I didn't mean to be condesending, but yes it is exactly the same thing. It's just that since the forgotten realms have magic, their fursuits are much more real than the ones you can get a hold of. The reason bestialty is bad is because they can't consent, halsin can in his beast form.
Yes, I see what you mean here - the purpose is the same. I just don't think it's the same thing at all even if the purpose is. Physically transforming into a bear is not the same as a costume. As far as I'm concerned that's a "real" bear that sodomized Astarion, which fits the definition of bestiality. In my opinion the fact that it's bestiality but without the moral baggage makes it
more problematic, not less. Reminds me of the born sexy yesterday trope, just in reverse.
Are you aware that you can slaughter innocent children in this game and that your character can be roleplayed as an immoral monster without any remorse that actually enjoys it while doing so? According to your logic, this is catering to people fantasizing about sadistic acts upon children. But that ain't true... the truth is so much simpler; it is just a story trying to portray the wide variety of life in Faerun as much as possible by covering as many bases as possible to make it as believable as possible.
While I think your reasoning is sound, I'd prefer not to talk about the morality of evil in BG3 here because I'd inevitably start talking about my issues with Larian writing in general, the Dark Urge and other things that would derail us off topic. I'll just say that offering evil choices in games is fine because it's made abundantly clear that they're morally wrong, whereas this scene portrays sex with a bear as a wholesome romantic interaction. It brings to life a fantasy where shagging an animal is moral, which I find problematic. There's areas where Larian approaches this well, such as goblins being very humanized instead of just disposable monsters. This isn't such a case imo, but I get that it's not an opinion that everyone shares.
The thing is it isn't about catering nor is it trying to, it is about telling a mature richly expansive unrestrained story for the purpose of adventuring, having fun and bringing Faerun to life, which happens to be simultaneously uplifting and horrific, serious and lighthearted. It is about richly portraying what life in Faerun is like and not what life in Faerun should be like according to sensitive Internet people who clearly don't know the world nor lore. It makes the world feel alive and immersive by having such a wide range of choices.
I completely concede that involving a bear sex scene wasn't about intentionally catering to zoophiles on Larian's part, that's just an unfortunate side effect. But it's absolutely not about building a more rich and mature world either. Baldur's Gate 1&2 built a rich world without druids engaging in bestiality, so did Icewind Dale, the books by Salvatore and others.
This has been about one thing and one thing only - Larian gaining publicity by stirring up some ponds. They knew exactly what they were doing when they pitched that scene, approved it, implemented it and decided to present it publicly as one of the few highlights of their massive game. It has nothing to do with worldbuilding and lore, it was intended to be provocative and edgy and I consider that to be very low on their part. One final thing to add - if there's nothing explicit in the game, I'll shut up and try to have fun.
