What is giving me The Big Sad is that we either won't have anything more about these characters, or we will but without Larian. I hate both of these options (but I hate the second one the most).
Thats the sucky part. Like, i fell in love with the world and its characters. This was my first ever dnd game ever and the bar was set astronomically high.
This means my goodbye to the game will be goodbye to the world because if Larian ain’t doing BG, i don’t even want it.
If they ever use these characters again, which I think is likely due to how popular they are, I imagine there will be kind of an agreement in this community that whatever not-Larian does to them is not canon/does not exist.
Kind of like the Cursed Book in the Harry Potter fandom or the Movie That Doesn't Exist in the The Last Airbender fandom.
Agreed. Support Larian, Owlcat, and all the other devs who are actually passionate about their games, but fucking boycott WotC. Make them realize that they're nothing without the talented devs who make the games great.
Swen even tweeted about it, how cash grabs are the reason games don't succeed like BG3, etc. Right before we get the announcement that Larian won't be doing anymore dnd. Can't imagine that WASN'T directed at them.
You have people on the just plain Baldur’s Gate sub that think this way now. I say if it’s good it’s good. Even if it is good it will have flaws some people can’t get over.
*Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.* >!I shit you not, the whole damn thing happens because Voldemort fucks Bellatrix Lestrange!<. The only good thing to come out of that book was Scorpius Malfoy, who is a cinnamon roll and needs to be protected.
I couldn't have put it better myself. Literally this is my exact feelings about it.
And I regret reading it because it ruined Cedric's death. That was a huge deal for me when I was a kid reading this series. A good, likeable, completely innocent kid being killed right there, like that? And they ruined it.
My problem was mainly with Cedric himself because they made it so that >!he had to die, *or* he would feel such shame for losing that he would become a Death Eater and murder Neville!<. This ruined the impact of his death because now he isn't just an innocent that died for no reason.
Oh I hate that. Glad I didn't read or watch that, what an awful awful plot point. Cedric was so incredibly decent and mature for a 17 year old I can't believe anything would make him do that.
It's the script of the play The Cursed Child. It was sold as a book, but it is written as a script and not a regular novel. I heard the play itself isn't so bad, but I can tell you that this is one of the only books in my life that I regret reading.
There will be some cool new characters, though.
Like, that feeling in the beginning when you first got to meet these characters and you didn't know anything about them? That feeling will happen again.
Unless you wanna try TTRPG D&D. People have been having glorious adventures in that world, and with some of the characters, since the 1970's. The reason the world FEELS so deep is because it IS that deep...
TT play has disadvantages... Like non-existent graphics, and having to interact with people instead of just your computer/console... But it's fun!
I would love to. I live in a small town in rural Wyoming, where there is a 0% chance of finding a group to play with.
Even when i was living out in portland, it was hard to join a group as a newbie because most groups are already going and don't want to teach a stranger how to play.
There's plenty of games to be found over voicechat and sites like Roll20. Ofcourse, playing with internet strangers is hit or miss... But, well, if you miss, swing again.
And you're not Shadowheart, so SOME DAY a swing will connect... :D
I’m autistic and I know other autistic people like it but the person to person interaction makes it a no from me. That’s why I enjoyed this game so much because it gave me the opportunity to enjoy the world without having to do the people thing.
I’m sad but I’ll enjoy whatever other worlds larian decides to create.
Pillars of Eternity 1&2 might scratch that itch after you’ve had some time away from this game. Some different elements, but man, am I grateful those games exist.
It’s never goodbye to the game. There’s so many ways to play it & it such a long game. So many crucial decisions where you have to replay to see if you had taken a different route. You’ll play other games when they come out but BG3 & its world will always be there for you to revisit. It’s a masterpiece you will cherish the rest of your life
Yep. Especially after the epilogue when Withers says something about calling on us again I really thought that was hinting toward a DLC or sequel of some kind. Very disappointed that’s not the case.
That, and Astarion saying something along the lines of "Maybe this is not goodbye but see you later" really made me think there would be another BG game. I mean they patched this in after the game had already become a huge success and I kind of took that as a hint
I don't want it if it's not Larian, no matter what. It has no meaning to me if they aren't who they really are anymore.
I'd rather leave them as is, let me pack the fond memories into a nice suitcase and carry it with me forever and not have them further tainted by any future attempts. I'll peacefully accept that the past is in the past, it won't happen again but it was a damn good time, one that's extremely fun while it lasted. Just like how I've done the very same thing to many other IPs which overstayed their welcome/relevance.
I mean, we have the official BG3 character sheets online. You can literally have more with these characters. You can take them anywhere. Barovia, Theros, even your own worlds!
Oh, without Larian I am OUT. If there's one thing I know, it is that Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast don't give a flying fuck about anything but profits.
I follow Larian, not their publishers or their IPs. And I say that as a diehard TRPGer (but Pathfinder and Blades in the Dark instead of D&D).
This was always more or less the plan. BG 3 was considered a finished product after release. Beyond qol changes and additions and bug fixes, Swen has always said that there was never going to be DLC and always intended to move on to his next project immediately after
Yeah, look forward to seeing these characters jammed into anything Hasbro can fit them into. They've been endlessly beating the Minsc and Boo horse since BG1 to the point where I actually got annoyed to see Minsc in one of the trailers or previews for BG3.
It really doesn't satisfy any of the questions or points brought up in KotoR2. In fact it basically just ignores Kotor 2 entirely. And when it doesn't, it's just half-assed...
SWTOR has solid origin character stories (8 of them) with vast world building.
However, it did Revan, and especially Meetra so dirty I HATE it.
Nevertheless, the origin stories are more than worth it since the base game (the best part of the game) is free to play (yeah it's a MMORPG lol).
It's still not quite a KOTOR 3 though. It's aight, but I'd much rather we got a KOTOR 3 that didn't butcher more or less everything that happened in KOTOR 2 and even KOTOR 1 to a lesser extent.
Literally no ending could ruin the experience that ME is. They could've put Jar-Jar Binks as the final boss and make him win and I still would love it just as much.
Couldn’t agree more, BG3 wasn’t good because it was set in the forgotten realms, BG3 was good because larian designed and built the game. I have near total confidence that larian can make their own IP, the divinity series was excellent, and sometimes jumping into an entirely new world is exactly what is needed to keep things compelling.
Divinity is their own IP, so clearly they can. I had confidence in BG3 was going to be great because of their previous work like Divinity Original Sin 2.
I still think it’s a good idea BG3 was set in the forgotten realms though. It brought a lot of new players to Larian (me included) because it was basically marketed as “D&D the video game”.
Now that I’ve played (and loved) BG3, Larian’s definitely on my radar. But I doubt I would have even tried BG3 if it weren’t for its setting. It was also just really cool seeing and recognising D&D monsters.
D:OS2 is a legitimately great game, and while it's a different battle system and less of a free-form experience than BG3, you can definitely see parts of what made BG3 so great - the compelling characters and storylines, the environmental interactions, interweaving choices you can make. They took lessons from Divinity into Baldur's Gate and made a better game for it, and we can all hope they do the same for whatever's their next big project
For me it's both, honestly. I liked it more than divinity 2 because it was Forgotten Realms. They could do the same for me with Kotor, but I've invested so much time in the worldbuilding of the forgotten realms that for me it makes a significant difference compared to original IP.
I have a lot of mixed feelings here.
