One of the reasons Baldur’s Gate 3 became as big of a hit is due to the fleshed-out relationships players can have with its many different companions. But even the most romantic and popular in-game pairings are still missing a little something from their interactions.

Thankfully, there’s a new mod that has just been released to fix this. The HUGS mod, posted to Nexus Mods by Cerberry (via Reddit user Puzzleheaded_Rub7079), allows players to hug just about anyone in the game. The ability to hug acts like a cantrip and players have the option to “Hug (Regular)” or “Hug (Strong),” letting them pick just how tight they want to squeeze their favorite NPC.

Players can either hug NPCs using the action themselves or have a companion perform the hug action on their player character, should the angle and alignment of the hug not satisfy them the first time around. There are already a handful of known bugs reported, like hugs not lining up if characters are on uneven ground, but as it’s a new mod they’re likely to be patched up soon.

Mods Have Given Players More Opportunities To Show Love To Their Companions

Updated Kisses In Patch 6 Had Players Excited

The HUGS mod doesn’t restrict who players can hug – just approach any NPC and press the action button depending on how tightly they want to squeeze. Even potential combat enemies, like Raphael and Cazador, are huggable. Despite Baldur’s Gate 3 being an RPG, the romance aspect has attracted players of all genre preferences to the title. There are plenty of mods that allow players to be polyamorous and romance as many characters as possible in one playthrough, while those not using mods create new playthroughs just to date new companions.

Probably the most exciting feature added to Baldur’s Gate 3 in Patch 6, which was released in February, is that it added more dynamic and unique kisses to the game. Players immediately reloaded their files to experience the tender and passionate kiss options for all the game’s companions, but there are still certain characters that can’t be hugged freely, regardless of Tav’s approval rating. Wyll, for example, doesn’t have the option for players to freely hug him, even if they’ve romanced him throughout the story.

The tender addition of hugs was clearly needed, considering the attention it received so early into the mod’s lifespan. “More games need this as a basic mechanic,” one Nexus Mods user commented on the file. Despite releasing on May 1, the mod already has more than 4,800 downloads and 180 endorsements at the time of writing. Other comments are filled with players stating how much they appreciate the ability to hug in Baldur’s Gate 3, especially the non-companion NPCs.

BG3’s HUGS Mod Is Yet Another Layer Of Interactivity

Creeping Closer To The True D&D Experience

Vanilla Baldur’s Gate 3 is widely celebrated for its immense level of interactivity, letting players move and throw an astounding number of objects in the game, in addition to many other actions in specific circumstances. It does an admirable job emulating the sense of freedom that has kept Dungeons & Dragons a tabletop icon for so many decades, despite the limitations of a video game adaptation. The HUGS mod does, however, also highlight the shortcomings of attempting to recreate DnD outside the pen and paper realm.

BG3 certainly sets a high bar for NPC interactions, especially in the CRPG genre with its fully voiced cast, and the branching possibilities are mind-boggling, but the simple addition of hugging shows that physical interactions are decently lacking. The game has conversations galore, but outside a few scripted interactions, players can shove (often to great effect), pickpocket, or attack NPCs. Choosing to dispense non-lethal damage adds another wrinkle, but attacking a non-hostile character typically bears the same result, regardless if Tav is going for a knockout.

The romance system in Baldur’s Gate 3 is not especially ground-breaking. Players simply pick the correct dialogue options and complete quests in certain ways, and they’re eventually rewarded with affectionate cutscenes. Romance can certainly put an interesting spin on the finale of companions’ personal questlines, but the whole ordeal is more or less the same as it was in aging RPGs like Mass Effect. Despite the depths inherent in BG3‘s characters, the relationship mechanics themselves tend to lack the interactivity that the rest of the game holds.

Hugging a character with Cerberry’s mod may ultimately be inconsequential, but it adds a base physicality present in many real relationships, one that can be roleplayed in DnD if the DM and the table deem it acceptable. Relationships in BG3 are otherwise almost entirely conversational, limited to the script. Hugging Raphael or Cazador may be good for a laugh, but a new level of physical interactivity can do wonders for roleplaying with favorite characters or offering condolences to the many side NPCs in crisis found throughout Baldur’s Gate 3.

Sources: Cerberry/NexusMods (via Puzzleheaded_Rub7079/Reddit)