Baldur’s Gate 3 gives us our first on-screen look at the D&D city in two decades
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Upcoming D&D video game Baldur’s Gate 3 has finally shown off its take on the titular city - the first time it’s been seen on-screen in almost 20 years.
Baldur’s Gate 3, of course, is the long-awaited sequel to the acclaimed series of computer roleplaying games that includes 1998’s debut and 2000’s beloved Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn.
The third numbered instalment, which sees Divinity: Original Sin studio Larian take over from original developer BioWare, launched into early access in late 2020, with a full release on PC and consoles planned for this August 31st.
While the huge first act of Baldur’s Gate 3, along with many of its D&D character classes, has been playable for several years, Larian has shied away from revealing the titular city of Baldur’s Gate - until now.
Baldur’s Gate 3’s latest trailer shows off the coastal metropolis and crowds of inhabitants - most of whom can apparently be freely conversed with - along with Larian devs discussing its sprawling, seamless construction - allowing it to be explored (or even flown through) without any loading screens. Which apparently wasn’t the plan.
"We spent - I think - three times, four times as much effort on the city than we originally planned,” creative director Swen Vincke noted in the trailer. “But the result, the result, the feeling of walking in there, is just fantastic.
“The thing that I was the most afraid of when we started making this game turned out to be the thing that I’m the most proud of."
While Baldur’s Gate 3 marks the first time in over 20 years the city has appeared in a new video game, it isn’t the first time that tabletop players have been able to explore the city since 2004’s hack-and-slash spin-off Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II. (Not counting the Enhanced Edition remakes of the original two games and their expansions, of course.)
2019 Dungeons & Dragons 5E adventure Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus explored the city - before diving into the first layer of the Nine Hells - as a prequel to the upcoming video game.
In addition, last year’s Magic: The Gathering set Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur's Gate featured cards based in and around the city and its familiar inhabitants from the video games, as part of the trading card game’s ongoing D&D crossover.