Larian Studios’ Baldur’s Gate 3 is finally here and it’s everything fans of the Divinity: Original Sin developer could’ve hoped for. Larian CEO Swen Vincke traveled to PAX East in order to showcase an early version of the hotly-anticipated RPG sequel in front of a live audience, noting that nothing shown during the demo was staged, and that pretty much anything could happen (and did happen). After an impressive opening cinematic about mind flayers and their evil shenanigans, we were introduced to the character creator – much like in Divinity: Original Sin 2, Baldur’s Gate 3 will allow players to either craft custom characters, or instead opt to go for a pre-made adventurer with a specific origin story attached. During the demonstration, we’ve also learned that Baldur’s Gate 3 will utilize a turn-based combat system reminiscent of the one featured in D:OS2, with various opportunities to use things in the environment in order to creatively turn the tide of battle.
We saw Swen’s character dip his bow into fire to create flame arrows, summon a floating, magical hand, and hurl his boots at a monster with a surprising level of success. Stealth seemed similarly exciting and dynamic: you can actually stand in the shade of a wall or behind any other structure to become more obscured, thus helping you stay hidden. Dialogue scenes now play out in a cinematic fashion, with close-up shots, voice acting, detailed facial and body animations and so on; additionally, depending on the type of origin story you’ve picked for yourself (in the case of Swen’s demonstration, our hero was an elven vampire spawn), you can expect to see events and dialogue options custom-tailored to your character.
Baldur’s Gate 3 will initially be launching via Early Access with five origin story characters, six classes (fighter, wizard, rogue, cleric, ranger and warlock) and the first act of the adventure. The game will also support four-player online co-op and local split-screen play for two players. As for the full-length gameplay demonstration, you can watch it below:
