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Gamesradarès Baldur's Gate 3 preview is pure hype

Aaaaand the Elden Ring effect began.



I would never hold the game of a 30 person team to the same standard as whats being done here, this much is obvious. But to have people from TRIPLE A studios far larger, with far more experience and far more resources than Larian, chiming in saying they shouldn't be held by the same standards - people from Insomaniac, Obsidian and freaking Blizzard - is just ridiculous.

Yes, i will hold you to the same standards, I will compare Everwild, Starfield, The Outer Worlds 2 and whatever else is being made to BG3, why i shouldn't i? There's no reason why a studio like Obsidian, with decades more worth of experience, far more acclaimed RPGs on their backs than Larian, MICROSOFT funds alongside multiple other studios to draw experience from under the same umbrella, shouldn't able to put out something of this level.
They have some cheek. They want to me to place a discount on my time and money to suit their relative lack of ambition and talent?
 

amigastar

Member
This will be my first Baldur's Gate and I'm really stoked.

I didn't have a gaming PC as a kid and the few times I've tried 1&2 as an adult, I just have no idea how to play them. Really looking forward to this.
To be fair, it's not necessarily a Baldurs Gate in its purest form, Pillars of Eternity is more like Baldurs Gate 1 and 2. This one is a bit different.
But it will be a good one.
The layers of intervowen plot and twists and turns will be on a scale unlikely ever seen before.
 
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Madonis

Member
To be fair, it's not necesserily a Baldurs Gate in its purest form, Pillars of Eternity is more like Baldurs Gate 1 and 2. This one is a bit different.
But it will be a good one.
The layers of intervowen plot and twists and turns will be on a scale unlikely ever seen before.

BG3 clearly isn't the same in terms of gameplay mechanics, because even D&D has changed ever since those days.

That said...while you don't necessarily need to have played BG1 and 2, because this is a whole other storyline, there's still interesting thematic parallels and at least two returning characters.

With that in mind...watching a summary video like this one could help bring some of that lore and context to new players:

 
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Is there any good footage without an irritating youtuber talking over it?

As a new comer to this style of game there not doing the game any favours.

Cheers
 

Fools idol

Banned
This will be my first Baldur's Gate and I'm really stoked.

I didn't have a gaming PC as a kid and the few times I've tried 1&2 as an adult, I just have no idea how to play them. Really looking forward to this.

They made it a lot more accessible to newcomers but it is still quite complex and difficult to play especially on higher difficulties.

My recommendation would be to watch a seasonned veteran like Mortismal Gaming to understand each class and race setup first.. his videos are great and his BG3 series of videos just started.

 
This will be my first Baldur's Gate and I'm really stoked.

I didn't have a gaming PC as a kid and the few times I've tried 1&2 as an adult, I just have no idea how to play them. Really looking forward to this.
This was a lot of the fun of it for me. I knew some D&D basic concepts and rules, but there is still a hurdle to get into BG but I always enjoyed making parties and playing it when I was younger.

It was a lot of fun to revisit it recently and I felt like I still had a curve but once I got into it I loved it. Love the real time with pause setup and how everything is laid out. I don't know anything past 2nd edition though so I'm a little worried about that with the new one.
 

STARSBarry

Gold Member
This will be my first Baldur's Gate and I'm really stoked.

I didn't have a gaming PC as a kid and the few times I've tried 1&2 as an adult, I just have no idea how to play them. Really looking forward to this.

Considering how different it is from the original 2 I would think of this as its own series, a fresh start much like your experience will be.

But man if I'm not excited about this launch, after recent titles fucking things up I tend to try and keep my expectations in check, but the early access, especially its most recent release has got me expecting an awful lot.

It has some of the best combat in terms of DnD, each class plays exactly as I imagine they would on the table top (well close, few changes) I still remember the laughter the first time I picked up my friends druid and hurled into a pack of goblins so he could use thunder wave (he was complaining about its low range) I have never played a barbarian on the tabletop but my god this game really let's you "experience" how other players see their characters.
 
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Aaaaand the Elden Ring effect began.



I would never hold the game of a 30 person team to the same standard as whats being done here, this much is obvious. But to have people from TRIPLE A studios far larger, with far more experience and far more resources than Larian, chiming in saying they shouldn't be held by the same standards - people from Insomaniac, Obsidian and freaking Blizzard - is just ridiculous.
Man if someone from CDProjekt Red chimed in, it would have been too hilarious.
 

Fools idol

Banned
Dont think they're giving out review codes.