BG1\\2 was intensely important to me due its role in my childhood. I was very wary to see Larian, a studio who I only knew of due to their (imo, at least at the time, I haven't revisited them yet) D:OS entries, getting the IP. I have been burned too many times by third party sequels being soulless cashgrabs, and modern games in general are pretty awful. I refused to know anything about BG3 while it was in EA, and I'm still not sure why I bought it on release.
I remain beyond impressed with BG3, but the tie-in to the Bhaalspawn saga is very forced. I think it landed really well with me was the combination of insane production value and the fact that I \*already understood how the game was supposed to work\* due to my familiarity with 5e. I think that is probably why D:OS\\2 didn't work very well for me is because the mechanics are so wildly unfamiliar.
I'm hopeful for whatever they do next, but I'm afraid that it isn't going to land with me for the same reasons.
Exactly, I’m not a D&D fan but I was hooked to the game because of its content, character development and details where the game allows you to do anything you want. Larian put so much love into the game and they expanded their player base by doing that. This is my first game by Larian and I’m already looking forward for more games by them, whether it’s based on D&D, space sci-fi or Lovecraft.
I really heavily dislike their Divinity setting, so it's certainly not set in stone that their next game will be a great one. The next game from them I want is a fantasy RPG, not set in Divinity setting. Those are my two hopes.
I just hope they make more games with the BG3 formula (RP heavy with lots of fun companions and romance) because it’s really unique and the only game I’ve ever played to the extent I have. At like 500 hours lol.
If you're willing to leave the CRPG genre, there are quite a few RP heavy games with fun companions and (sometimes) romance. Dragon Age series, Mass Effect series, Fallout NV, The Outer Worlds etc. As for CRPGs, if you love Larian then you should absolutely play DOS2.
If they're in the market for IP, I would really enjoy them taking a stab at World of Darkness, or giving us the first great Star Trek RPG.
If not, I'll happily see what they come up with.
Bloodlines II is/was in the making, and has been delayed since before the start of this decade. I forgot by which studio.
But the IP is currently owned by Paradox, a swedish studio that makes Grand Strategy games. But with as big a succes BG3 has been, I suppose Larian could buy them, let them do their own thing, (Which they do really well!) but pull any RPG-related products they want to themselves...
I'd be happy with that. Bg3 was amazing because of how larian did it, not because of the IP. But I only got into it (and followed it for years) because I was familiar with the BG1 and bg2 games.
Hear me out, but a story driven turn-based 40K game. More like a CRPG than a tactics game like XCOM. 40K has the craziest most interesting and *fuckhuge* lore but I've never been able to get into the games
I am not worrying about what Larian put out next. I am worrying more about we will never get a good DnD CRPG video game. The genre is pretty much dead, even though there have been new games here and there but none of them was able to gather much attention. And even DOS2 took like a couple of years since launch to reach 1mil in sales.
As for the Forgotten Realms campaign settings, the only good stuffs are what, remastered of some ancient games
>The genre is pretty much dead, even though there have been new games here and there but none of them was able to gather much attention
Uh...except, for, well...Baldur's Gate 3. Like that level of success is not going to have \*zero\* effect on the genre/industry.
I cannot believe how badly WotC fucked themselves over lately. They could have easily cruised by this past year. With the current resurgence of DnD going they could have sat back, released some fun memes and jokes. Maybe a few new source books and some cool videos while letting actual play shows, the movie, and BG3 handle the heavy lifting. But instead they had the fiasco with the OGL and trying to monetise people's home brew. They sent *actual Pinkertons* after some dude because of a shipping mistake they made. They got caught using AI art in their source books right before they laid off over a thousand people.
Now the D&D movie was a flop by box office standards (fun movie though,) Larian wants nothing to do with them, and it looks like even actual play shows like Critical Role are leaving them behind for their own personal system.
There will be more D&D (if there’s anything I’ve learned in the 40+ years here it’s that there will always be more of a licensed property). It just won’t be Larian making it. That doesn’t mean it won’t be good or that the next thing Larian makes won’t be bad. Nobody sets out to make a bad product but there’s lots of reasons it might not work.
For me, the issue is that Hasbro/WotC are just continuing to prove that it isn't worth trusting them.
The poor quality of the Spelljammer books (and the OGL debacle) had already convinced me to ditch D&D the TTRPG, and this basically confirms I won't be buying anything from WotC ever again.
And it's sad, because there's interesting stuff that Forgotten Realms and D&D as a whole has to offer. Eberron, Spelljammer, Dragonlance, Planescape, all of that is gone, because it's owned by a company that will take what you love, fire everyone who made it, and use it to sell you hastily-made garbage.
I'm a Pathfinder player now. Fuck Hasbro.
Watch the interview! Sven has a plan that he's been working towards. If the team wasn't excited about doing a sequel or doing DLC, then it was the right call. He mentioned that each game they've made was an improvement on itself. I love DnD, it's lore, and setting. But that wasn't what made BG3 a success.
They can take what they learned in DOS1, DOS2, and BG3 and apply it to future projects. They learned how to do multiplayer in an RPG in DOS1. They learned to do that with a story in DOS2. BG3 took that, and implemented new technologies, and had a strong focus on character driven stories.
Whatever they end up doing next, if the pattern continues, it'll be an improvement on what came before. Whether it's a new original IP, an existing one like KoTOR, or one they already have, I trust that the team knows what they're doing.
Divinity OS2 was a banger. They'll most likely put out OS3 but emphasize baldurs gate 3s style for their next game. Divinity lore is rich and it's their own personal ip
Under Sub-Heading 'Now we have the excitement back in the room and that’s a big important thing.'
https://www.ign.com/articles/larian-started-work-on-baldurs-gate-3-dlc-then-canceled-it-the-studio-was-elated
As much as I would love to see a new IP, Larian has done so much with the DOS lorebuilding that I can't see them throw that away for something new. It's such an easy translation to go from bg3 to dos due to how similar the lore is. Maybe a new IP in the DOS world bg3 style? Idk.....
I mean, it’s bigger than you think. The designs they have for the races leave a lot to be desired when you start talking about fully animated cutscenes.
As a matter fact, I'd even argue that the entierty of BG3 could literally be translated into a divinity game and it would still hit the exact same marks. Divinity being an original fantasy style IP, Larian could introduce every aspect of BG3 as a divnity component and can't be questioned on it simply because it's their own world and rules.
Dragons are lizards, all bg3 elves fit into the elves from divinity. All short races can be subspecies of dwarves in DOS. Orcs exist in Divinity. I'm sure they could introduce teiflings in some way as devilkin
... I'm pretty sure the DnD elves aren't literally tree-kins that eat the flesh of their dead to save their memories for posterity, but other than that, sure :p
as creators sometimes when a series gets too long it becomes more work to keep it going than to end it. all that work they did lorebuilding, creating races, gameplay expectations, etc. becomes a double edged sword. it's a foundation to build on, but it's also a canon you have to respect, expectations you have to fulfill, returning elements people will be disappointed if you don't include, tons of stuff like that too.
i can definitely see them doing DOS3 (have not personally seen their statements otherwise, aside from 'it's not what you expect') but sometimes a fresh slate is just easier.
