‘There’s stuff that people will be discovering … for years’, says Baldur’s Gate 3 dev, ‘it astounds us’
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Baldur’s Gate 3’sprincipal narrative designer Lawrence Schick believes that Larian Studios' critically acclaimed narrative-heavy role-playing game (RPG) will surprise players for years to come.
Inan interview with Inverse, Schick offered some thoughts on the agency thatBaldur’s Gate 3affords its players. “Every stone will not be turned for years because so much of the game is a concatenation of unlikely variables […] There’s stuff that people will be discovering, including us, because of the way it was built, with synergies, and layers, and interacting reactivity. It astounds us, the stuff that comes up.”
Schick then elaborated on the studio’s narrative goals: “[Players] don’t have to admire it as an elegant piece of slick storytelling. They need to inhabit it. They need to live in it.”
When considering how the game was able to achieve this, Schick emphasized lessons learned thanks to those who played the RPG during its three-year stint in early access: “They got to be happy with it.”
At TechRadar Gaming, we were blown away byBaldur’s Gate 3’s open-ended approach to storytelling. The sheer number of variables and scope for lateral thinking afforded by Larian Studios' hit RPG isjaw-dropping. The game has alotof moving parts and rewardsplayful solutionsto its problems, often in ways that feel completely unexpected.
This refreshing emphasis on player agency is a big part of what helped the game win Game of the Year, not onlyThe Game Awards 2023but also here at TRG. Inour Game of the Year list, we praised the game’s “attention to detail”, as well as its “transformative […] branching narratives.”
Baldur’s Gate 3is still receiving plenty of attention from the devs, too. Larian is continuing toroll out fixesfor theXbox Series X|S version of the game, which has been beleaguered by save data issues. The last major update also saw the addition of anepilogue section for the gamewhich boasted “some of the most complex writing in the game so far,” according to the studio.
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Baldur’s Gate 3 is one of thebest RPGsever made as well as one of thebest story gamesof recent years.
An editor and freelance journalist, Cat Bussell has been writing about video games for more than four years and, frankly, she’s developed a taste for it. As seen on TechRadar, Technopedia, The Gamer, Wargamer, and SUPERJUMP, Cat’s reviews, features, and guides are lovingly curated for your reading pleasure.
A Cambridge graduate, recovering bartender, and Cloud Strife enjoyer, Cat’s foremost mission is to bring you the best coverage she can, whether that’s through helpful guides, even-handed reviews, or thought-provoking features. She’s interviewed indie darlings, triple-A greats, and legendary voice actors, all to help you get closer to the action. When she’s not writing, Cat can be found sticking her neck into a fresh RPG or running yet another Dungeons & Dragons game.
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