Baldur’s Gate 3took the world by storm, breaking records and introducing a whole new flock of fans to bothDungeons & Dragonsand the classic CRPG series. Naturally, thanks to the millions of copies that it has sold, many immediately thought that a sequel would be on the way, with Larian Studios helming it and delivering something truly remarkable once again. However, Larian has stated clearly that it isn’t making any more games set within theDnDuniverse, and has even returned the rights to theBaldur’s Gatesetting back to Hasbro.
Fortunately, there are plenty ofother developers that could makeBaldur’s Gate 4, many of whom would be the perfect fit. However, no matter who makes it,Baldur’s Gate 4needs to avoid falling into one obvious pitfall that has ailed so many potentially great games. In fact,it needs to learn one important lesson from a previous GOTY winner that was in its exact placegarnering massive sales and critical acclaim before faltering with its very next step.
BG4 Can’t Be Too Much Like Baldur’s Gate 3
It Needs To Do Something Different Or Risk Being Forgotten
If a potentialBaldur’s Gate 4wants to succeed in the same way thatBaldur’s Gate 3did and garner not just the same level of critical acclaim, but also set new expectations for story-driven RPGs, then it needs to be as different as possible. That’s not to say that it can’t borrow some ideas or even try and achieve the same level of unbridled ambition that the third game managed. Rather,Baldur’s Gate 4needs to do something really different, somethingBaldur’s Gate 3didn’t or even couldn’t, otherwise it risks being a forgettable experience comparatively.
Baldur’s Gate 4needs to do something really different, somethingBaldur’s Gate 3didn’t or even couldn’t, otherwise it risks being a forgettable experience.
All too often, sequels rest on the laurels of their predecessors, as has been seen with Sony’s narrative-focused sequels that don’t move the needle as much as the originals.Baldur’s Gate 4simply cannot afford to make that mistake, asBaldur’s Gate 3is not just a great game, but one of the best RPGs ever made, and easily one of thebest games of all time. There is a lot of expectation for a sequel to live up to, so much so that it wouldn’t be surprising for Hasbro to leave a considerable amount of time between releases.
Gigantic Baldur’s Gate 3 Mod Fixes The One Issue Still Killing Your Immersion
Baldur’s Gate 3 players who can’t help but notice some of the game’s blurry textures need to check out this mod that makes everything look better.
Of course,Baldur’s Gate 4will be different, just by virtue of switching up its narrative, introducing new characters, abilities, locations, and more. After all, it can’t literally beBaldur’s Gate 3again, unless Hasbro weirdly decides to reboot it inexplicably. However,what it can do that will ultimately see it falter is make the same mistake as another GOTY winner’s sequel,The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and that’s thinking that introducing a handful of new mechanics is enough to keep things feeling fresh.
BG4 Must Learn From Zelda: TOTK’s Mistake
It Can’t Just Be The Same Game Again
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, much likeBaldur’s Gate 4, had a ridiculous amount of expectations behind it. It would be almost impossible for it to not only live up to the precedent set by the genre-defining legend,Breath of the Wild- which went on to inspire one of the greatest games of all time,Elden Ring- but surpass it in some way, giving players another unique masterpiece that will be fondly remembered. While it was admirable in its attempts to achieve this goal, it ultimately failed.
That’s not to say it’s a bad game,TOTKis excellent and ambitious, but rather thatit didn’t do enough nor offer enough originality to inspire the same level of excitement that its predecessor did. While it was certainly more than the glorified DLC that a lot of people claimed it would be, its introduction of, admittedly, very cool new features, such as Ultrahand, and new locations both above and below ground weren’t enough to reinventZeldain the same way thatBOTWhad.
Many may argue that it didn’t need to as it was, after all, a sequel. However, if a developer is making a sequel to a masterpiece, it has to do more than simply add more features.TOTKdidn’t learn this lesson soon enough, and, as a result, fans got a good, yet unoriginal experience that didn’t expand upon the franchise as successfully as its predecessor.This is the lesson thatBaldur’s Gate 4must learn, as, if it does more or less the same, then it risks falling into relative obscuritymuch likeTOTK.
How Baldur’s Gate 4 Could Set Itself Apart From BG3
It Could Change Its Gameplay Style
Luckily, there are many ways thatBaldur’s Gate 4could reinvent itself and set itself apart fromBG3. For example, much like howBreath of the Wildtook theZeldaformat and made it a truly open world,BG4could switch up the genre, taking it from an isometric turn-based RPG to a first-person open world, or even a third-personWitcher-style adventure. Alternatively, it could make its combat real-time like the original series, make it an MMO, and add in a whole host of new mechanics, classes, dialogue options, and more.
These aren’t all necessarily better ideas, but they would makeBG4stand out fromBG3, making them distinct works of art. It’s a tall order, buta developer could makeBG4the best open-world or the greatest third-person fantasy game, much like how Larian madeBG3thebest turn-based RPG available. That is why picking the right developer for the job is so important, as it can bring its expertise in a specific genre to create something truly special.
Your Dreams Of A Baldur’s Gate 3 Board Game May Not Be So Impossible
A Baldur’s Gate 3 board game would be the perfect next entry in the franchise, and fortunately, Larian Studios already has the ideal blueprint for it.
Hasbro is definitely aware of the expectations on its shoulders to pull something amazing out of the bag, but that doesn’t mean it is up to the task. Larian poured a lot of passion intoBG3, as well as its experience making theDivinity: Original Singames, and that’s what ultimately made it great.Fortunately, it already sounds likeBaldur’s Gate 4will go in a different direction, asPC Gamerspoke to Eugene Evans, the Senior VP of Digital Strategy and Licensing for Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast, about the right approach for a sequel, with Evans stating:
“We’re going to take our time and find the right partner, the right approach, and the right product that could represent the future of Baldur’s Gate. We take that very, very seriously, as we do with all of our decisions around our portfolio. We don’t rush into decisions as to who to partner with on products or what products we should be considering.”
Ultimately, fans just wantBaldur’s Gate 4to be a great game, much like its predecessor. That shouldn’t be too difficult to pull off, especially afterBG3laid out all the groundwork for it to thrive. However, forBG4to be a masterpiece just likeBG3, then it needs to do something special, something groundbreaking, or completely reinvent itself all over again.Baldur’s Gate 4has the potential to be truly incredible, it just needs to learn the lesson thatTOTKignored.
