A Background to Baldur’s Gate
For those who haven’t delved into the depths of role-playing video games in a while, Baldur’s Gate 3 is an upcoming fantasy game being developed and published by Larian Studios. What makes this game fitting enough to put into our “Fantasy November” gaming list is that it is based in the universe of one of the longest-running fantasy roleplaying games of all time, Dungeons and Dragons. This roleplaying game usually played with a few friends, pencils, and paper has been around since the ’70s and in its 5th iteration of the game has been enjoying its most successful and commercially popular years ever. Having played in multiple Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) campaigns over the last decade, I was excited to see that the much-beloved Baldur’s Gate series was going to be revivified by Larian Studios.
What the company had previously achieved with Divinity: Original Sin 2 had been nothing short of a masterpiece. However, it was clear that Larian had taken great inspiration from the likes of Baldur’s Gate and Baldur’s Gate 2, from the art style to the camera angles an argument can be made that Divinity is a spiritual successor to the Baldur’s Gate franchise.
When the news hit that Larian would be making Baldur’s Gate 3 many, including myself, were thrilled and excited to play such an anticipated game, in such a beloved fantasy universe, that had been crafted by such skilled hands. However, releasing the game in early access (much in the same way they had with Divinity Original Sin 2) there was a mixture of excitement and skepticism within the community as so many of us are used to game developers releasing games prematurely as nothing more than a lazy cash grab.
Rest assured, Larian knows what they are doing as the early access content, discussions with actors who have worked on the game and consistent patches make clear that this is a game still very much in the making and is getting oh so better with age.
Life in Early Access
It can be said that life in Early Access is not an easy one for video games or their developers. There are constant bug reports, community feedback, expected updates. Early access has managed to gain quite a poor reputation over the last few years as being a developer’s way of rushing a project to completion. This is not the case with Larian Studios who are no strangers to the power of early access and engagement with their community. Over the past year, we have seen more content added to Baldur’s Gate 3, as well as better implementation of different mechanics to make the game more like its D&D source material. In fact, Larian has done this so well that anyone coming from the tabletop RPG will likely feel right at home within the confines of Baldur’s Gate 3’s open and expansive story.
Larian Studios have continued to listen to player feedback and criticism of the game to ensure that it is not only a fantastic, fast-paced, and impressively engaging story but also meets customer expectations on what the game should be. This goes as far as to separate the jump and disengage mechanic within the game to be more in line with the 5th edition D&D mechanics that acted as the game’s source material. In updating the game in this way Larian Studios ensures a minimal number of bugs and issues upon the official release and by listening to the community it is able to add or change things to meet players’ expectations.
So, how is the gameplay after one year in early access? Simply put, amazing! What was already a very good early access game is now far more refined and polished. Minor things that are barely noticeable have of course been altered, (short-raced NPCs move slower). But what is really impressive is the larger changes to the game, complete overhauls to different mechanics, such as dice rolling. Upon first release, dice were rolled in front of you as you attempt to complete certain actions and you had no way to influence these rolls. This was an odd experience, a reminder that you were playing a game based on D&D and that in that game things are left to chance. Now, this has become a more immersive experience with the interface allowing you to use your party composition to access abilities that may increase or decrease these dice rolls. If early access is a sign of things to come for this game then it is worth getting excited over.
Behind the Screen
Developers at Larian Studios have been very active in updating this game and keeping their players and prospective players updated on where the game is at in its development. It is nice to see a developer taking their time with a project like this to make sure they get it right. That being said Larian is still aiming for a 2022 release date for the full game although information on this is limited. However, with a little speculation, it may be safer to assume that the game will release nearer to 2023, especially if the same care and attention are given for the rest of the game as the early access content has been given.
Even though this game is a little ways off completion there is still tons of content to explore and enjoy. I was lucky enough to speak to a motion capture artist that worked on the game earlier this year, and although the interaction was short and sweet it was clear from their descriptions of working with Larian Studios that they have every intention of making sure the game is done well. It is clear that this has been designed to be a game that you can play and replay several times to get the most enjoyment out of. Even with some behind the screens knowledge, the artist that we discussed the game with was not able to find all of the characters they portrayed within the game on a first playthrough of the early access content. Even with just the content made available through early access, there are many tens of hours worth of content to explore and replay.
My closing thoughts on the state of this game one year later is that it is clear that Larian Studios are committed to making a game that fans of the original Baldurs Gate games will love and players of the latest Dungeons and Dragons will enjoy immensely. Although this game is still in early access and maybe for years to come, we are still given new content to enjoy and updates to improve our experience regularly. With so much going for this game I cannot wait to see the finished project.
For more Fantasy November news, reviews, and a whole lot more, stay tuned to Gamerhub,
Will
