PC Gamer - UK 2020-04)

Details were slim last time we

spoke to Larian about its next big

RPG, but this time the developer has

opened the gate – though lamentably

not to the point where I’ve been able

to take it for a spin myself. The

illithids, grotesque alien tyrants more

commonly known as mind flayers,

have rediscovered the secret of flying

nautiloids, their weird crustacean

ships, and have decided to invade the

Forgotten Realms. They’ve abducted

lots of people and stuck parasitic

tadpoles in their heads, but before the

show can really get started another

alien race appears, the githyanki, on

top of red dragons no less, and blows

them out of the sky.

This is good news, as it turns out.

As one of the unfortunate abductees,

you’re now free. Unfortunately, you

still have a parasite in your head. It’s

not a great thing to have stuck

inside your noggin, as it’s how mind

flayers procreate.

“So I have a central problem,”

Vincke says. “I need to get rid of

this tadpole or I’m going to become

a mind flayer. So I’m looking for

somebody that can help me with

that, and that too turns out to be

quite a problem, but I can go in

many directions.”

ORIGIN STORY

Between the extremely flashy

cinematics, you’ll make your

character. Here you’ve got to decide

what race you are and what your

background is, and then pick a

class. All custom characters hail

from Baldur’s Gate, but you might

be a dwarven noble or a crooked

drow. Chances are you’ll make an

origincharacter.Yes,Divinity:

OriginalSinII’s originsystemis

returning,lettingyoupicknamed

characterswithmoreelaborate

backstories,specialhooks.and

uniquedialogueoptions.Vincke

choosesAstarion,a vampirespawn

whonowfindshimselffreefromhis

masterandabletowalkinthelight

• a ‘gift’fromthetadpole.Thistime,
  they’realsolockedintoa class.
  “Thestoriesareverymuchtiedto
  classattimes,”saysseniorwriter
  AdamSmith.“Classis sucha partof
  identityinD&D,ina waythatit
  wasn’tinDOSII.” Butthoseinitial
  decisionswilleventuallybe
  overshadowedbythechoicesyou
  makeasyouplay.“Arogueis always
  goingtobeabletodocertainthings
  thatotherpeoplecan’tdo,andanelf
  is goingtobereactedtobysome

GATED COMMUNITY A timeline of Baldur’s Gate games andexpansions

1998

Baldur’s Gate

1999

Baldur’s

Gate: Tales

of the Sword

Coast

2000

Baldur’s Gate

II: Shadows

of Amn

2001

Baldur’s Gate

II: Throne of

Bhaal

2001

Baldur’s

Gate: Dark

Alliance

2004

Baldur’s

Gate: Dark

AllianceII

2012

Baldur’s

Gate:

Enhanced

Edition

2013

Baldur’sGate

II:Enhanced

Edition

2016

Baldur’s

Gate:

Siegeof

Dragonspear

TBD

Baldur’s

Gate III

characters in a certain way. There

will always be things that are specific

to you because of the person you are,

but the really interesting things are

the things that are specific to you

because of what you did. And then

what gets even more interesting is

how your companions remember the

things that you did, and the way that

you treated them and other people.

And that becomes very complicated.”

At camp, Vincke starts feeding on

one of his companions. He’s made a

few friends, including one of the

aforementioned githyanki, Lae’zel, all

of whom can also be chosen as an

origin character at the start of the

BELOW: I failed my

history roll, so all I

know is that they’re

statues.

Baldur’s Gate III

FEATURE

CONFLICT IN BALDUR’S

GATE III STEMS FROM

CONVERSATIONS JUST

AS MUCH AS COMBAT