Baldur's Gate 3 has a release date

 You're serious?

I like to think we've all grown several fold in the number of years it has been since the announcement of Baldur's Gate 3 and now, the year of it's coming release. We're older, more experienced, and perhaps wiser to the state of the CRPG landscape in the wake of it's prolonged revival. I, for one, discovered the majesty of the Classic RPG and all the ways it championed the aspects of the RPG market I felt were being underexplored or forgotten about altogether. Distinct character classes, expanded webs of companions, intricate and branching high fantasy narratives that danced and weaved into one powerful thread. But if there is one draw back of the CRPG, it's their reverence of the golden age. Every CRPG wants to look and play like Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 did; reinvigorating those old emotions. No one has the bravery or resources to take everything that CRPGs do great and transfer that to the scale of a AAA RPG. Or at least, nobody did until Larian signed up for Baldur's Gate 3.

From the beginning I was sold on the direction that Larian was taking the game, although that is probably because I've always been just such a firm believer in the church of the turn-based tactical RPG wherein the gameplay gives the player all the time in the world and a bevy of options so you almost feel drowned for choice. That and the sheer level of intricacy that was going towards the various systems keeping Baldur's Gate 3 running was enough to convince me that this was a team worth putting faith behind. It's not often that I slap down those pre-order bucks and place my faith behind a game; but everytime I do it's because I'm decently certain it's the right choice and the developers deserve every last penny of my support. (And I've yet to hit buyer's remorse yet. four for four, baby!) With Baldur's Gate 3, however, I'll admit to harbouring a few small trepidations. 

Of course I knew going in that Baldur's Gate 3 was an Early Access title, and I had faith Larian were too big to just abandon such a project like so many other developer's who bite off more than they chew might; but I did wonder how much value I was going to get for my money during the prolonged wait for Baldur's Gate 3. Since then I have done an exhaustive playthrough of the Early Access everytime a major update has landed, and everytime my faith in Larian has blossomed. Faith not just that they are capable of successfully translating the tabletop majesty of D&D to game form, (perhaps even more faithfully than Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 could) but faith that this really is the true-blooded branching RPG story that the developer's promised us and that this isn't another Cyberpunk 2077 Bait & Switch. (Although to be fair, even CDPR waited until after the prologue to start going all painfully linear.)

I've remarked on this before but it bares repeating; over no less than six playthroughs I managed to approach the main quest in a different way each and every time; with playable consequence. Even choices that feel like dead ends, such as selling the Tiefling's location out to the haughty Dark Elf lady, leads to a totally missable giant siege of the camp whereupon you can rejoin the side of the Tieflings in order to fend off the full fight of the Almighty's goblin forces. A distinct story path hidden beneath side options but still rewarding for pursing. Just like the path of redemption for Kagha leading to a completely unique encounter, or how off-the-beaten path explorations through the underdark can unveil a huge extra castle puzzle dungeon with robot warriors at the top-most level. In the Early Access alone Baldur's Gate 3 is teeming with content and routes and choices, and come August we're going to be able to climb up every branch of that tree to shake down the fruits therein.

What I've already found to be quite intriguing about this release date announcement trailer is how centrally it features this new character of General Thorm, who seems to menace over the player with grand fantasy villain talk fitting of his role as seemingly the big climatic threat of Act 1; one of the apparent three 'Almighty' who have stalked across the Early Access early game story. This character not only speaks with an aura of gravitas, he has been voiced by none other than J.K. Simmons in order to appropriately convey such a gravitas. I can't help but wonder if this set may be alluding to the fact that this man could very well be a big bad the entire narrative, although revealing such a man this early on would be a surprising leap out of left field. I just can't help but shake this visage of Irenicus whenever I see this new elfin General, and though his story seems better tipped to draw out sympathy and Irenicus' own pitiful descent away from human morality; I know Jon is a favourite of Baldur's Gate fans that Larian will want to pay some reverence to.

However I can't help but shake the feeling that casting this Simmons as a significant antagonist might slightly side step a more immediate antagonistic entity. Like the Illithids! The Mindflayers were the creatures advertised first when it came to the Baldur's Gate reveal, and their visage still adorns the game logo for 3: and yet so far their presence has been mostly as side threats to the concept of this mind dominating 'Almighty' and the mysterious enigma of Shadowheart's box. We've already trailed along a large chunk of act 1 in the early access to the game and I've killed more Mindflayers in Baldur's Gate 2 and 1 (counting the Siege of Dragonspear expansion) then I've even met in Baldur's Gate 3. Personally, I'm going to be a little disappointed if it turns out that the Mindflayers are mere puppets in some boring humanoid's game. Nah, I'm kidding- I'll be hugely disappointed! Let the squid people be their own villains; they're supposed to be telepathic mind-eating masterminds of supervillian level intelligence- don't make them into boring lackeys!

And I must pray last of all, to the utmost heavens over at Larian, that whatever cliffhanger the studio decides to leave the story on (because there's no way in hell that Larian are going to be happy telling a DnD story with a level 12 cap.) actually wraps up the narrative brought in this game. I know they'll be some wider threat of a galactic proportion to rival that of the God of Murder's succession in the original two games, but both Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 knew they had to satisfactorily wrap up their adventure antagonists before moving onto the larger narrative. Though I suspect Larian will want to tell a slightly grander and interconnected storyline, (Amelyysan's character coming out of nowhere really bugged me in 'Throne of Baal') there's nothing worse than being left on a sour end note and having to wait several years for the plot-thread to be picked up for a sequel. Only for the series to be cancelled and Deus Ex to be left waiting for Mankind to undivide itself.

Come this August I and many other RPG fans are going to enter something of a coma, but never you worry about trying to wake us- for we will be deep in Role Playing heaven. As far as I'm concerned, Baldur's Gate 3, beyond the 'Honour Among Thieves' movie, beyond the 'One DND' ruleset, and beyond any other tricky little project that Wizards' have up their grubby sleeves, is the Dungeons and Dragons event centrepiece of this decade. Larian have themselves the weight of DnD's larger reputation on their shoulders, espeically after the whole 'OGL' situation from earlier this year, and provided they deliver the game the company says that it can, they alone can revitalise the community love for one of gaming's longest running franchises. So... no pressure, right?