easymode

I figured I would break the ice, so to speak, and start a thread to get the ball rolling. I've gotten big into CRPGs the last couple of years thanks to Baldur's Gate 3. One of my favorite things about the CRPG genre is the bonds you form with companions and how they interact with one another. BG3 is the biggest 'blockbuster' example of this but I've still gotten a lot out of the companions in older or smaller games of the genre as well.

I have too many favorites to list all of them and I have way more to dig in to, but I'll talk about some of my favorites from a few different games.

Karlach, Baldur's Gate 3: What is there to say about Karlach that hasn't been said already? In a game where many of your companions are initially difficult to trust, Karlach is an absolute delight from the start. She never bullshits you and has a heart of gold. Butch-y barbarian types are always fun, and she's no exception. She and Minthara (yes, i know. hush) are the two I always, always, always bring with me no matter my character's alignment.

Kim Kitsuragi, Disco Elysium: Disco Elysium is a masterpiece in world-building, storytelling, and game design. It's a nice change of pace to have the 'straight man' as the side kick/companion. The way that Kim's cold and professional exterior softens a bit as the game progresses (at least in my playthroughs) is one of the many things that made it tough to put the game down. He's a very grounding presence and surprisingly quite funny and snarky at just the right times. I can't praise Kim enough. 11/10.

Ember, Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous: Given that Karlach is one of my all-time favorites, it might come as no surprise that I have quite the soft spot for Ember. Someone that can maintain such optimism in the face of horror is something I admire. I'm not super far into WOTR so I can't speak to her overall arc, but whenever I have time to sit back and play, I always take Ember with me. I find that she always has some interesting insight into the world around her. (I like Minthara for a similar reason. yes, I know she's evil.)

Well, enough rambling from me. what do y'all think? Who are some of your favorite companions? Who are some of your most hated companions, if any?

BG3 is really the only CRPG I've spent any meaningful time playing (and even then it's only like 20 hours so I've barely scratched the surface) so I don't have any from other games but I can give my early game thoughts on the BG3 companions.

Karlach - S tier companion. She's big and hits things and is pleasant to be around while adventuring, what's not to love. She was the last one I recruited so I've spent the least amount of time with her but she's already the best.

Gale - Gale is fine. His appearance kind of reminds me of this guy I used to work with. I left him at camp most of the time so I haven't had many interactions with him.

Shadowheart - I like her so far. She's definitely a little abrasive at first, but it's understandable once you learn more about her. I like her enough to keep in my party most of the time.

Astarion - I guess I was too nice to him because he tried to make a move on me and then got made when I turned him down. Now I just leave him at camp lol

Wyll - Wyll is Gale tier for me. He's fine, but kind of boring (or at least what I've seen so far). Also he wanted to kill Karlach which is big negative point imo.

Lae'zel - She's terrifying. She hits things well so I like to keep her around, but she also sniffed me one time in a way that a little unsettling.

I've picked up BG3 again and I'm trying to make myself stick with it this time so maybe I'll come back to this eventually and have some different opinions.

@the_skotts

Oh, wow. You have such a fantastic journey ahead of you....keep me posted with your thoughts as you play. There's still some companions you haven't come across yet...I won't spoil beyond that. I'll piggyback off your post and give some brief thoughts on the other companions!

Gale: He's so pathetic (affectionate). I like a spellcaster...bonus points for the fact that he's a total dork.

Shadowheart: I absolutely love her and her arc is immensely satisfying. Her voice actress does a phenomenal job. I can see why she's had so much more success since BG3.

Astarion: ahh, yes. Everyone's favorite posh vampire. I like him quite a lot and I love having him around, especially for his sass...he's a total jackass, but he's fun.

Wyll: Wyll is one of my biggest grievances with the game. I want to like him so badly but I find him boring compared to a lot of the others. i do like how charming and sweet he can be when you romance him, but that's about all he has going for me.

Lae'zel: I hated her at first, but goddamn she grew on me...if you go to the mountain pass, keep her with you for the entire thing. it's so worth it.

I just recently finished the main quest for the first time. I've been playing on and off since the start, and have gone through the first act several times.

I was almost always running around with Karlach, Shadowheart, and Lae'zel in the party. Gale is also nice to have along.

Minthara always seems to die in act one, so I've never recruited her.

@Zhirr yeah, recruiting minthara requires either being evil or sparing her in act 1 by just knocking her out instead of killing her.

I haven't played it for myself, but my spouse streamed Planescape: Torment for me. The characters in Torment are incredibly well-written, I love every single one of them.

My spouse's favorite companion is Fall-From-Grace; my favorite is either her, or Dak'kon. But I also love Mort, and Nordom... Argh, it's tough to choose!

After playing through BG3 more, Gale has really grown on my. I appreciate his little quips so I keep him in my party pretty much all the time now lol

It's not a CRPG, but I really like a lot of the companions in the .hack\\IMOQ games. They're single player games that are setup to feel like an MMORPG so while you initially meet the characters in the game you also get to know them through emails and message board posts outside of it. They'll send you emails that you can respond to that usually reveal more about the personal life as you keep replying and the game will give you sidequests to do with them as a reward for using the email feature. I've always thought that was a pretty neat way to handle character building in a game.