There is precious little to be frankly and unabashedly happy about when it comes to the video gaming space, what for the horrid degree of terrible news and back-steps made in an industry that should be defined by forward progress. But even there I want to offer just a little bit of comparative perspective- it's still a lot better than what the movie industry is going through with it's painfully inflated metrics and underperforming everything! We in the video game space do have our shining example to wave above the ramparts in a victory flare because lo-and-behold Baldur's Gate 3 hasn't just landed- it's landed with the kind of splash I don't think anyone truly believed this franchise would ever again. And you just love to see it, you really do.
Back in the day Baldur's Gate was one of the classics of it's age- a spectacular role playing game that absolutely threw forth the boundaries of the genre to and far beyond their absolute breaking points. There are things that Baldur's Gate 2 did, like how they leapfrogged the character level and progress from the first game to make the complexity of the sequel a direct step up from the original without resetting to zero, which other RPGs still don't bother do to this day. But after the story of the Bhaalspawn was done and it was made very clear that everyone was moving on from the Baldur's Gate name, so too did the prestige of that name move on. 'Baldur's Gate' had it's time in the sun but now it was time to progress onwards to the next big franchise which would define RPGs.
But even as the role playing genre moved on, there was a heart for the old style of game which beat forever in the background, yearning for what was left behind. Look no further than the CRPG genre of games which was born specifically to birth modern day titles that harkened back to the complexity and visual style of the Baldur's Gate games. That alone proved the bubbling desire for that which was left behind, but even then I think most just accepted there was a niche for CRPGs, not that there would be room in the industry for one to soar back to the heights of old and be the must have game which draws eyes across the isle to even the casual audiences out there. But with the recent smash hit success that Baldur's Gate 3 seems to be experiencing, a payoff to one of the most monumental risks that Larian has ever put themselves through, it seems we were all blissfully mistaken.
Baldur's Gate 3 has crossed over 800,000 concurrent players within it's first week of launch cementing it as one of the most popular Steam games ever to be launched, scoring above the likes of Apex Legends and landing just a couple hundred thousand short of Elden Ring. I haven't personally started playing yet and if there are any others just coming around to the game there's a slim possibility that BG3 even managed to surpass that ludicrous milestone. And when I say it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy I am, for once, not being facetious! From everything we've heard Baldur's Gate seems to be a success story born from the dreams we have for the entire industry. Born from passion, made with community transparency, without toxic crunch cycles- and met with success and adulation. This should be a moment for celebration!
During the early access period there was ever the back and forth within the community and I suspect quietly within the studio about whether this game even deserved to hold the Baldur's Gate name. Certain faithfuls seemed utterly abashed by the possibility that a Baldur's Gate sequel would do away with the 'infinity engine' style of gameplay in favour of turn based action, and it riled up into the unfavourable nick name for Baldur's Gate 3 being 'Original Sin 3'. Of course the turn based action and the general approach of total gameplay freedom were really the only points towards this conclusion, because the way that BG3 played, even back in the early access, was really night and day compared to 'Original Sin'. (For one it didn't have that godawful 'magic armour/physical armour' system I just can't stand.)
And with those concerned spawned slightly less good-faith criticism. You see, as with any cult classic game the community that stays with it over the years has a tendency to grow possessive and toxic-gate keeper as they build up the perfect image of the game they loved in their dreams- a perfect soliloquy which can never be topped by reality. It was this same sort of people who whined and complained incessantly when Beamdog remastered the original games with their own free new content slapped into the package, all of which was actually pretty good. It was also this same breed of 'fan' who rallied against the characterisation of Baldur's Gate 3 companions, complaining how they are all 'edgy' in comparison to the original game's 'deep' and 'complex' companions who- okay I'm joking, we all know that original BG companions are largely absent one-quirk ponies. (2 did a little bit of a better job, but still nowhere to the league of what BG3 had done.)
During the Early Access period, the Larian CO recently revealed his own paranoia that the community they had managed to built during those years, those that came along to the livestreams, played the early release builds and wrote feedback, would be the lionshare of their playerbase even come launch. That no one would care about Baldur's Gate 3 when the game actually landed beyond those that already had it and their popularity had already peaked. And it's fair why he may have thought that. The BG community had been somewhat insular over the years, trudging along whilst the rest of the world was wowed by one spectacular game after another genre defying game- who would even remember Baldur's Gate when the time came?
But they did remember, and they came. In a spur of excitement, from those that were waiting and those that just became aware of crazy buzz around it- Baldur's Gate 3 managed to become something of a moment in RPG pop culture once again. And maybe even a little bit more than that. Articles are popping up about how BG3 is an example of positive business practices for all the world to follow, and players have been forceful about declaring how this is the standard of release they want to see more of in the industry. It gets tiring seeing the slow disillusion of everything that makes the gaming hobby a special one, so I guess we all just have to pinch ourselves to remember we're not dreaming when an exceptional example of what all gaming should be just pops up on our doorstep. Thank you, Larian. And cheer up, other salty developers; this is good for all of us, you'll see!
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