Baldur’s Gate 3 is imminent, and every time we see more of Larian Studios’ upcoming fantasy RPG, I’m reminded of just how large this game is going to be. The team put together one more Panel From Hell presentation to show off some more of the game before it launches out of Early Access for PC on August 3 (PlayStation 5 will come on September 6).
If you want to watch the full panel, you can do so right here:
If you just want the broad strokes, read on.
The character creator is much broader than it was in Early Access
The first thing Larian put a spotlight on was the character creator, which will have several options not available in the game during its Early Access period. Some of the new features include skin options such as giving yourself wrinkles, freckles, and Vitiligo pigmentation. If you’re playing a horned character like a Tiefling, you can now change their horns’ color. One of the bigger changes includes the addition of body types, which allow you to change your character’s physical build to have a larger or smaller frame.
Alongside the overall changes that apply to most races, Larian also showed off the Dragonborn race, which they say was difficult to design compared to the other races, as they are reptilian.
The Dark Urge is a mystery origin character you can customize
While you can make your own character in Baldur’s Gate 3, you can also play as “origin” characters. This gives you a specific backstory and perspective to play, and will give you more insight into the cast than you’ll get as an original, player-created character who is getting to know them. Most of these characters are fixed in race, gender, etc., but Larian introduced a new one that you can customize, but will have a different backstory than the default custom character.
The Dark Urge origin lets you play as an amnesiac who is struggling with a near-uncontrollable bloodlust they can’t explain. While they’ll still be able to form friendships and more with their party, the violent impulses will play a part in their story until the very end.
Wyll has been entirely rewritten
If you’ve been playing Baldur’s Gate 3 in Early Access, you probably think you know its party pretty well. Well, one character’s story has apparently been completely revamped ahead of the game’s true launch, and that’s Wyll. According to the team, “pretty much every line of dialogue has been rewritten” for the Warlock party member, and his story has changed a great deal from the draft we saw in Early Access. This raised my eyebrows because Wyll was my romance in the Early Access, so I’m curious to see how I feel about him after these revisions.
You can have sex with a druid in bear form
One of the most notable segments of the showcase was when Larian focused on romance. This started out normal with a date between the player and the Tiefling Karlach. But then it quickly went into a wild scene of Astarion having sex with the Druid Halsin when he transforms into a bear. Make of that information what you will.
The voice of Lady Dimitrescu is voicing a Baldur’s Gate 3 villain
If you, like many others, were captivated by Maggie Robertson’s performance as Lady Dimitrescu in Resident Evil Village, she’s voicing an antagonist in Baldur’s Gate 3, as well. She plays the shapeshifting Orin the Red, who is described in the stream as “relentless” and devoted to a deity that compels her to violent ends.
Warlocks can talk to their patrons
The Warlock class is known within D&D lore for having a pact with a patron. These are demons who grant magical abilities in exchange for their unyielding (and maybe unwilling) loyalty. As part of an effort to give different classes original means of problem-solving, Warlocks can consult their patron when making some decisions. As a Warlock player myself, this fucking rules. I’m excited to see how that relationship unfolds in the final game.
For more on Baldur’s Gate 3, check out Kotaku’s impressions of the Early Access phase.