Adam Smith

I greet news of the completion of a Unity remaster for The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall with equal parts excitement and horror. Excitement because I have never played Daggerfall and it is one of the weirder, more fantastical Elder Scrolls RPGs - the one with multiple endings which sequels have explained away as somehow all being canon thanks to a metaphysical event called a Dragon Break, whereby timelines branch and reconnect. And horror because I have never played Daggerfall, which is said to be 62,0000 square miles in size, and I'm getting to that point in life where I seriously ask myself whether I can finish certain games before I perish.

Larian's writing director is "so excited" for the studio's next game after Baldur's Gate 3.

Amid the altogether glowing launch reception for Baldur's Gate 3, which went on to win just about every GOTY award under the sun and which we also put at the summit of the best games of 2023, there were a fair few reviews and posts from long-time CRPG fans who argued that Larian's take on the series felt more like a Divinity game than a Baldur's Gate game. That's not necessarily calling it bad – the Divinity games are beloved, after all – but perhaps it just doesn't feel like the Baldur's Gates of old. And I remember similar conversations around Baldur's Gate 3's early access launch about three years ago.

Before its release, promised to include 17,000 different endings — but does it really? There's undeniably a ton of player choice and variation in the game. There are even hundreds of contingencies and failsafes in case players try to break . It wouldn't be too much of a stretch at all to say there are thousands of different ways its story can play out, but 17,000 endings is an entirely different kind of claim.

Minthara is definitely one of Baldur's Gate 3's spicier companions, and a firm fan favorite for those that enjoy a little bit of bloodshed in their RPGs. Back at launch, you couldn't actually recruit Minthara without slaughtering a bunch of Tieflings (or turning her into a sheep), and while a recent patch has allowed players to not have to make that choice anymore, it's still very clear that she isn't a particularly pleasant person.

I'm just now getting to know Minthara in Baldur's Gate 3—both on my evil necromancer playthrough and my Honour Mode run, where I intend to pick her up from Moonrise Towers after risking my neck to knock her out. Still, I've cast off the shackles of spoilers after completing my first playthrough—gleefully getting my mitts on whatever details I can about my future drow bestie—which makes this a good point to mention that there'll be spoilers for Minthara's full plot line below. In a recent interview with IGN, Larian CEO Swen Vincke and co-lead writer Adam Smith discussed her character arc and the nature of evil, and they come to a conclusion I find genuinely fascinating: Minthara may grow to adore her compatriots, but she's still evil with a capital E. «She has this very unexpected story where she does soften,» says Smith, «and you see her learning how to deal with being part of a group.» However, Smith's keen to point out that her story «is not a redemption arc.» Minthara's tenderness, Smith implies, is a facet of her character from the get-go that you slowly discover—not something the player creates for her. Another surprising revelation is that Minthara can actually question why you slew the tieflings at the grove if you went full murder with it—even if that was the only way to recruit her until recently. "[Minthara] says, 'Okay, so now I'm not hearing the voice of The Absolute anymore … I killed all those tieflings, it's because I was brainwashed. What is your excuse?'" He goes on to point out that if you just reply 'cause I'm evil', she actually really dislikes that.

Baldur's Gate 3's developers have explained how they tackled the game's many, many endings.

Baldur's Gate 3's default class was originally going to be the Paladin, but a conundrum with Lae'zel sort of ruined the entire idea.

Picking a favourite Baldur's Gate 3 character is a bit like picking your favourite limb, but there's little question that the best villain in Baldur's Gate 3 is Raphael. The smooth-talking trickster cambion is as charming and charismatic as he is utterly, incontrovertibly evil, such that you kind of want to do what he asks of you even though it's clearly the worst idea ever.

When I played Baldur's Gate 3 back in the autumn, I decided to roll with a Dark Urge Paladin, and it was such a fascinating experience that I wrote a whole article about it. But to give you the notes, combining a class that's sworn to abide by justice with a character who just flippin' loves murder creates an incredible internal conflict, leading to a character arc which, for me, felt like the closest you could come to a canonical playthrough of BG3.

The cast of Baldur's Gate 3 has evolved over the game's Early Access period and beyond—Wyll in particular had a whole rewrite between the game's conception and its full release. Whether it's whole storylines shifting or just toning down Gale's accidental thirstiness, finding the core of a character in a story this large is bound to be complicated.

Baldur's Gate 3 developers have decisively shut down speculation surrounding The Emperor.

When developing Baldur’s Gate 3, the studio took inspiration from some games you might not expect.

In my first playthrough of Baldur's Gate 3, not long after making it to the city that makes up the massive RPG's final act, one of the villains kidnapped Lae'zel. And while I didn't put off rescuing her for too long, I also didn't rush it. Don't look at me like that, this was in-character—I was playing Shadowheart.

After a period of some uncertainty, Baldur’s Gate 3 is now available on Xbox Series X/S, which begs the question – could the smash hit RPG ever end up on Xbox Game Pass? Baldur’s Gate 3 is exactly the kind of high-engagement title that could potentially drive long-term Game Pass subscriptions, so I’m sure Microsoft would love it, but according to Larian Studios founder Swen Vincke, it’s not happening.