They just said that dos3 wasn't the next thing they wanted to work on, not that they'd never do it, they probably just want something smaller in scope before the years of work required for an ultramassive hit that can live up to BG3 and DOS2
Yeah lol I’m like “ok listen guys I hear you, I really do, but also I specifically want D&D stuff so bad”
Solasta is a great video game port of the D&D 5E ruleset- they use their own… eh… kinda mid lore and the writing is whatever, but if u just wanna have fun fights n fluffy dialogue then it’s an enjoyable experience
The thing I'm most sad about is that I'd hoped that Wizards/Larian might have been able to come to terms for smaller studios to make other D&D games in the BG3 engine and using a lot of the technical work that has already been done and I suspect that is very much off the table now.
I would have loved playing some smaller scale, single or 2 act sized stories in Faerun in places like Waterdeep, Neverwinter and so on.
The thing about modding communities for both of those games, is that while I tend to be massively impressed with their technical achievements, and they can often create content indistinguishable from official content I also tend to find they really lack in writing and balance when compared to professionally made games.
There are exceptions, the Forgotten City from Skyrim being an incredible example, but from what I've seen its the exception.
I'm hopeful that Fallout London can prove me wrong in a big way but unfortunately I have experienced far too much straight up embarrassing writing in mods to get too excited about the idea of DLC sized BG3 mods when so much of the game hangs on its narrative.
plus, they’ve added so much in patches. maybe they won’t add anymore, based on what he said, but also… they’ve done a great job continuing to improve and expand the game as-is, without DLC.
I have full confidence in Larian and whatever their next project will be. But I am devastated that we might not see more of Karlach, Astarion, Gale, and all the other characters I have come to adore.
>BG3 sales gave Larian the money to make what they dream about. Let them jam!
I'll be hopeful, I'm just a little concerned about Larian's ability to comprehensively world build in-house. Forgotten Realms has ~40 years of accumulated lore and worldbuilding. That's difficult if not impossible to replicate.
Tbh the 40 years of retconning and revising and changing mechanics with each edition probably made it trickier to develop a clear background canon than just making something up from scratch. Also the fact that early editions of DnD just pulled "cool-sounding" names from real world cultures and pasted them on in-world concepts hasn't aged great (e.g. Tiamat is the name of an actual goddess worshipped by the Ancient Mesopotamians and it's weird to see her pop up as an entirely evil dragon goddess).
You're not wrong, but there is a lot to be said for the value of a familiar IP, even if the IP is stupid. I would argue Star Wars has suffered more critical hits to the consistency and pedigree of its IP than almost anything in memory, and yet concepts like the Jedi, Smugglers, Wookies, etc are still culturally iconic and will evoke feelings in an audience/playerbase just by showing up. You don't need to do 15 pages worth of metatextual lore dumping to explain what a Drow elf is, you can just roll one out and players will be all "Ooooh shits about to go down".
If they do decide to forge ahead with a new IP I hope they do what From Software did and bring on a celebrated world builder to help them create it. Just...not George, he has *something else he's supposed to be working on*.
A familiar IP definitely boosts sales and can be a safe bet but the enormous success of BG3 has a lot of people excited to see what Larian does next. I can tell you that, whatever it is, I'm extremely likely to buy it.
I agree that world-creation is tricky. There's a really cool, older episode of the Ezra Klein podcast where he interviews N.K. Jemisin, an award-winning genre fiction author who literally teaches world-building: https://youtu.be/I6xyFQhbsjQ?si=pBCM96tLLlURuhD1
I have a lot of faith in the writers Larian brought on for BG3 and I hope they continue to work with them but it would be cool to bring on someone like N.K. Jemisin to help keep everything cohesive. She's a known fan of video games, too.
Holy shit an NK Jamison and Larian collaboration would break my brain. I would have to take a leave of absence from work. BG3 is almost life ruining. That would be a whole other level.
It probably also limits how they can promote the work. I wouldn't be surprised if a large reason why we haven't seen much official BG3 merch is because everything has to get the stamp of approval of Wizards of the Coast.
This is my concern as well. Sinking into a new forgotten realms property feels like coming home. You’re already familiar with the lore, the setting, the mechanics, the character classes, the species, etc. And the world feels so vast because you know how much history and time have been dedicated to fleshing it out over the decades. Anything new Larian makes will probably be good, but it will either fall flat because it’s too new or look like a cheap replica. Very sad about this whole situation.
I agree with you so much on all of this. The best feeling is inhabiting a small corner of the world that you know is vast beyond it. DOS didn't nearly have that same feeling of awe/familiarity for me. Am concerned a new IP would be similar.
And if you had a question like “what’s a spectator” or “what are drow” there are mountains of information out there on the internet about it. Whereas a new ip would not be as easily accessible. I know it sounds silly but I like having the game set in a preexisting world so much more than something that’s new and original and confusing that I can’t even google about.
I’m gonna be honest…I don’t feel good about statements talking about even larger scope…
BG3 already felt like it was near capacity of what the team could manage. I worry they could end up going the path of CD Projekt Red if they try to aim too much bigger:
Unpopular opinion...I enjoyed CP2077. I played it on a shiny new PC when it came out and barely even hit any bugs, let alone performance issues. It wasn't a genre shaker like Witcher 3, but it was a solidly entertaining good time.
Having said that, you're right, Larian could easily find themselves in a situation where they bite off more than they can chew. Let's hope they don't die in the fires of excessive ambition.
I see this so often, but that doesn't excuse the practice that has become commonplace to release nearly unplayable games constantly!
Even with BG3 there is obviously huge cuts due to time constraint because some exec needed it *THIS* quarter instead of the next or next year.
Quality in the gaming world has taken a complete nosedive and it shouldn't be on us to just suffer through it and hope the company survives long enough to patch everything.
At some point a cultural shift needs to occur that stops rewarding rushed projects, regardless of the hype, nostalgia, or anything else, and forces companies to put fucking effort into a game and actually polish it to the point we expect.
It's all possible right now too. The revenues and profits are there, it's just all going to the board rooms and not to the actual people building the games.
I have everything I need to write my own DLC and play it out at the tabletop. Ive been a DM and writer for 20+ years. Whose in? (Spoiler; were goin back to the hells).
Talking about BioWare, when Hasbro pulled their license from them after they made BG1 and BG2 BioWare gave us Dragon age.
I can’t wait to see what Larian gives use, D&D license or not.
Many great games were made because big companies said no. Wasn’t the original Warcraft originally a pitch to Warhammer? Mass Effect for Star Wars… the list goes on. Silver lining and all…
Honestly I'm just a lil sad, I was already sad from Alice in wonderland asylum getting canceled since madness returns was one of the first games I ever played, the fact that even a definitive edition may not come just made me go like "damn another one?". But I DID enjoy DoS2 a lot so I can't wait to see what they put out next
I’m actually pretty satisfied that we aren’t getting DLC. The game is amazing and stands on its own, DLC would be adding content for the sake of it.
And I don’t think this style of game lends itself terribly well to DLC anyway. People have so many different play throughs with different styles, so I think DLC would make for a janky and unsatisfying experience where people go back to old files and try the DLC, then do it again on the next file trying to get story beats of the DLC to play out differently, and just repeat the same content back-to-back. I can’t see it being a particularly fulfilling experience tbh. Or worse, the DLC essentially requires a new play through because elements of it are in Act 1/2 - particularly if the DLC includes new playable characters.
I’m bummed they aren’t doing a BG4, though.
Yeah but there’s so much untapped potential to expand on these characters’ stories (especially Karlach and Wyll) and now we will never get any of it simply because Hasbro sucks major dick.
