Larian Studios' Baldur's Gate 3 gameplay reveal was uncharacteristically unpolished for a major game release, with several glitches affecting gameplay, including one that brought the demo to a halt near the end of the developer's time limit. Larian Studio's willingness to show such a long, unfinished chunk of Baldur's Gate 3 live gameplay - mistakes and all - was a refreshing move that showed a confidence not seen in many modern game reveals.
A Dungeons & Dragons video game developed by the team behind Divinity: Original Sin 2 is an exciting prospect, and Baldur's Gate 3's PAX East reveal indicated Larian is on track to deliver on that idea's potential. Combat looks varied and interesting, with players able to approach fights from many different tactical angles. At one point, presenter Swen Vincke even killed a monster by throwing his character's boots at it. This kind of dynamic gameplay is a staple of the Divinity series, and it appears to be making for the perfect virtual translation of a Dungeons & Dragons session.
Viewers were only able to see the depth of the combat system's adaptive capabilities because Larian chose to show a live demo, something that's become a bit of a rarity in recent years. Most triple-A developers reveal only highly choreographed segments of gameplay, especially for the first showing. Like the Last of Us 2's E3 2018 demo, these reveals are usually constructed of real, in-game systems, but they're played over and over until the perfect slice of gameplay is recorded. The Baldur's Gate 3 gameplay reveal, which showed off a pre-alpha build of the game, was much more candid.
That meant mistakes - like accidentally stabbing a companion character in the face - and that meant glitches. Character models moved oddly and when they weren't supposed to, the camera got stuck in geometry, an enemy got caught in a looping animation, and some of the interactive features were finicky. These glitches culminated in one that broke the game entirely at the end of the demo, with Vincke being repeatedly pulled in and out of a combat state, eventually resulting in the sudden downing of one of the playable characters. Developers normally avoid publicly revealing anything that could imply their game has problems, but Larian showed confidence in the strengths of Baldur's Gate 3's systems to outshine the demo glitches, as well as confidence in its audience to understand these bugs will (hopefully) be squashed before release.
The overall "unprepared" tone of the demo actually made the game more impressive, in a way. Vincke failed the first combat encounter, forcing him to start the demo over and try the fight again. This time, he came prepared, sneaking in and damaging the enemies with an explosive barrel before initiating combat. The multiple approaches on display for the same combat encounter helped give viewers a better idea of both the importance of being prepared and the many ways a fight can play out. Soon, players will have a chance to try their own approaches, as Baldur's Gate 3 will come to Steam Early Access later this year.
Baldur's Gate 3's release date has not yet been announced, but it is planned to launch on Google Stadia and PC.