Baldur’s Gate 3: Larian’s upcoming RPG is looking absolutely amazing so far

Alright friends, I’m not going to waste time with a cute little introduction paragraph because quite frankly, this is Baldur’s Gate 3 and there are bigger things at play here than traditional blog story structure. We had an announcement last year, we had a tease last month and now Larian Studios have parted the kimono all the way, showing off the Dungeon’s and Dragons inspired RPG that we’ve been waiting many long years for. I’m going to do my best to summarise everything that was revealed in the stream hosted by the developers last night but there’s a lot so you might want to sit down and take a long gulp of coffee because this stuff? This stuff is important.

So what’s Baldur’s Gate 3 about? Well, you’ll be shocked to discover that it takes place very close to the titular city. Shocking, I know. The opening cinematic of the game shows the player’s entire party being captured by Mind Flayers and held aboard Nautiloid. These Nautiloids are reportedly capable of travelling between different planes of existence, meaning that it will likely be possible to travel beyond the Prime Material Plane, where the vast majority of the Dungeons and Dragons universe is set. In terms of your player character, the creation system resembles that which was used in Divinity: Original Sin 2 which means you’ll be able to choose from a range of pre-made characters, each with unique traits and characteristics, or design your own character from scratch with a variety of factors such as race, class background and appearance all coming into play.

All your companions comprise of the pre-generated characters that you didn’t select to play as at the start of the game. From what we’ve gathered there will be at least five companions: Laezel (Githyanki Warrior), Wyll (Human Warlock), Astarion (High-Elf Rogue), Shadowheart (Half-Elf Cleric) and Gale (Human Wizard). Each companion has reportedly been paired with individual writers from Larian to ensure they all come across as distinctly different and unique from one another.

In terms of combat, Baldur’s Gate 3 will be very reminiscent of Divinity: Original Sin 2, with real-time exploration and conversation and turn-based combat set upon a grid. The grid can be activated manually outside combat to conduct stealth or prep for an attack with more precise positioning. There will also be a multiplayer mode, within which “Your skill check rolls are kept private from all those you are playing with, but you can have group discussions, during which dice will be visible”, according to Rock Paper Shotgun. I’m not entirely sure how that relates to the gameplay itself, but during combat everyone will select an action which will play out simultaneously until the next turn.

In terms of release date, Baldur’s Gate 3 is expected to release into early access in Summer 2020 with no announced price point as of the time of writing.

Last Updated: February 28, 2020