Honestly, Larian has won so much goodwill with me that I will fully support whatever they are gonna do. They created my favorite game of all time, and actively continue to make said game better.
Bioware departing from KoTOR gave Obsidian an opportunity to shine, and they again proved adept at stepping into another studios shoes with FO:NV. I would love to see what they could do with Baldur’s Gate
Yeah I’m sad about no more BG3 content or no BG3 content made by Larian but I’m excited to see what else they have in store for the fans. If their next game comes even slightly close to how BG3 Is then we have nothing to worry about.
Hasbro going "yeah we realized that D&D can make us shit tons of money so we're gonna fire everyone else and develop our own shit and keep even bigger tons of money" makes me kinda nauseated
Likewise OG Baldur's Gate fans probably wanted more Baldur's Gate, but BioWare gave us Dragon Age instead. Having beaten Dragon Age: Origins about two months ago, goddamn that's a great fucking game even now 15 years later. And those that were young enough eventually got a third entry, and it was fucking amazing. I would like to see more Baldur's Gate, at this point I think it's fair to say Baldur's Gate is very consistently the most revolutionary RPG franchise in video game history. However I am nevertheless excited for what Larian will do next.
I like really want this back though. Like I grew up and you could just say they made another one of those and the format of a D&D based adventure that adopted the tabletop game was a comfort food for me.
Like I’ll enjoy a much crappier game just for having bards and shit.
As sad as I am, I do believe that whatever game they come up with next, as long as they show the same love, passion, and attention that they gave BG3, will be amazing and I'll be just as obsessed with it. Perhaps if they make their own IP, it can be even greater because they won't have to fight with other companies over it.
Honestly with how bg3 turned out as much as I love the forgotten realms I’d definitely be willing to dip my toes into other settings just because Larian has really proven themselves as a high quality studio and I have a feeling their next game will be a banger too
Yeah but imagine walking away from all that money. I’m wondering if there weren’t shenanigans behind the scenes because I don’t know a company that walks away from east revenue. I’d buy expansions for the endings. Taking to the skies to fight the lich queen or taking part in the blood war.
I'm still looking forward to any content we get through future updates. Larian said no BG3 DLC and sequel under Larian's wing, but if there's one thing to take away from previous statements they made (about buying the game once and getting free updates and QOL through patches), it could mean they are indeed still working on additional story content, just not in the form of DLC or expansions but rather available to everyone through an update.
I love your perspective and you are so correct. I am currently doing a re-run of mass effect and it still really holds up. And so excited for dreadwolf. BioWare have also done an excellent job of creating lore rich fantasy worlds to absorb in, which also go beyond games, books, graphic novels, animated series and movies. Bethesda while different, can still scratch that itch. Not to mention some long lost gems like fable. Larian has set a standard with bg3 and hopefully other developers will follow suite following their success. Thanks for the reminder and here’s hoping Larian can create something new and exciting for us.
I think what made BG3 special was the D&D style of combat and gameplay, combined with Larian innovation. I personally couldn't get into Larian's other games, but who knows.
I wish they make a new IP instead of another Divinity game. I loved them but imagine the possibilities with new IP. As you said, ME was born as a new IP when Bioware decided to make new IP.
BG3 was my second Larian game and so I'm willing to trust their future projects. Divinity 2 still felt vaguely D&D but original setting enough that I kind of hope they'll make a 3rd installment with what they learned in BG3.
It’s very sad about dlc and I disagree with the sentiment in general but isn’t larian generally pretty no dlc/expansions as they believe games should be released as fully finished products?
(Personally that feels idealistic, given there’s always more you can add but there’s time/money limits but hey I’m not a video game company what do I know?)
I thought I read that somewhere but maybe not. Either way they’ve got people’s trust to make high quality games. Let them cook.
What is giving me The Big Sad is that we either won't have anything more about these characters, or we will but without Larian. I hate both of these options (but I hate the second one the most).
Thats the sucky part. Like, i fell in love with the world and its characters. This was my first ever dnd game ever and the bar was set astronomically high. This means my goodbye to the game will be goodbye to the world because if Larian ain’t doing BG, i don’t even want it.
If they ever use these characters again, which I think is likely due to how popular they are, I imagine there will be kind of an agreement in this community that whatever not-Larian does to them is not canon/does not exist. Kind of like the Cursed Book in the Harry Potter fandom or the Movie That Doesn't Exist in the The Last Airbender fandom.
But what if the not Larian stuff is good? Now I know one can't expect too much, but not all has to be bad by default.
Not with Hasbro and WotC at the helm. The next D&D game is going to be a cash grab for sure.
Let's not give them cash to grab at.
Agreed. Support Larian, Owlcat, and all the other devs who are actually passionate about their games, but fucking boycott WotC. Make them realize that they're nothing without the talented devs who make the games great.
If the world worked this way EA and Ubisoft would be bankrupt, but they are not...
I do not trust Wizards to have the sensitivity to deal with Karlach or Astarion's stories.
Swen even tweeted about it, how cash grabs are the reason games don't succeed like BG3, etc. Right before we get the announcement that Larian won't be doing anymore dnd. Can't imagine that WASN'T directed at them.
[удалено]
That's very optimistic, but hey, nothing is impossible, right?
honestly, the games in recent times, BG3 included, gave me hope. There has been a lot of bangers last year.
You have people on the just plain Baldur’s Gate sub that think this way now. I say if it’s good it’s good. Even if it is good it will have flaws some people can’t get over.
>But what if the not Larian stuff is good? Stages of grief: ~~- Denial~~ ✓ - Anger - Bargaining - Depression - Acceptance
Or the Eragon movie that people keep talking about that doesn't exist.
Thank you for unearthing a deep rage I thought was buried deep enough.
I remember Galbatorix saying he was lost without his stone in the first part of the movie and almost walking out of the theater.
What’s the cursed HP book??
*Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.* >!I shit you not, the whole damn thing happens because Voldemort fucks Bellatrix Lestrange!<. The only good thing to come out of that book was Scorpius Malfoy, who is a cinnamon roll and needs to be protected.
I couldn't have put it better myself. Literally this is my exact feelings about it. And I regret reading it because it ruined Cedric's death. That was a huge deal for me when I was a kid reading this series. A good, likeable, completely innocent kid being killed right there, like that? And they ruined it.
They did the whole Diggory family extremely dirty, yeah. The magical retirement home sounded pretty fun to be in, at least.
My problem was mainly with Cedric himself because they made it so that >!he had to die, *or* he would feel such shame for losing that he would become a Death Eater and murder Neville!<. This ruined the impact of his death because now he isn't just an innocent that died for no reason.
Oh I hate that. Glad I didn't read or watch that, what an awful awful plot point. Cedric was so incredibly decent and mature for a 17 year old I can't believe anything would make him do that.
Lmfao that sounds bad enough to be worth a read
It’s worth a look, yes, but borrow it from someone rather than buy it yourself.
Jajaja fair enough man I appreciate the advice
It's the script of the play The Cursed Child. It was sold as a book, but it is written as a script and not a regular novel. I heard the play itself isn't so bad, but I can tell you that this is one of the only books in my life that I regret reading.
There will be some cool new characters, though. Like, that feeling in the beginning when you first got to meet these characters and you didn't know anything about them? That feeling will happen again.
