a nice touch of realism in BG3.
Still, the lack of attention given to Thelana’s nudity is also kind of inspiring. In my headcanon, the Ilmar are unique among Faerun’s races, except that what defines the Ilmar is their aversion to clothing. Like the Hobbits’ barefootedness, the Ilmar simply don’t need protective layers to weather the elements. Perhaps, in a future novel, the people of Aenya will embrace the Ilmar in the same way, exposed genitals and all.
Being and Nakedness 
BG3 is huge fun. Love it. The anatomically realistic figures and clothing optionality are enlightened. When my team returns to camp for a long rest, the armor and clothes come off. The team has also enjoyed free-hiking through some low intensity, battle-free segments of the game. It is great to see a game that embeds right naturist sensibilities.
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It then gets disarming on the level up screen, to see your party decked out in gear. XD
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