Larian Studios has revealed the official Early Access release date as well as support for Stadia Crowd Choice and Twitch Integration. Here’s what you need to know if you plan on jumping in.
20 years since the release of Baldur’s Gate 2 from BioWare and Black Isle Studios, Larian Studios is gearing up for the Early Access release of Baldur’s Gate 3, which will feature some massive features that fans can look forward to when the game becomes available for PC via Google Stadia and Steam.
With more than 1.5 million words, fully cinematic dialogue sections, and a major jump from the rock-paper-scissors experience of Divinity: Original Sin, which didn’t see as many evolutionary changes from the classic cRPG experiences fans have come to know and love.
One of the biggest changes is the use of performance capture and adapative cameras, the game will react to whoever you are and whatever you do as you play, which brings the game to life more than ever before in both multiplayer and single-player experiences.
The addition of streaming integration will change the overall experience, forging new paths, allowing viewers to interact within the player’s journey, and ultimately experience the game in their own unique way.
Larian’s Cinematic Director, Jason Latino, explains, “You’re telling your story, and we’re shooting it for you. We’re taking that camera down from being above the players and down into the drama, right into the action.
“I can’t think of another early access game that’s done cinematics on this level,” he added. “There’s a lot of games where the moment you add cinematics, they have to get smaller. We didn’t want to do that.”
But how do these experiences change with Twitch and Crowd Choice features? Well, let’s take a look at those very features as explained to us by Larian Studios:
“When enabled by a streamer, Crowd Choice brings the journey to YouTube viewers, where Stadia viewers can vote. The streamer is seamlessly presented with the results in percentages, and can then choose to follow the players, or go their own way.
Twitch integration works by numbering each dialogue option, which corresponds to viewer choices. This feedback is seamlessly integrated into the game, where both streamer and viewer will see each percentage vote next to each dialogue option. What’s more, players will be able to interact with the Twitch overlay to access the player’s inventory, character sheet, skills, and spells.”
Both of these features are launching day one of early access, respectively, on PC and Stadia. This not only brings the community closer to the player, but also, due to the amount of permutations in dialogues, enables streamers to “DM” their own adventure for viewers, letting viewers partake in the story regardless of whether they own the game. Players will be able to become a part of their favorite streamer’s own private canon. Or, as a streamer or viewer, hide the feature entirely. It’s up to them. As always, the game reacts appropriately.
Baldur’s Gate 3 doesn’t just stop there with the surprises. It’s a game that will always evolve as you play, adding in constant reminders of events that have occurred and emphasizes upont he liveliness of the world.
Fans can expect to enjoy a massive amount of tools, systems, and stories to experience when Baldur’s Gate 3 launches on September 30th into Early Access for PC.
About the Writer(s):
Dustin is our native video game reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the borders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. You can find him over on Twitter or Facebook today.