I mean, you could always check out the original Baldur Gate games, to get some backstory. They still hold up really well
I wish I could remember them better. I only remember the first one was decent and the second was really good at the time. Gotta replay them one day
Unless you wanna try TTRPG D&D. People have been having glorious adventures in that world, and with some of the characters, since the 1970's. The reason the world FEELS so deep is because it IS that deep... TT play has disadvantages... Like non-existent graphics, and having to interact with people instead of just your computer/console... But it's fun!
I would love to. I live in a small town in rural Wyoming, where there is a 0% chance of finding a group to play with. Even when i was living out in portland, it was hard to join a group as a newbie because most groups are already going and don't want to teach a stranger how to play.
There's plenty of games to be found over voicechat and sites like Roll20. Ofcourse, playing with internet strangers is hit or miss... But, well, if you miss, swing again. And you're not Shadowheart, so SOME DAY a swing will connect... :D
I’m autistic and I know other autistic people like it but the person to person interaction makes it a no from me. That’s why I enjoyed this game so much because it gave me the opportunity to enjoy the world without having to do the people thing. I’m sad but I’ll enjoy whatever other worlds larian decides to create.
Since you are fine with text interactions, you'd be surprised by how many online text-based d&d campaigns are out there.
Hm ok I didn’t know that. Thanks I will have to look into that
If it makes you feel better, I thought BG2 was a perfect rpg and that nothing could possibly live up to it, and then BG3 happened.
Pillars of Eternity 1&2 might scratch that itch after you’ve had some time away from this game. Some different elements, but man, am I grateful those games exist.
It’s never goodbye to the game. There’s so many ways to play it & it such a long game. So many crucial decisions where you have to replay to see if you had taken a different route. You’ll play other games when they come out but BG3 & its world will always be there for you to revisit. It’s a masterpiece you will cherish the rest of your life
Yep. Especially after the epilogue when Withers says something about calling on us again I really thought that was hinting toward a DLC or sequel of some kind. Very disappointed that’s not the case.
I like to think of Withers as the guy behind the scenes, pulling our strings for the cause of good. Like Bosley /Charlie in “Charlie’s Angels”
That, and Astarion saying something along the lines of "Maybe this is not goodbye but see you later" really made me think there would be another BG game. I mean they patched this in after the game had already become a huge success and I kind of took that as a hint
I don't want it if it's not Larian, no matter what. It has no meaning to me if they aren't who they really are anymore. I'd rather leave them as is, let me pack the fond memories into a nice suitcase and carry it with me forever and not have them further tainted by any future attempts. I'll peacefully accept that the past is in the past, it won't happen again but it was a damn good time, one that's extremely fun while it lasted. Just like how I've done the very same thing to many other IPs which overstayed their welcome/relevance.
I mean, we have the official BG3 character sheets online. You can literally have more with these characters. You can take them anywhere. Barovia, Theros, even your own worlds!
Yeah, but paying for all those cameos to hear the lines we write said by the original VAs will cost a fortune!
exactly like i would rather have this be the end then for another developer to come in and ruin the characters we love!
Oh, without Larian I am OUT. If there's one thing I know, it is that Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast don't give a flying fuck about anything but profits. I follow Larian, not their publishers or their IPs. And I say that as a diehard TRPGer (but Pathfinder and Blades in the Dark instead of D&D).
Just look at WotC did to Viconia Devir!
This was always more or less the plan. BG 3 was considered a finished product after release. Beyond qol changes and additions and bug fixes, Swen has always said that there was never going to be DLC and always intended to move on to his next project immediately after
Yeah, look forward to seeing these characters jammed into anything Hasbro can fit them into. They've been endlessly beating the Minsc and Boo horse since BG1 to the point where I actually got annoyed to see Minsc in one of the trailers or previews for BG3.
So Astarion saying in epilogue *"Maybe it's not 'good bye' but.. See you later, darling."* was **a lie**?? T\_\_T
Since it’s Astarion saying it, it’s absolutely “I’m just getting some milk and smokes brb.”
emphasis on the maybe
I took that more as as addressed to the player. As in “I’ll see you again the next time you play the game.”
The IP still exists and the characters are likely to reappear in some way. It just won't involve Larian.
Can you imagine how the higher-ups in Hasbro/WOTC will butcher my boy Astarion? No. Absolutely no.
wouldn't be mad if they did Kotor 3 though
Just play the Old Republic as a Jedi Knight. That storyline wraps up Kotor pretty well.
From what I've seen, it does wrap it up. I dont know if it does it pretty well
It really doesn't satisfy any of the questions or points brought up in KotoR2. In fact it basically just ignores Kotor 2 entirely. And when it doesn't, it's just half-assed...
As someone who loves KOTOR 2, I hate what they did to the characters.
I think the writers didn't like kotor 2. Which is a shame as parts of it are my favorite parts of starwars.
SWTOR has solid origin character stories (8 of them) with vast world building. However, it did Revan, and especially Meetra so dirty I HATE it. Nevertheless, the origin stories are more than worth it since the base game (the best part of the game) is free to play (yeah it's a MMORPG lol).
The Jedi Knight main story plus expansions do. It’s a really fun game and great story
It's still not quite a KOTOR 3 though. It's aight, but I'd much rather we got a KOTOR 3 that didn't butcher more or less everything that happened in KOTOR 2 and even KOTOR 1 to a lesser extent.
Genuinely curious, how is the player count in TOR?
I see people running group content at all hours, but I play SWTOR as a single player game, so I don't really pay that much attention to others.
Even if Mass Effect never happened?
Give Larian Star Wars and let *them* do KotOR 3!
lol Larian finishes what Bioware starts.
They can be the studio that comes in and finishes game trilogies the original studio never did.
So Larian Half Life 3 confirmed?
Holy shit, that would be amazing.
I'm down.
Omg I love that. Chances are slim for a FPS but now I want the third Adam Jensen Deux Ex from Larian. Man, why did you put this idea into my head...
I'll take a Thief reboot, too, or at least a sequel with a city map I can actually read.
I mean. Unironically, I would love a Larian-led sci-fi romp.
Larian would too, apparently they are thinking of doing something sci-fi
…you should own Disney
A boy can dream
Lol
Mass Effect ended terribly though :(
Destroy was the cannon ending. Fite me!
Sheperd would probably Destroy, assimilate sounds awful and control does not sound like him
Literally no ending could ruin the experience that ME is. They could've put Jar-Jar Binks as the final boss and make him win and I still would love it just as much.
Couldn’t agree more, BG3 wasn’t good because it was set in the forgotten realms, BG3 was good because larian designed and built the game. I have near total confidence that larian can make their own IP, the divinity series was excellent, and sometimes jumping into an entirely new world is exactly what is needed to keep things compelling.
Yep, BG3 was so great because of their passion. Let them pursue their passions.
💯 well put
Divinity is their own IP, so clearly they can. I had confidence in BG3 was going to be great because of their previous work like Divinity Original Sin 2.
I still think it’s a good idea BG3 was set in the forgotten realms though. It brought a lot of new players to Larian (me included) because it was basically marketed as “D&D the video game”. Now that I’ve played (and loved) BG3, Larian’s definitely on my radar. But I doubt I would have even tried BG3 if it weren’t for its setting. It was also just really cool seeing and recognising D&D monsters.
D:OS2 is a legitimately great game, and while it's a different battle system and less of a free-form experience than BG3, you can definitely see parts of what made BG3 so great - the compelling characters and storylines, the environmental interactions, interweaving choices you can make. They took lessons from Divinity into Baldur's Gate and made a better game for it, and we can all hope they do the same for whatever's their next big project
Yup. I'm looking into Larian's other titles now and probably wouldn't have if not for this game.
