PC Gamer - UK (2021-12)

Baldur’s Gate 3

EARLY ACCESS PREVIEW

Grymforgerepresentsmyfirst

encounterwithBaldur’sGate 3 , andit’s

certainlya strikingpointtodropinto

thegame,likekickingoffa weekend

breakinPariswitha tourofits

catacombs.Eventhatdoesn’tdo

itsatmospherejustice,asParis’

subterraneanvaultsaren’tfilled

withduergarslaversforcing

gnomestominerichesforthem.

Mercifully,yourpartyisjustpassing

throughGrymforge.Oratleast,you

wouldbeif thepathtoyourdestination

ofMoonrisewasn’triddledwith

death-dark(thinkshadows,but

hungrier).Togetpastthem,youneed

toacquirea moonlightlanternfroma

drownamedNere,whooverseesthis

motleycrewofduergar.Unfortunately,

Nereistrappedontheothersideofa

cave-in,andallthewhippinginthe

worldwon’tenabletheenslaved

gnomestodigthroughtherubble.

If it wasn’talreadymadeclearbythe

whole‘worminsideyourbrain’plotline,

Baldur’sGate 3 isintentontaking

playerstosomeseriouslydarkplaces,

both literally and figuratively. Nere’s

duergar thugs are an unpleasant bunch

and about as trustworthy as a bridge

made of snakes. I don’t want to delve

too deeply into the plot of this area, but

basically Grymforge is a tinderbox

ready to combust. It’s up to you

whether you want to douse the flames

or light the spark, and it isn’t clear

which will give the better result.

SORCE CODE

A fitting place, then, to introduce what is

perhaps the most unpredictable of

Baldur’s Gate 3’s classes, the Sorcerer.

Unlike wizards, who gain their magical

power from knowledge and research,

Sorcerers are born with enchanted

spoons in their mouths, innately imbued

with arcane talent. Their power is driven

not by intelligence, but by charisma, which

means their abilities grow alongside the

force of their personality.

Because their spellcasting derives

from innate power rather than learning,

Sorcerers don’t get access to the same

range of spells that Wizards do, but they

make up for that in how they can cast their

spells. In combat, Sorcerers get

access to a pool of sorcery points,

which can be used in various ways.

You can spend sorcery points to gain

extra spell slots, or spend spell-slots

to get extra sorcery points.

It’s an enjoyably flexible system,

enabling you to come up with powerful

combinations. But the unlearned nature of

Sorcerer magic comes at a price. A

Sorcerer’s casting is subject to the whims

of a mechanic known as Wild Magic, which

can trigger a random effect whenever the

Sorcerer casts. These effects can be

beneficial to your fight, or detrimental. At

one point, one of my sorcerers cast a fire

orb spell, and as a by-product spawned a

fire drake that began attacking my party.

Despite playing through Grymforge

with minimal context, I found myself

getting sucked into this island of

nastiness. A few stability issues aside, the

production values are top notch,

particularly the duegar voice-acting.

Impressed as I am by Larian’s willingness

to drag players into the murk with them,

however, I do hope there is some light at

the end of this dank and miserable tunnel.

Rick Lane

I

’vevisitedfewvirtualplacesmoreaptly
namedthanGrymforge,thenewestarea
addedtoBaldur’sGate 3 ’sslowly
blossomingEarlyAccessbuild.Located
deepintheUnderdark,Grymforgeisacrumbling
gnomishfortsurroundedbyshadowycaverns.It’s
fulloftraps,precipitousdrops,disgusting
monsters,andanastyhistorythatincludesritual
sacrificeandsuggestionsofcannibalism.

Shadows and Sorcerers dominate

patch six of Larian’s RPG sequel

BALDUR’S

GATE 3

BALDUR’S GATE 3 IS INTENT ON

TAKING PLAYERS TO SOME

SERIOUSLY DARK PLACES

EXPECTTOPAY
£50

DEVELOPER

Larian Studios

PUBLISHER

In-house

LINK

baldursgate3.game

NEED TO KNOW

PLAYED

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