Fans of the Baldur’s Gate games have had to wait almost 20 years to play the next instalment of the iconic role-playing series, but thankfully Baldur’s Gate 3 will finally be seeing a release this year.
This time, though, it’s not BioWare who’s the developer of the game, rather it’s Larian Studios, the people behind 2017’s superb Divinity: Original Sin II game (see here for a review of the definitive edition).
And as was the case with that game, Baldur’s Gate 3 will be available on Early Access before a final release version is available. This means that PC players will get a chance to test drive the game on either Steam, GOG or Google Stadia starting on October 6, as was recently reported on VG247.
Of course, given that this is an Early Access game there’s bound to be all sorts of bugs and glitches as development continues on the game, with the game remaining on Early Access for a while yet. For example, Larian Studios’ earlier game Divinity: Original Sin II hit Early Access in September 2016, with a final version being available in September the following year on PC.
Meanwhile, the game did not hit consoles until summer 2018, in the form of an enhanced version of the game titled Divinity: Original Sin II Definitive Edition. This means it may be a while yet before Baldur’s Gate 3 is available on PS4, Xbox One and next-gen consoles, although it’s almost a certainty that console players will eventually be able to get their hands on this eagerly anticipated RPG.
That is, unless Baldur’s Gate 3 ends up being a flop on PC, something that’s unlikely taking into account Larian Studios pedigree and how popular the Baldur’s Gate games have been over the years.
For now, though, people are eagerly anticipating the game’s Early Access release, which was recently delayed from September 30 to October 6, which Larian citing stability and localization issues.
Like its predecessors, Baldur’s Gate 3 will be a huge role-playing game taking place in the Forgotten Realms universe, and one which will feature many places to discover and characters to interact with. You’ll get to form relationships with these characters over the course of your adventure, while there’s also the possibility of romance, something Larian recently discussed in its latest community update (see video below).
What’s clear, though, is that the game’s predecessor Baldur’s Gate 2 (which was made by BioWare) is considered one of the best RPGs of all time, so Larian will have to come up with something really special to please the fans. Of course, PC gamers are counting on this taking into account how good Larian’s earlier Divinity: Original Sin II game was.
It would be a great thing, then, if Baldur’s Gate 3 lived up to not only Baldur’s Gate 2 but also to Divinity: Original Sin II, something we’ll find out when the game hits Early Access early next month.