Baldur's Gate 3 players who have modded their games are seeing references to a popular NPC character that suggests they were once set for full-on companion status.
27.03.2024 - 13:25 / thegamer.com / Swen Vincke
Baldur's Gate 3 is a big game with a whole host of iconic areas from the Underdark to Moonrise Towers to the city itself, but it nearly had a few more. Larian Studios head Swen Vincke revealed in an interview that the team had to kill several "darlings" during development, such as githyanki queen Vlaakith's palace, the Gith Astral Plane, Candlekeep (where we start our adventure in the first Baldur's Gate), and Avernus.
"There was a moment where the maps were going to be smaller, and so we were going to be able to give you bigger diversity of locations that you would explore," Vincke told IGN. "But then the problem with those is that the sense of exploration wasn't really present. So that's why we killed a whole bunch of them. It was a very fine balance between trying to figure out what the right size of these things was, but we wrote a lot."
Spoilers for Baldur's Gate 3.
At the end of your adventure to stop the Absolute and save Faerûn, Karlach can return to Avernus in a quest to rid herself of the infernal engine burning away inside of her. Fans have been asking since the game's launch last year for an expansion so that we can follow her to hell itself (though we know now that there will be no DLC). We nearly did venture into the fiery underworld, but ultimately, the idea was scrapped.
As for Candlekeep, it's a fortified library housing all written knowledge of the Forgotten Realms. It's where the Baldur's Gate series began, as we - Gorion's Ward - left the safety of its stone walls to venture into the wilds to seek protection amidst Sarevok's ongoing attacks, the game's main antagonist. He even made an appearance in the third game.
A lot of ideas were scrapped during development as is par for the course with any game, but many of these concepts have been brought to light thanks to a recent GDC talk and subsequent interviews. We also found out last week that Wyll had more story planned, including a "big moment" at a war college. But the idea was left on the cutting room floor alongside Candlekeep and Avernus.
Baldur's Gate 3 is the long-awaited next chapter in the Dungeons & Dragons-based series of RPGs. Developed by Divinity creator Larian Studios, it puts you in the middle of a mind flayer invasion of Faerûn, over a century after the events of its predecessor.
Baldur's Gate 3 players who have modded their games are seeing references to a popular NPC character that suggests they were once set for full-on companion status.
Baldur's Gate 3 has completed its own Grand Slam of Game of the Year Awards with last night's win at the BAFTA ceremony, following its previous triumphs at The Game Awards, Golden Joystick, New York Game Awards, DICE Awards, NAVGTR Awards, Steam, GDC Awards, and our own Awards.
Baldur’s Gate 3 gets exceptional praise, winning multiple awards last year and selling “way over” 10 million copies (potentially even 15 million). However, it was also a calculated risk for Larian Studios, which grew exponentially over the years to accommodate the massive project. What would it have done if the RPG wasn’t a success?
No Rest for the Wicked, the Diablo-esque action RPG in the works at Ori and the Blind Forest and Ori and the Will of the Wisps studio Moon, won't be $70. CEO Thomas Mahler says the game's price point is down to the nature of the team, their shared stance on the rising price of games, and the notable lack of shareholders pawing at the company's books.
While the sad news that developer Larian Studios will not be working on a sequel or DLC for the breakout 2023 RPG Baldur's Gate 3 is true, additional evil endings are on the way and should help salve the wound. Add that to the previously announced mod support promised for PS5, and that's all she wrote for the revolutionary roleplaying experience, which we hailed as «one of the greatest RPGs of our time.»
With layoffs and studio shutdowns becoming an almost weekly occurrence in the video game world, Larian Studios' CEO claims the developer is "good for quite a number of years."
Swen Vincke, head of Baldur's Gate 3 developer Larian, has been vocal about the ongoing wave of layoffs in the games industry, and reckons that cuts affecting critical departments and senior developers are especially shortsighted.
Baldur's Gate 3 featured a lot of absolutely epic moments throughout the course of its long and satisfying storyline, but as with any game, some great ideas were unfortunately cut in in the final version.
Evil Baldur's Gate 3 players, rejoice. It's been confirmed that developer Larian Studios is currently working on expanded "evil endings" for the beloved RPG, some of which are apparently "very evil." Juicy.
Larian Studios releases hotfix 23 for Baldur's Gate 3, which aims to continue improving the player's experience by addressing various bugs, crashes, and other oddities. It's been a bitter-sweet week for fans of the massively popular RPG, as Larian Studios boss Swen Vincke confirmed that Baldur's Gate 3 isn't getting any expansions, DLC, or even a sequel. The studio instead intends to move on to new projects, with many speculating that the popular Divinity series could be Larian's focus going forward.
The party composition in was almost even more chaotic before Larian Studios opted to keep a major Act 2 evildoer away from any kind of redemption. Throughout players' adventures through the Forgotten Realms, Tav can recruit an assortment of colorful companions to their side, each one bringing their own unique backstory and baggage that must be carefully handled. While the recruitable allies are all beloved in their own right, one villainous member may have been just a stretch too far.
Baldur's Gate 3 boss Swen Vincke has revealed a number of ideas cut from the game during its development — including the ability to recruit a major antagonist as a companion character.