Baldur's Gate 3 developer Larian decided "from the get-go" that the mammoth RPG wouldn't be coming to Xbox or PC Game Pass, and that isn't going to change.

SPOILER WARNING: This interview contains major spoilers for the ending of Baldur's Gate 3!

The writing director on Baldur's Gate 3 has revealed Larian's "not done yet" and that more updates will likely roll out in the future, including one with new races. 

Developers behind Baldur’s Gate 3 hope the game’s success leads to more weirdness in the RPG space. 

was stealth-dropped onto Xbox Series X|S during The Game Awards last night, and it seems like this is because Larian Studios’ CEO Swen Vincke forgot to make the announcement. Vincke was meant to mention the release during an award acceptance speech, but he failed at his “one job” and left several people confused in the process.

Baldur's Gate 3 nabbed The Game Awards' coveted Game of the Year title, and Larian Studios founder and CEO Swen Vincke graciously accepted it wearing half a suit of shining armor. 

Baldur's Gate 3 has been praised for the lengths it goes to to allow players to carve their own path through its story - but during development, that freedom was often a point of concern for its developers.

Baldur's Gate 3 once looked quite different from how it looks today.

Bloober Team and Konami's forthcoming Silent Hill 2 remake will feature a playable origin story for Pyramid Head, according to a Best Buy listing. Specifically it says "fan favourite character, Pyramid Head, makes a return along with a special origin story for fans to play through." That's pretty much all she wrote, where the much vaunted "news-reporting" aspect of this news article is concerned. Now to spend several hundred words whining about why this is probably a terrible idea.

Larian have released a new Baldur's Gate 3 hotfix - lucky number seven - which fixes several crash bugs while also stopping characters and items cloning themselves when you move between levels, under certain conditions. Gosh, I do love patch notes for massive CRPGs. Even the relatively minor ones read like failed alchemical experiments plucked from a mage's workshop, like the one you find behind [REDACTED] in [REDACTED] in Baldur's Gate 3 Act [REDACTED].

The Baldur's Gate 3 "no possibility left unpossible" choice-and-consequence train continues with the revelation that, if you break up with a lover in the game, you can slowly repair the relationship and spark a bit of your old chemistry. This might not sound earthshattering to anybody from outside the videogame world - what are you doing here? Run along and watch your silly non-interactive movies and TV shows - but it's quite novel for a fantasy RPG in the BioWare tradition. In my experience, at least, most RPGs only give you the build-up to a character romance, then flash-freeze the relationship post-consummation, perhaps because you've unlocked a sexy "loyalty" companion ability and the developers don't want to take it away from you. Baldur's Gate 3 is one of the few that thinks about how chemistry might come and go.

Baldur's Gate 3's combat can be hard to get your head around, particularly if you're not well-versed in the rules of Dungeons & Dragons, and developer Larian Studios knows it.

The next patch for Baldur’s Gate 3 is around the corner and promises several fixes and performance improvements. It will also mark the beginning of Larian Studios expanding on the epilogues of its Origin Characters, with Karlach receiving a new ending. However, another fix is on the way to address Minthara, a character in Act 1 who can become a companion based on your choices.

Baldur's Gate 3's lead writer has explained the reasons why its second act cuts down on overworld exploration.

Baldur's Gate 3's next big patch is releasing soon, and by all accounts it will be a chonky one, featuring a host of performance improvements and other fixes. Even better, Patch 2 will apparently address Minthara, who has been hobbled by what director Swen Vincke describes as a "very, very stupid bug."

There's a good reason some Baldur's Gate 3 players plugged in over a hundred hours into its early access. Act 1, which the early access encompassed, is absolutely massive—both the overworld and the Underdark are large enough to keep you busy for a while with its chaotic, explorative adventures.

Dragon Age writer and Baldur's Gate 2 dev David Gaider has finally finished Baldur's Gate 3, and like countless other fans, he reckons it's "a worthy successor" to BioWare's CRPGs.

In the shadow of Starfield, it seems like the Baldur's Gate 3 hype train might finally be beginning to slow, but its own legacy is just beginning. Larian Studios' success seems to have surprised even the developers themselves, with the studio's lead writer paying tribute to the giants upon whose shoulders they stood to get here.

Baldur's Gate 3's second act is very different to its first. Fairytale-style exploration quickly gives way to something far darker and less welcoming, but according to lead writer Adam Smith, there's a very good reason for that.

Why did Baldur's Gate 3 blow up the way it did? We put the question to lead Larian writer Adam Smith at Gamescom, and he reckons it's partly down to the fact that it doesn't just look like Larian's traditional brand of CRPG – it's a full-fledged cinematic RPG, too.

Baldur's Gate 3's lead writer, Adam Smith, has described what it was like carrying on the legacy of BioWare's previous Baldur's Gate titles. 

Baldur's Gate 3's lead writer has paid tribute to the two previous games developed by BioWare in the D&D series, and says he hopes that Larian Studios has made its original developers proud.

Now that Baldur's Gate 3 has been out for a little while, most of us will be familiar with The Dark Urge. This super chaotic race introduced with the game's full release is intended to be chosen by those who want a little bit more spice in their playthrough, as unique choices are presented exclusively to the Dark Urge which usually lean towards the evil side of the moral spectrum.

