There will be bad days, especially during 2020. Yet it is a special kind of miserable day when you get abducted by a Mind Flayer so that he can put a parasitic worm called a Tadpole into your brain. If that wasn’t bad enough, his species’ arch-nemesis the Githyanki arrive and attempt to shoot down the nautiloid you or your parasitic occupant are currently enjoying your stay in. Somehow in all the chaos, you survive and now must get your little hitchhiker out of your head before it matures you into an Illithid yourself.
That’s where players will find themselves at the start of Baldur’s Gate 3. Alone or with a group of companions, you must adventure to save your skin. Along the way you’ll travel many twists and turns in the narration, you’ll encounter a wide range of characters. Including one who will taunt how you will eventually have no choice but to accept his Faustian Bargain.
Right now, Larian Studios aims to have the game available in early access by August, but this plan is subject to change. As with many other companies, Larian was hit hard by Covid-19. Forcing most of their staff to work on the game from home.
During this isolation, the developers have made significant strides on the game, but weren’t able to continue to conduct motion capturing. If a proper pace is achieved, Larian assures fans they will be able to meet their August deadline.
In the latest community update, Swen Vincke unveils several of the improvements made since Pax East. Chief among them is a marked improvement in visual fidelity that Vincke states will only get better during the game’s early access period.
Visuals are nice, but what of the gameplay? Since Pax East, the camera’s movement has been overhauled along with the initiative system. Improvements based on community feedback have also been made to the narration system. Among other minor tweaks, the implementation of the ruleset has also come far since the game was last seen.
Players will not have to wait until August to see the level of improvements the game has undergone, for Larian will be holding a livestream during Dungeons & Dragons Live on June 18th. During which players will decide whether a hobgoblin in desperate need of being rendered dead will die or if he will venture into the Underdark.
Righteous beheadings are generally fun, but being given a first look at the progress made on the cavernous Underdark will probably win out in that vote. We’ll see if the game meets its early access goal and the improvement soon enough.
