Also I came to a bit of a realization about the companions and people's reaction to them. I suspect that part of the reason for certain people's dislike of the companions is a matter of perspective. I think the people who dislike them the most don't see themselves as witnessing a story unfold from a distance. They come at it from a perspective of being a participant in the world, and so when they're faced with a bunch of characters they dislike, they take the same attitude they would in real life
It’s an interesting hypothesis. Certainly my favourite game characters are ones I would very much not want to spend time with IRL. They tend to be awful in one way or another, usually a way that I find amusing or weirdly fascinating. So while I don’t
feel that I’m watching a story unfold at a distance and do feel fully wrapped up in the adventure, I guess it’s true that I’m not responding to characters as I would if I personally were abducted by mindflayers. That is, I suppose, I’m responding to them as characters rather than people, though I do think the distinction between the two is complex and blurry.
But I guess the fact that I like some of the BG3 characters in game though I wouldn’t IRL, and am broadly positive about them overall, means my response to the characters, at least, is consistent with your theory!