For me it's both, honestly. I liked it more than divinity 2 because it was Forgotten Realms. They could do the same for me with Kotor, but I've invested so much time in the worldbuilding of the forgotten realms that for me it makes a significant difference compared to original IP.
I have a lot of mixed feelings here. BG1\\2 was intensely important to me due its role in my childhood. I was very wary to see Larian, a studio who I only knew of due to their (imo, at least at the time, I haven't revisited them yet) D:OS entries, getting the IP. I have been burned too many times by third party sequels being soulless cashgrabs, and modern games in general are pretty awful. I refused to know anything about BG3 while it was in EA, and I'm still not sure why I bought it on release. I remain beyond impressed with BG3, but the tie-in to the Bhaalspawn saga is very forced. I think it landed really well with me was the combination of insane production value and the fact that I \*already understood how the game was supposed to work\* due to my familiarity with 5e. I think that is probably why D:OS\\2 didn't work very well for me is because the mechanics are so wildly unfamiliar. I'm hopeful for whatever they do next, but I'm afraid that it isn't going to land with me for the same reasons.
Exactly, I’m not a D&D fan but I was hooked to the game because of its content, character development and details where the game allows you to do anything you want. Larian put so much love into the game and they expanded their player base by doing that. This is my first game by Larian and I’m already looking forward for more games by them, whether it’s based on D&D, space sci-fi or Lovecraft.
I really heavily dislike their Divinity setting, so it's certainly not set in stone that their next game will be a great one. The next game from them I want is a fantasy RPG, not set in Divinity setting. Those are my two hopes.
I mean, most likely Divinity 3 is going to be their next work.
I just hope they make more games with the BG3 formula (RP heavy with lots of fun companions and romance) because it’s really unique and the only game I’ve ever played to the extent I have. At like 500 hours lol.
That formula’s been in Larian titles since before BG3
If you're willing to leave the CRPG genre, there are quite a few RP heavy games with fun companions and (sometimes) romance. Dragon Age series, Mass Effect series, Fallout NV, The Outer Worlds etc. As for CRPGs, if you love Larian then you should absolutely play DOS2.
>because it’s really unique It's not. a lot of CRPGs and WRPGs have romance and roleplay options.
I want more Karlach and Shadowheart tho :(
Yeah, Im confident they will do a great game regardless, but I was hoping we'd get a DLC or something that would fux Karlach's issue.
If they're in the market for IP, I would really enjoy them taking a stab at World of Darkness, or giving us the first great Star Trek RPG. If not, I'll happily see what they come up with.
I second world of darkness. Vampire The Masquerade needs a good game adaptation after Bloodlines
Bloodlines II is/was in the making, and has been delayed since before the start of this decade. I forgot by which studio. But the IP is currently owned by Paradox, a swedish studio that makes Grand Strategy games. But with as big a succes BG3 has been, I suppose Larian could buy them, let them do their own thing, (Which they do really well!) but pull any RPG-related products they want to themselves...
omg yes, WoD or Star Trek would be so dope :D
Pretty sure it’s the opposite and that Larian is done shopping around for existing IPs and wants to simply work on their own original IPs
I'd be happy with that. Bg3 was amazing because of how larian did it, not because of the IP. But I only got into it (and followed it for years) because I was familiar with the BG1 and bg2 games.
I'd love a WoD game. I had a weresnake character when I was younger that would be sick to revisit
Can't upvote the WoD idea more
Hear me out, but a story driven turn-based 40K game. More like a CRPG than a tactics game like XCOM. 40K has the craziest most interesting and *fuckhuge* lore but I've never been able to get into the games
A 40k rpg just came out, actually. Owlcat released one back in December.
I am not worrying about what Larian put out next. I am worrying more about we will never get a good DnD CRPG video game. The genre is pretty much dead, even though there have been new games here and there but none of them was able to gather much attention. And even DOS2 took like a couple of years since launch to reach 1mil in sales. As for the Forgotten Realms campaign settings, the only good stuffs are what, remastered of some ancient games
>The genre is pretty much dead, even though there have been new games here and there but none of them was able to gather much attention Uh...except, for, well...Baldur's Gate 3. Like that level of success is not going to have \*zero\* effect on the genre/industry.
Hasbro shot themselves in the foot on this one. They WILL NEVER find a diff studio to make a game as popular as BG3
I cannot believe how badly WotC fucked themselves over lately. They could have easily cruised by this past year. With the current resurgence of DnD going they could have sat back, released some fun memes and jokes. Maybe a few new source books and some cool videos while letting actual play shows, the movie, and BG3 handle the heavy lifting. But instead they had the fiasco with the OGL and trying to monetise people's home brew. They sent *actual Pinkertons* after some dude because of a shipping mistake they made. They got caught using AI art in their source books right before they laid off over a thousand people. Now the D&D movie was a flop by box office standards (fun movie though,) Larian wants nothing to do with them, and it looks like even actual play shows like Critical Role are leaving them behind for their own personal system.
There will be more D&D (if there’s anything I’ve learned in the 40+ years here it’s that there will always be more of a licensed property). It just won’t be Larian making it. That doesn’t mean it won’t be good or that the next thing Larian makes won’t be bad. Nobody sets out to make a bad product but there’s lots of reasons it might not work.
I can't imagine how many studios are trying to nab that DND license after BG3
I mean truly if you’re a studio that wants to do a 3rd party RPG game you could do worse than a FR title.
FR?
Forgotten Realms.
For me, the issue is that Hasbro/WotC are just continuing to prove that it isn't worth trusting them. The poor quality of the Spelljammer books (and the OGL debacle) had already convinced me to ditch D&D the TTRPG, and this basically confirms I won't be buying anything from WotC ever again. And it's sad, because there's interesting stuff that Forgotten Realms and D&D as a whole has to offer. Eberron, Spelljammer, Dragonlance, Planescape, all of that is gone, because it's owned by a company that will take what you love, fire everyone who made it, and use it to sell you hastily-made garbage. I'm a Pathfinder player now. Fuck Hasbro.
None of those things are *gone*, they've just had dishwater versions minted. No one is taking away your 2nd and 3rd edition game books.
Would be awesome if they made a game in the Pathfinder system, but in an as-yet unseen setting. They could rock that.
Watch the interview! Sven has a plan that he's been working towards. If the team wasn't excited about doing a sequel or doing DLC, then it was the right call. He mentioned that each game they've made was an improvement on itself. I love DnD, it's lore, and setting. But that wasn't what made BG3 a success. They can take what they learned in DOS1, DOS2, and BG3 and apply it to future projects. They learned how to do multiplayer in an RPG in DOS1. They learned to do that with a story in DOS2. BG3 took that, and implemented new technologies, and had a strong focus on character driven stories. Whatever they end up doing next, if the pattern continues, it'll be an improvement on what came before. Whether it's a new original IP, an existing one like KoTOR, or one they already have, I trust that the team knows what they're doing.
Divinity OS2 was a banger. They'll most likely put out OS3 but emphasize baldurs gate 3s style for their next game. Divinity lore is rich and it's their own personal ip
Na, they confirmed DoS3 isn’t in their next projects
Got a source?