«I know we made them too thirsty,» Baldur's Gate 3's lead writer Adam Smith jokes about the RPG's companion characters. «We're aware of it. The internet has told us this.» We spoke with Smith during yesterday's PC Gamer Chat log podcast, where he shared his thoughts on the nuances of party relationships in Baldur's Gate 3.

Baldur's Gate 3's lead writer is well aware the developers made the game's companions "too thirsty."

Baldur's Gate 3's Monk is a melee class that relies on speed and stealth over brute strength, but as one fan recently discovered, with the right mix of skills and gear, you can turn the Monk into a phenomenally heavy hitter. 

Baldur's Gate 3's lead writer Adam Smith has revealed his favourite way to play the acclaimed RPG, and it's as a very evil guy who's trying oh-so-hard to be good. 

Of all the origin character choices in Baldur's Gate 3, the Dark Urge is the weirdest. It isn't a character, really, but a state of mind. As the Dark Urge, you have no memories of your past at all, only a sense that you've done unspeakable things and that an unknown force within you wants you to continue spreading chaos and violence. Baldur's Gate 3's lead writer Adam Smith is currently playing his own Dark Urge character, and tells us that despite first impressions, this may be the most heroic of them all.

There's no doubt in my mind that Baldur's Gate 3 will have its own legacy, especially as we've just awarded it an extremely rare 97% in our review. But it's also part of an existing lineage as the third game in a BioWare series dear to many longtime PC gamers. Baldur's Gate 3's lead writer Adam Smith tells us today during the PC Gamer Chat Log podcast that Larian never lost sight of the long shadow it was stepping into.

Four years ago, Baldur's Gate 3 was announced with a trailer that showed how a human could succumb to the small illithid tadpole stuck inside his noggin, thus becoming a mind flayer. The process begins with excruciating headaches, escalates to fingers twisting by themselves, and culminates with an octopus head spouting out of the body. That gross transformation is what you’re (maybe) trying to avoid at the start of Baldur’s Gate 3, but developer Larian Studios have now explained how the parasites "tie into" its RPG systems. Yep, you can choose to either embrace or resist the tempting corruption, with the former giving you some pretty cool party tricks, while the latter means you won’t be subjected to David Cronenberg-esque body horror. Tough decision, I think.

With the imminent release of Baldur's Gate 3 next week, Larian have released another villain spotlight video showcasing the RPG juggernaut's final character in its trio of antagonists, and Lady Dimitrescu actor Maggie Robertson will be playing her. Hell yeah. Orin the Red is an angry, evil, shapeshifting lady who seems to have a major chip on her shoulder and a lust for destruction and blood. The video doesn't go too much into Orin's role in BG3 beyond the fact that she's super evil, but if you'd like to see snippets of Robertson as Orin in action you can watch the video below:

Sega and Humankind developers Amplitude have begun their annual seasonal celebration Endless Summer to celebrate everything related to their loosely-connected Endless universe. From now until July 27th, there will be streams and news drops about their forthcoming tactical roguelite Endless Dungeon, and as a bonus, its excellent sort-of-predecessor Dungeon Of The Endless is free to keep on Steam for a limited time.

Krillbite Studio are good at making unsettling games, from the toddler-horror Among The Sleep to the eerie corporate follow-up Mosaic. But the team have announced their next project and - surprise - they’re putting on a happy face with Fruitbus, a joyful open world game about running a food truck. Yummy food and seemingly friendly animals? That's good vibes. Get a taste below.

We already know Baldur's Gate 3 is going to be a meaty RPG. Developer Larian Studios says a casual playthrough will take around 75 to 100 hours, but for hardcore players who want to see as much as they can with one character, the completionist route could be well over 200 hours long.

A few days ago, Larian Studios made headlines when one of the studio's writers told Fextralife that Baldur's Gate 3 would feature 17,000 variations of the ending. It was immediately clear that the claim couldn't be exactly taken at face value, as it would be completely impossible for any developer to craft 17K unique endings.

Baldur's Gate 3 recently made headlines when it was reported the game would have 17,000 ending variations. It's a claim that comes from an interview with one of the game's lead writers by YouTuber Fextralife, and related specifically to the differences which might flavour the more general core paths to the game's ending.

Baldur's Gate 3 is shaping up to be such a gigantic RPG experience that it's starting to make other developers nervous, with much digital ink being spilt over concern fans will come to expect the «anomaly» it represents. As an officially licensed Dungeons & Dragons product (if you didn't know, Baldur's Gate is the name of a specific city in D&D's Faerun) and carrying the weight of a legendary RPG series on its shoulders, expectations for this one are through the roof. And yet, developer Larian Studios keeps finding ways to exceed them, revealing the game has some 17,000 possible ending permutations.

17,000. That's how many permutations of Baldur's Gate 3's ending you might come across, the result of hundreds of choices across dozens of hours of gameplay. Those constantly-branching narrative pathways are a cornerstone of tabletop D&D, but bringing them to life in a video game seems like an impossible task.