I believe a very select few indie reviewers and streamers got codes and early access such as Cohh, Wolfheart, Fextralife... mortismal asked for a code but dont know if he is getting one.

Larian doesn't seem to need or care about review outlets in the past.
 

GymWolf

Gold Member
It is still wild to me that we will have some of the best RPGs ever within 6 months of each other (FFXVI, Baldur's Gate 3, and Starfield).

I haven't got to play the EA of BG3, but I played Divinity Original Sin 2 and is my favorite RPG. I feel like I talk about the game so much on here lol.

It looks like BG3 is taking the level of freedom from DoS2 and expanding upon it. Like Zelda TotK this kind of freedom makes it hard to go back to more rigid games.

The one downside is it is easy to burn out after a while but I really appreciate this amount of work being poured into these kinds of games.

I am glad Larian Studios is getting more praise and recognition! They are a group of talented and passionate Devs. They really raised my expectationsbfor games in general.
Ff16 is as much as an rpg as an ham and cheese sandwich.
 

KXVXII9X

Member
Ff16 is as much as an rpg as an ham and cheese sandwich.
Eat Grilled Cheese GIF by Dietz & Watson
 

Buggy Loop

Member
I believe a very select few indie reviewers and streamers got codes and early access such as Cohh, Wolfheart, Fextralife... mortismal asked for a code but dont know if he is getting one.

Larian doesn't seem to need or care about review outlets in the past.

That’s very surprising to me. IGN/Gamespot and the likes won’t have review day 1 then? That’s the hype machine and FOMO impulse buy drivers.
 

Fools idol

Banned
That’s very surprising to me. IGN/Gamespot and the likes won’t have review day 1 then? That’s the hype machine and FOMO impulse buy drivers.

They never got them for DOS 2 either.

A huge amount of the sales came from early access, so the release to wider public was already in the bag I suppose.

To be honest Baldurs Gate doesn't need any advertisement - it will sell like hot cakes, the various DnD forums I frequent are filled with people who haven't played videogames for years talking about buying it at release, I think it will do big numbers.



New mort vid out on Sorc too, my favourite class!
 

nemiroff

Gold Member
Aaaaand the Elden Ring effect began.


That's...cringe... Talk about going on the pre-emptive defense. Holy shit.
 

MidGenRefresh

*Refreshes biennially
Aaaaand the Elden Ring effect began.



I would never hold the game of a 30 person team to the same standard as whats being done here, this much is obvious. But to have people from TRIPLE A studios far larger, with far more experience and far more resources than Larian, chiming in saying they shouldn't be held by the same standards - people from Insomaniac, Obsidian and freaking Blizzard - is just ridiculous.

Yes, i will hold you to the same standards, I will compare Everwild, Starfield, The Outer Worlds 2 and whatever else is being made to BG3, why i shouldn't i? There's no reason why a studio like Obsidian, with decades more worth of experience, far more acclaimed RPGs on their backs than Larian, MICROSOFT funds alongside multiple other studios to draw experience from under the same umbrella, shouldn't able to put out something of this level.

Just wow. This is thread worthy. Lazy mofos lost the plot.
 
Aaaaand the Elden Ring effect began.



I would never hold the game of a 30 person team to the same standard as whats being done here, this much is obvious. But to have people from TRIPLE A studios far larger, with far more experience and far more resources than Larian, chiming in saying they shouldn't be held by the same standards - people from Insomaniac, Obsidian and freaking Blizzard - is just ridiculous.

Yes, i will hold you to the same standards, I will compare Everwild, Starfield, The Outer Worlds 2 and whatever else is being made to BG3, why i shouldn't i? There's no reason why a studio like Obsidian, with decades more worth of experience, far more acclaimed RPGs on their backs than Larian, MICROSOFT funds alongside multiple other studios to draw experience from under the same umbrella, shouldn't able to put out something of this level.
Holy shit that thread is ridiculous. Literally comparing Larian to fucking rockstar at one point 😅😅😅😅

They bang the Crunch drum at one point. Funnily enough a eurogamer interview came out yesterday where the Game Director has said they just had to do a bit Overtime to get the game finished and had very little Overtime before that point.
 

amigastar

Member
I hope the game is good enough to be GotY or even Game of the Decade, now that would be awesome.
But the scope of this game is beyond your usual game, i mean Larian consists of 400 employees, thats way beyond your average gamecompany.
 
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Fools idol

Banned
I hope the game is good enough to be GotY or even Game of the Decade, now that would be awesome.
But the scope of this game is beyond your usual game, i mean Larian consists of 400 employees, thats way beyond your average gamecompany.