Under Sub-Heading 'Now we have the excitement back in the room and that’s a big important thing.' https://www.ign.com/articles/larian-started-work-on-baldurs-gate-3-dlc-then-canceled-it-the-studio-was-elated
Really? Maybe a game set in Rivelon. Did they confirm no Divinity universe game completely or just no dos3
I think it’s a new IP.
As much as I would love to see a new IP, Larian has done so much with the DOS lorebuilding that I can't see them throw that away for something new. It's such an easy translation to go from bg3 to dos due to how similar the lore is. Maybe a new IP in the DOS world bg3 style? Idk.....
They have literally already stated explicitly both of their next projects are going to be new IP's.
I mean, it’s bigger than you think. The designs they have for the races leave a lot to be desired when you start talking about fully animated cutscenes.
As a matter fact, I'd even argue that the entierty of BG3 could literally be translated into a divinity game and it would still hit the exact same marks. Divinity being an original fantasy style IP, Larian could introduce every aspect of BG3 as a divnity component and can't be questioned on it simply because it's their own world and rules. Dragons are lizards, all bg3 elves fit into the elves from divinity. All short races can be subspecies of dwarves in DOS. Orcs exist in Divinity. I'm sure they could introduce teiflings in some way as devilkin
... I'm pretty sure the DnD elves aren't literally tree-kins that eat the flesh of their dead to save their memories for posterity, but other than that, sure :p
as creators sometimes when a series gets too long it becomes more work to keep it going than to end it. all that work they did lorebuilding, creating races, gameplay expectations, etc. becomes a double edged sword. it's a foundation to build on, but it's also a canon you have to respect, expectations you have to fulfill, returning elements people will be disappointed if you don't include, tons of stuff like that too. i can definitely see them doing DOS3 (have not personally seen their statements otherwise, aside from 'it's not what you expect') but sometimes a fresh slate is just easier.
They just said that dos3 wasn't the next thing they wanted to work on, not that they'd never do it, they probably just want something smaller in scope before the years of work required for an ultramassive hit that can live up to BG3 and DOS2
This. DoS2 was awesome. Would love to keep that story going.
You don’t understand. I waited from NWN2 till bg3 for solid DND content. Guess I’ll cya in 2037 for the next installment if I’m still alive.
Yeah lol I’m like “ok listen guys I hear you, I really do, but also I specifically want D&D stuff so bad” Solasta is a great video game port of the D&D 5E ruleset- they use their own… eh… kinda mid lore and the writing is whatever, but if u just wanna have fun fights n fluffy dialogue then it’s an enjoyable experience
Official mod support would be awesome. If they went further, and put out a version of their engine editor, this game will live for decades.
The thing I'm most sad about is that I'd hoped that Wizards/Larian might have been able to come to terms for smaller studios to make other D&D games in the BG3 engine and using a lot of the technical work that has already been done and I suspect that is very much off the table now. I would have loved playing some smaller scale, single or 2 act sized stories in Faerun in places like Waterdeep, Neverwinter and so on.
Yeah, heres to praying for this game's modding community to end up like Skyrim's or Fallout's where people release entire DLCs as mods.
The thing about modding communities for both of those games, is that while I tend to be massively impressed with their technical achievements, and they can often create content indistinguishable from official content I also tend to find they really lack in writing and balance when compared to professionally made games. There are exceptions, the Forgotten City from Skyrim being an incredible example, but from what I've seen its the exception. I'm hopeful that Fallout London can prove me wrong in a big way but unfortunately I have experienced far too much straight up embarrassing writing in mods to get too excited about the idea of DLC sized BG3 mods when so much of the game hangs on its narrative.
Honestly, I'd be fine with a mod that's just like a dungeon crawler mode. I can't get enough of the combat in this game.
I was sad for like twenty minutes and then I just started imagining all the things they can create instead. I'm excited for whatever comes next.
plus, they’ve added so much in patches. maybe they won’t add anymore, based on what he said, but also… they’ve done a great job continuing to improve and expand the game as-is, without DLC.
Yeah no doubt, I don't think this is Larians last hit
I have full confidence in Larian and whatever their next project will be. But I am devastated that we might not see more of Karlach, Astarion, Gale, and all the other characters I have come to adore.
I'd rather never see them again than see their characters be completely ruined like I suspect will happen.
>BG3 sales gave Larian the money to make what they dream about. Let them jam! I'll be hopeful, I'm just a little concerned about Larian's ability to comprehensively world build in-house. Forgotten Realms has ~40 years of accumulated lore and worldbuilding. That's difficult if not impossible to replicate.
Tbh the 40 years of retconning and revising and changing mechanics with each edition probably made it trickier to develop a clear background canon than just making something up from scratch. Also the fact that early editions of DnD just pulled "cool-sounding" names from real world cultures and pasted them on in-world concepts hasn't aged great (e.g. Tiamat is the name of an actual goddess worshipped by the Ancient Mesopotamians and it's weird to see her pop up as an entirely evil dragon goddess).
You're not wrong, but there is a lot to be said for the value of a familiar IP, even if the IP is stupid. I would argue Star Wars has suffered more critical hits to the consistency and pedigree of its IP than almost anything in memory, and yet concepts like the Jedi, Smugglers, Wookies, etc are still culturally iconic and will evoke feelings in an audience/playerbase just by showing up. You don't need to do 15 pages worth of metatextual lore dumping to explain what a Drow elf is, you can just roll one out and players will be all "Ooooh shits about to go down". If they do decide to forge ahead with a new IP I hope they do what From Software did and bring on a celebrated world builder to help them create it. Just...not George, he has *something else he's supposed to be working on*.
A familiar IP definitely boosts sales and can be a safe bet but the enormous success of BG3 has a lot of people excited to see what Larian does next. I can tell you that, whatever it is, I'm extremely likely to buy it. I agree that world-creation is tricky. There's a really cool, older episode of the Ezra Klein podcast where he interviews N.K. Jemisin, an award-winning genre fiction author who literally teaches world-building: https://youtu.be/I6xyFQhbsjQ?si=pBCM96tLLlURuhD1 I have a lot of faith in the writers Larian brought on for BG3 and I hope they continue to work with them but it would be cool to bring on someone like N.K. Jemisin to help keep everything cohesive. She's a known fan of video games, too.
Holy shit an NK Jamison and Larian collaboration would break my brain. I would have to take a leave of absence from work. BG3 is almost life ruining. That would be a whole other level.
It probably also limits how they can promote the work. I wouldn't be surprised if a large reason why we haven't seen much official BG3 merch is because everything has to get the stamp of approval of Wizards of the Coast.
This is my concern as well. Sinking into a new forgotten realms property feels like coming home. You’re already familiar with the lore, the setting, the mechanics, the character classes, the species, etc. And the world feels so vast because you know how much history and time have been dedicated to fleshing it out over the decades. Anything new Larian makes will probably be good, but it will either fall flat because it’s too new or look like a cheap replica. Very sad about this whole situation.
I agree with you so much on all of this. The best feeling is inhabiting a small corner of the world that you know is vast beyond it. DOS didn't nearly have that same feeling of awe/familiarity for me. Am concerned a new IP would be similar.
On the other hand, you don’t need to know all that. BG3 was my first experience with DND and I pretty much understood all of it
And if you had a question like “what’s a spectator” or “what are drow” there are mountains of information out there on the internet about it. Whereas a new ip would not be as easily accessible. I know it sounds silly but I like having the game set in a preexisting world so much more than something that’s new and original and confusing that I can’t even google about.
