Riding a second wave of sterling reviews that are somehow even better on PS5 than on PC, Baldur's Gate 3 is now getting the cartoon treatment, and the game's best companions already look and sound great.
YouTube animation hub Mashed announced its impending Baldur's Gate 3 cartoon earlier today along with a teaser for the cartoon short. From this teaser, I'm fairly certain that the original cast also voices their characters in the cartoon. We only hear Gale and Astarion speak in the teaser, but they're just too accurate to be copycats.
This lot are rolling the dice on what's behind the portal.They're leaving the land of Earlay Axes [sic] and heading straight for L'awnch [also sic].Watch a BRAND NEW Baldur's Gate 3 cartoon, coming to Mashed, VERY soon. pic.twitter.com/nefPOrNNMVSeptember 6, 2023
Astarion is oddly adorable here, and Karlach is, as ever, cute as can be. I like the extra silly persona Mashed has assigned Gale as well (Editor's note: Austin has yet to meet Gale, despite being 21 hours into the game, and therefore has no idea that this is just what Gale is like), and Shadowheart is appropriately fed up with it all already. If this snippet is anything to go by, we're in for a lot of Karlach picking on Astarion, which I very much support.
I'm extra certain that the cast is authentic seeing as how Karlach actor Samantha Béart and Astarion actor Neil Newbon shared the clip on Twitter (X). Larian director of publishing Michael Douse also highlighted the short, seemingly affirming that Larian's been aware of it for some time. "I never saw a final cut of this!" Douse said. "Thought it would be a funny idea to riff off EA and launch. Turns out, it was!" he adds, referring to the "L'awnch" and "Earlay Axes" gag heading the teaser.
Mashed regularly releases animations inspired by a range of video games and anime, and created by a veritable army of artists. Its most recent bit, Zelda's Bizarre Anime Adventure, is a fun clash of two enormous fandoms. Mashed animations usually range from five to 10 minutes, with the average being around six minutes or so, so this Baldur's Gate 3 cartoon should be a sizable treat.
The voice of Karlach has been doing her own Baldur's Gate 3 playthrough, and it's got the chaotic energy you'd expect.
