The first gameplay for Baldur’s Gate 3 is out there now and we get a nice showing on how Baldur’s Gate 3 will open to character creation
The big days is here and we have our first solid look at the gameplay coming to Baldur’s Gate 3 fresh out of PAX East. Something that was teased to be on the shorter side of things from Larian Studios but ended up giving us all kinds of new looks and content to dive into. Not even a fraction of what we will see when Baldur’s Gate 3 hits the PC in Early Access and then again in full launch. You have to love things like this. More so, when it goes through the character creation system, how the turn-based combat will work, and various other things along the way. That and a nice and long into to the game as to why we are going through the paces of it all again and outside of the core story we have had in the past.
We will start off with the nice little opening for Baldur’s Gate 3 that kicked it all off. This shows how our companions and ourselves have been placed in the precarious situation of needing to be healed from the mind flayer at the start of it all. It is some top-notch pre-rendered footage of it all and leads right into us building our PC we will know for the rest of this Baldur’s Gate run. I am not going to say much more and just let you have at it right now. Hopefully, you will be as impressed with it all as I am at this point. It is just the level I would expect from the franchise at this point.
Baldur’s Gate 3 — Opening Cinematic
Baldur’s Gate 3 is an entirely next-generation RPG taking place in the Forgotten Realms setting from Dungeons & Dragons and 20 years in the making. Return to the legendary city of Baldur’s Gate in a tale of fellowship and betrayal, sacrifice and survival and the lure of absolute power.
Dark powers are awakening inside you, drawn from a Mind Flayer parasite planted in your mind. Resist, and turn evil against itself. Or embrace corruption, and lay claim to the Forgotten Realms.
Key Features
A Truly Next-Generation Experience
- Built using the new Divinity 4.0 engine with AAA production values.
- Cinematic dialogs, all performance captured across 1.5 million words.
- Unparalleled depth and replayability, whether in single player or multiplayer.
- Expanded Attitude System to leave your mark on the world.
- Dynamic Music that shifts in tone to the context of a battle, situation, and story.
- Layered Crime system that holds you accountable for your actions and affects your reputation.
- Four-player online multiplayer and split-screen couch co-op for two players.
The Most Authentic Dungeons & Dragons RPG Ever Created
- Hundreds of locations true to the lore, spanning over 100 hours of gameplay.
- Choose from 15 Dungeons & Dragons races and subraces, and eight classes with more to be announced.
- Build relationships with your companions in your ever-evolving campsite.
- Roll the dice to determine your fate in a story with countless permutations.
- Speak with the dead to learn new facts and uncover secrets.
Evolved Turn-Based Combat True to Dungeons & Dragons
- Switch to turn-based mode to solve puzzles or sneak up on characters.
- Manipulate light and darkness for non-binary style stealth action.
- The next generation of turn-based combat featuring hundreds of Dungeons & Dragons spells and actions.
- Unlimited freedom to explore and experiment.
You are burdened with a great power devouring you from within. How far down the path of darkness will you let it take you? The fate of the Forgotten Realms is on your party’s shoulders. Will you carry it to salvation, or descend with it to hell?
We are in the Forgotten Realms, a land of many races and multiple divine beings. We know that the world is in turmoil: armies of evil (gnolls, orcs, duergar, goblins, drow, etc.) rampage along the Sword Coast, and refugees swarm to Baldur’s Gate.
Amid all this chaos, a new cult is on the rise: the cult of the Absolute. Seeking to overthrow the old order, its shadowy network is chipping away at the Forgotten Realms foundations. Baldur’s Gate itself will be the first to fall.
That is where we come in: the players. And we’re off to a very inauspicious start indeed…
Out of nowhere, we were kidnapped by mind flayers. A tadpole was put in our heads. We barely survived the crash landing of a nautiloid, and we find ourselves stranded in the middle of an inhospitable wilderness. We discover we have only a few days to get rid of the parasite inside, or we’ll become mind flayers ourselves.
As we desperately seek a cure, we discover the tadpole gives us godlike powers and we find ourselves on the center stage of a complot hatched by none other than the Dead Three: the gods of Murder, Tyranny, and Death.
Our journey will not only take us back to the legendary city of Baldur’s Gate, but through and beyond the Forgotten Realms.
It is a journey of survival: ours, and all of the Forgotten Realms.
Now that we have all of that out of the way, we can move along into the actual gameplay for Baldur’s Gate 3. Something that we have about an hour’s worth of content to look at here. It is all from the perspective of a Vampire Spawn Rogue that is selected right from the start. We get to see how we can use the traditional top-down view we all know and love, or dive into an over-the-shoulder view to give some new perspectives. Something that carries over into the actual combat and action of Baldur’s Gate 3 as we head into a turn-based system from a free-flow. You know, the way a D&D adventure should always feel.
This also carries over into a few other aspects of Baldur’s Gate 3 in terms of traps and stealth. Unlike other titles that use similar mechanics, this one has us go into “rounds” when sneaking or when other dangers are present. The player gets to take their turn and then the NPCs get to take their six-second actions and then the results play out further. As you will see below, there is one point where we get to sneak around and need to make careful use of cover and shadows so we are not spotted after taking our movement. That and when it comes to traps, for those not aiming to be quickly skilled in Baldur’s Gate, it will go to the same set up so you can take time to better plan on how to navigate traps and ensure you are not in danger before pressing forward. All of which are some amazing systems that I cannot wait to get to play with.
Baldur’s Gate 3 — Worldwide Reveal
How excited are you for Baldur’s Gate 3 after seeing all of this in motion for the game? Are you just as impressed as I am with the opening or do you think it is going to outshine many of the other in-game scenes that will play out? How do you feel about the turn-based and free-flow we will have to switch between and will that make it easier for newcomers to the IP? Let us all know down in the comments and then feel free to discuss it all. For more on Baldur’s Gate 3, be sure to keep checking in here. We will keep all of the updates, visuals, and gameplay flowing to you as soon as we get our turns with it all.