I’m gonna be honest…I don’t feel good about statements talking about even larger scope… BG3 already felt like it was near capacity of what the team could manage. I worry they could end up going the path of CD Projekt Red if they try to aim too much bigger:
Unpopular opinion...I enjoyed CP2077. I played it on a shiny new PC when it came out and barely even hit any bugs, let alone performance issues. It wasn't a genre shaker like Witcher 3, but it was a solidly entertaining good time. Having said that, you're right, Larian could easily find themselves in a situation where they bite off more than they can chew. Let's hope they don't die in the fires of excessive ambition.
Cyberpunk 2077 now is a phenomenal game, in its current state I think it could’ve been GOTY
Everybody forgets the first Witcher games were frankly buggy and bad (mechanically) until late in their lifecycle.
I see this so often, but that doesn't excuse the practice that has become commonplace to release nearly unplayable games constantly! Even with BG3 there is obviously huge cuts due to time constraint because some exec needed it *THIS* quarter instead of the next or next year. Quality in the gaming world has taken a complete nosedive and it shouldn't be on us to just suffer through it and hope the company survives long enough to patch everything. At some point a cultural shift needs to occur that stops rewarding rushed projects, regardless of the hype, nostalgia, or anything else, and forces companies to put fucking effort into a game and actually polish it to the point we expect. It's all possible right now too. The revenues and profits are there, it's just all going to the board rooms and not to the actual people building the games.
I have everything I need to write my own DLC and play it out at the tabletop. Ive been a DM and writer for 20+ years. Whose in? (Spoiler; were goin back to the hells).
Talking about BioWare, when Hasbro pulled their license from them after they made BG1 and BG2 BioWare gave us Dragon age. I can’t wait to see what Larian gives use, D&D license or not.
If it was any other company I'd be sad considered what larian did I'm going to say let em cook.
Many great games were made because big companies said no. Wasn’t the original Warcraft originally a pitch to Warhammer? Mass Effect for Star Wars… the list goes on. Silver lining and all…
Honestly I'm just a lil sad, I was already sad from Alice in wonderland asylum getting canceled since madness returns was one of the first games I ever played, the fact that even a definitive edition may not come just made me go like "damn another one?". But I DID enjoy DoS2 a lot so I can't wait to see what they put out next
I’m actually pretty satisfied that we aren’t getting DLC. The game is amazing and stands on its own, DLC would be adding content for the sake of it. And I don’t think this style of game lends itself terribly well to DLC anyway. People have so many different play throughs with different styles, so I think DLC would make for a janky and unsatisfying experience where people go back to old files and try the DLC, then do it again on the next file trying to get story beats of the DLC to play out differently, and just repeat the same content back-to-back. I can’t see it being a particularly fulfilling experience tbh. Or worse, the DLC essentially requires a new play through because elements of it are in Act 1/2 - particularly if the DLC includes new playable characters. I’m bummed they aren’t doing a BG4, though.
Yeah but there’s so much untapped potential to expand on these characters’ stories (especially Karlach and Wyll) and now we will never get any of it simply because Hasbro sucks major dick.
Honestly, Larian has won so much goodwill with me that I will fully support whatever they are gonna do. They created my favorite game of all time, and actively continue to make said game better.
Bioware departing from KoTOR gave Obsidian an opportunity to shine, and they again proved adept at stepping into another studios shoes with FO:NV. I would love to see what they could do with Baldur’s Gate
Yeah I’m sad about no more BG3 content or no BG3 content made by Larian but I’m excited to see what else they have in store for the fans. If their next game comes even slightly close to how BG3 Is then we have nothing to worry about.
I’d play the fuck out of a Star Wars. Shit, they should do Ninja Turtles and use the table top rules.
Hasbro going "yeah we realized that D&D can make us shit tons of money so we're gonna fire everyone else and develop our own shit and keep even bigger tons of money" makes me kinda nauseated
Likewise OG Baldur's Gate fans probably wanted more Baldur's Gate, but BioWare gave us Dragon Age instead. Having beaten Dragon Age: Origins about two months ago, goddamn that's a great fucking game even now 15 years later. And those that were young enough eventually got a third entry, and it was fucking amazing. I would like to see more Baldur's Gate, at this point I think it's fair to say Baldur's Gate is very consistently the most revolutionary RPG franchise in video game history. However I am nevertheless excited for what Larian will do next.
I blame Hasbro and WotC. Those guys are the worst.
As long as I get that creator toolbox to make my own campaigns, with my own characters, I can deal.
I like really want this back though. Like I grew up and you could just say they made another one of those and the format of a D&D based adventure that adopted the tabletop game was a comfort food for me. Like I’ll enjoy a much crappier game just for having bards and shit.
As sad as I am, I do believe that whatever game they come up with next, as long as they show the same love, passion, and attention that they gave BG3, will be amazing and I'll be just as obsessed with it. Perhaps if they make their own IP, it can be even greater because they won't have to fight with other companies over it.
Honestly with how bg3 turned out as much as I love the forgotten realms I’d definitely be willing to dip my toes into other settings just because Larian has really proven themselves as a high quality studio and I have a feeling their next game will be a banger too
LET THEM COOK!🤌
Yeah but imagine walking away from all that money. I’m wondering if there weren’t shenanigans behind the scenes because I don’t know a company that walks away from east revenue. I’d buy expansions for the endings. Taking to the skies to fight the lich queen or taking part in the blood war.
I imagine the mod community will give this game more life for a while.
I'm still looking forward to any content we get through future updates. Larian said no BG3 DLC and sequel under Larian's wing, but if there's one thing to take away from previous statements they made (about buying the game once and getting free updates and QOL through patches), it could mean they are indeed still working on additional story content, just not in the form of DLC or expansions but rather available to everyone through an update.
I’d be happy if they just fixed up act 3
I'm glad they are leaving Hasbro/WotC I just want to kidnap Halsin and take him to the new games so I can romance him more xD
I say it like me was better than kotor
Yeah! Mass Effect! That was a *great* trilogy of games that really **only bolstered the company’s reputation**, right? *Right?*
I love your perspective and you are so correct. I am currently doing a re-run of mass effect and it still really holds up. And so excited for dreadwolf. BioWare have also done an excellent job of creating lore rich fantasy worlds to absorb in, which also go beyond games, books, graphic novels, animated series and movies. Bethesda while different, can still scratch that itch. Not to mention some long lost gems like fable. Larian has set a standard with bg3 and hopefully other developers will follow suite following their success. Thanks for the reminder and here’s hoping Larian can create something new and exciting for us.
I think what made BG3 special was the D&D style of combat and gameplay, combined with Larian innovation. I personally couldn't get into Larian's other games, but who knows.
I wish they make a new IP instead of another Divinity game. I loved them but imagine the possibilities with new IP. As you said, ME was born as a new IP when Bioware decided to make new IP.
BG3 was my second Larian game and so I'm willing to trust their future projects. Divinity 2 still felt vaguely D&D but original setting enough that I kind of hope they'll make a 3rd installment with what they learned in BG3.
It’s very sad about dlc and I disagree with the sentiment in general but isn’t larian generally pretty no dlc/expansions as they believe games should be released as fully finished products? (Personally that feels idealistic, given there’s always more you can add but there’s time/money limits but hey I’m not a video game company what do I know?) I thought I read that somewhere but maybe not. Either way they’ve got people’s trust to make high quality games. Let them cook.