The day for Baldur’s Gate 3‘s early access release is fast-approaching, and many fans of both Dungeons & Dragons, developer Larian Studios, and the old Baldur’s Gate saga are eager to see the (sort of) final product. Baldur’s Gate 3 will be joining the ranks of many popular roleplaying games that came before it, and perhaps set the stage for what comes after.
It has already been revealed that a good number of Dungeons & Dragons video games are either being planned or are currently in the works, to be released in the years following Baldur’s Gate 3. Not only will BG3 almost certainly influence their creation, but it could very well redefine roleplaying games as a genre, just as its predecessors, Baldur’s Gate and Baldur’s Gate 2: Shadows of Amn, did before.
It’s fair to say that most of today’s top RPGs, and the genre as a whole, would not be the same without the influence of the Baldur’s Gate franchise. Before Baldur’s Gate released, most everyone had essentially declared the western RPG “dead.” JRPGs were the sole future of the genre. Then, Baldur’s Gate broke ground on a narrative and technical level for the RPG genre.
Therefore, games including Larian’s previous Divinity: Original Sin titles, BioWare’s later Dragon Age and Mass Effect titles, and many more would not exist without Baldur’s Gate. The original BG series still has some of the most memorable companions from any RPG game, period (including the ever-lovable Minsc and Boo). The games’ scope, especially for a game of that time – the late ’90s to 2000 – is incredible. And for all that graphics become outdated, it’s much more difficult for good writing to do so.
In addition to stellar writing, Baldur’s Gate 2 established player character romance, something that will be continued in BG3, and a wide variety of quests with narrative choices and consequences. When the first Baldur’s Gate released, it took the RPG world by storm; then, BioWare took everything that worked about it and put that into Baldur’s Gate 2, with that sequel effectively setting the bar for all future roleplaying games.
So what does that mean for Baldur’s Gate 3? Well, Larian is intending for it to be a successor to the original series on multiple levels, and stepping up the game of the Baldur’s Gate series means stepping up the expectations of a roleplaying game altogether. In theory, everything that made the original Baldur’s Gate games amazing will be adapted for a new generation of games in Baldur’s Gate 3. Not only that, but Baldur’s Gate 3 is set to include new mechanics and qualities that the old games didn’t have at all.
In terms of narrative structure, Larian has said that Baldur’s Gate 3‘s moral duality, its “theme and philosophy,” is what makes the game a true sequel. It has, after all, been 20 years since Baldur’s Gate 2; the story needs to be a new one, and with it, a new example for what CRPGs can be. It goes without saying that BG3‘s visuals are absolutely to die for, as befits an RPG of its caliber, and it’s set in the Forgotten Realms, one of the most compelling fantasy settings out there. But one of the main staples of the RPG genre is the emphasis on player choice, and BG3 is setting itself up to offer massive amounts of that.
Not only will there be a multitude of ways to approach situations in the game, and handle missions tactically, but dialogue – including character relationships, friendship, rivalry, romance, and more – will feature an unbelievable amount of branching options. Meanwhile, the concept of turn-based combat definitely isn’t new, but Larian is designing BG3‘s combat to allow greater levels of player interaction with the environment around them, using whatever they can to pull off cool new moves. Beyond that, environment exploration goes leagues further than even the original games; a veritable world of secrets is hidden throughout BG3. The game isn’t a platformer by any means, but its take on exploration could be revolutionary for the RPG genre.
In fact, that’s the case with many of BG3‘s narrative and technical qualities. We know that Baldur’s Gate 3 is going to be a high fantasy adventure featuring characters from the Forgotten Realms and Mind Flayers as the main villain, but it’s how Larian plans to use those elements that will make BG3 truly special.
When Baldur’s Gate 3 launches in early access, we’ll get a chance to see just how forward-thinking the game is. From everything Larian has revealed thus far, it certainly seems like Baldur’s Gate 3 is perfectly poised to usher in a new era of roleplaying games, and that prospect is an incredibly exciting one.
Baldur’s Gate 3 enters early-access on October 6 for PC and Google Stadia.
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