I'd say a game of this quality from 400 devs is incredible. The sheree amount of mocap, voice acting? QA testing on the DnD system with so many possible combos of race, class, spell, etc! it's mind boggling to think about.

No doubt there will be bugs, but the polish will be there, it's Larian. The state that DOS2 launched in was the level of polish most devs and players dream of. It rolled my mind back to the days when new games simply had to work at launch because they could not be 'patched' as easily as this day and age, and certainly impossible on consoles.

as good as it is to have Steam and PSN and instant patch-ability etc, it has most certainly been taken advantage of for 'release game ASAP and fix later'
 
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Guilty_AI

Member
On what level, mechanically or aesthetically?, I think it's polished aesthetically speaking especially considering how dynamic the game is.
Cutscenes are janky from time to time in EA, one common thing i notice for example are split second moments of assets/textures loading in. On the gameplay side, theres still some things that need to be cleared up in the character creator since it seems they're getting rid of racial bonuses, and regarding stealth which can be exploited with certain builds. Theres more, but its generally small grievances like that.
 

Guilty_AI

Member
I hope the game is good enough to be GotY or even Game of the Decade, now that would be awesome.
But the scope of this game is beyond your usual game, i mean Larian consists of 400 employees, thats way beyond your average gamecompany.
Its not an unnusual size for AAA devs, insomaniac for example is also over 400 employees
 

amigastar

Member
I'd say a game of this quality from 400 devs is incredible. The sheree amount of mocap, voice acting? QA testing on the DnD system with so many possible combos of race, class, spell, etc! it's mind boggling to think about.

No doubt there will be bugs, but the polish will be there, it's Larian. The state that DOS2 launched in was the level of polish most devs and players dream of. It rolled my mind back to the days when new games simply had to work at launch because they could not be 'patched' as easily as this day and age, and certainly impossible on consoles.

as good as it is to have Steam and PSN and instant patch-ability etc, it has most certainly been taken advantage of for 'release game ASAP and fix later'
Very true, i've said the same, the amount of work they have put in is astonishing. They are on fire thats for sure.
 

Fools idol

Banned



damn, this looks really good. I caved and finally started watching some of the low-spoiler previews on the origin characters and now I am even more hyped.

TLDR, the dark urge origin character is some kind of connection with Bhaal... or Bhaalspawn even.. Maybe even Bhaal himself.

Obligatory

 
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zephiross

Member
Ok so here's where I'm at:

I've never played a game of that genre. It's usually not my kind of game but I don't know why, I've got that feeling, that very same feeling I got before The Witcher 3 released. It wasn't my type of game either, but I had that intuition that it was going to be great, and so I bought it on launch and turns out it's one of my all time favorite.

I think I'm going to renew the experience with BG3, my guts tell me greatness awaits. I hope my gaming 6th sense delivers once more.
 

Dreathlock

Member
That is a very broad response kind of question.

Are you takling about a video tutorial that explains the DnD rules system? or something specific to BG3 and how it uses the ruleset?
Both i think. What should i know about before starting the game so i dont get lost?
 

Guilty_AI

Member
Both i think. What should i know about before starting the game so i dont get lost?
Its still a bit of a vague question. If its just about undertanding the rules of the game, i think its better to just learn as you go along, keep your phone at your side to google anything you don't understand and so forth.

If its about meta-game, there are some tips that could be given (like how its always better to have high ground, don't miss X thing, etc), but some prefer to learn that by themselves.
 

Fools idol

Banned
I'm trying keep my hype in check here but this video is not helping that effort.



I wholeheartedly agree, the replayability and endless build possibilities will make this my personal game of the year. What made Baldurs Gate 2 so great is that even now, 20 years later, I still enjoy trying out new things and experimenting with builds.

RPG's with this level of freedom and polish come out once every 10 years or less, and should be cherished.
 

Fools idol

Banned




Morts videos for barb and pally dropped.

It seems that you can manipulate certain things in the game to make an evil / dark Paladin, which kind of goes against the traditional lawful good trope they tend to have alignment wise. Paladins typically follow sacred oath, chosen by the player, but in BG3 we dont seem to have that (at least not in EA) so I'm not sure how it will work.

I am hoping it will be freeflowing in the sense that, if you choose an oath, you can break it simply by 'doing the opposite' in gameplay eg, stealing something, murdering a n NPC yadda yadda and it automatically makes you an oathbreaker.
 
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