STARSTRUCKTheD&Dcameoswe’dliketosee
ANYONEBUTDRIZZT
I likeDrizzt.EveryonelikesDrizzt.He’sthe
best.That’sa problemforalltheadventurers
whoaren’tlegendarydrowheroes.I don’t
wanta muchmoreimpressiveheroshowing
meupinfrontofmymates.ELMINSTER
You can’t have Volo and
not include his best
frenemy. Elminster is the
archetypical wise wizard
and would know a thing or
twoaboutmind flayers.Aesthetically, it’s not that far
removed from Original Sin II, but
character models, animation, magical
effects, lighting – they’ve all clearly
benefited from a bigger budget and
more designers. And when you get
up close, the difference between the
two games becomes very apparent.
While mind flayers and tadpoles
loom over this early part of Baldur’s
Gate III, there’s also the threat of
monsters and traditionally ‘evil’ races
teaming up. “Suddenly, all of these
forces, the goblins, the drow, gnolls
and all kinds of different evil are
gathering together and working
together,” says Smith.
“The Sword Coast is a dangerous
place, but one of the things that
makes it a place of opportunity rather
than a place of incredible danger is
the fact that these guys don’t work
together normally. Right now they
are, and they have a new god, the
Absolute. It’s uniting them, and it’s
saying ‘You are the future, the world
is going to be yours.’”
OUT OF ALIGNMENT
There’s likely a bit more to this
coalition of villains than meets the
eye, particularly because Wizards of
the Coast asked Larian not to get too
hung up on the traditional alignment
system, which the tabletop game also
leans on less these days. This matters
for your character, too. You can be
good, evil, lawful and chaotic, but
that’s purely up to you, not an
arbitrary alignment you pick at
character creation.
The slimy cosmic monsters, on
the other hand, seem more like cut
ontheroutethepartytakes, it could
takeanywherebetween 10 to 20
hourstohitthatpoint.While Larian’s
keepingschtumaboutthe city, it
seemslikeit’smakingthe journey to
gettheremeatyenoughfor some
goodanecdotesforthetavern.
Despitedelvingintosomeone
else’stoybox,there’sno evidence so
farthatLarianhastoned down its
styleoridentity.Mybiggest concern
wasthatBaldur’sGateIII would be
toobeholdentotheoldgames, but
whileit’sshapinguptobe an
authenticD&Dgame,the same
designphilosophythatgave us
Divinity:OriginalSinIIis very much
atitscore.Especiallywhen
everythingis onfire.and dry bastards. Meeting a mind
flayer probably means you’re about to
become dinner or a host. Even dying,
they’re a menace. After the nautiloid
crash, you can find the mind flayer
who infected you, and just like the
tadpole, he will try to make you give
into him. If you have some unlucky
rolls or give in, he’ll suck your brain
out of your skull, which won’t bode
well for the rest of the adventure.
Baldur’s Gate itself hasn’t yet had
its big unveiling. The first map is
massive, and from above you’re only
seeing the surface details, not all the
caves, dungeons and hidden places.
To end the demo, Vincke jumped to a
later save, around ten hours in, but it
was still on the same map. DependingVOLO
The scholar will be
making lots of
appearances. He’s an
inquisitive bloke with a
fantasist streak that
inspires him to take a few
liberties with thetruth.BOO (AND MINSC)
Nothing gives a boost like
a miniature giant space
hamster. Boo and Minsc
are Baldur’s Gate staples,
so their absence would be
greatly missed.TOP: Any origin
character you don’t
play can be recruited
as a companion.
ABOVE: Characters
can jump, climb and
hang out in the
rafters.BELOW: Meeting the
tadpole for the first
time is a bit
harrowing.Baldur’s Gate III
FEATURE