The problem the Larian/D:OS fans are having is that they have drunk the gaming media Kool-Aid that D:OS2 was the greatest RPG ever and EVERYONE loved that game. Therefore, a game that looks and feels and plays like D:OS2 should equally be loved by EVERYONE and it makes sense for Larian to make this game just like D:OS2. Well, here's how things are for me: I am a diehard fan of D&D, including very much liking 5e I am a diehard fan of the Forgotten Realms setting I am a diehard fan of tabletop roleplay gaming I am a diehard fan of the original BG games and all the IE games I am a diehard fan of the RPG genre in videogames and almost exclusively play only RPGs BUT I hate the D:OS games
Yeah. I know. Shocking, right? Not everybody who is a D&D/RPG fan is a D:OS fan. As much as there are quite a number of D:OS fans, there are also a lot of us gamers who love RPGs but hate D:OS. So when we criticize this game for looking and feeling and playing like D:OS, it is not a nostalgia trip for an old game. It is simply saying "I didn't like the D:OS games, and so I don't want this game that supposedly has nothing to do with the D:OS games to be anything like the D:OS games." Why is this in any way controversial?
NOT making the game anything like the D:OS games won't alienate the D:OS fanbase because this game is supposed to be NOT D:OS. Making the game like the D:OS games WILL alienate the fanbase that did not like the D:OS games.
One last point. If it is just the case that every person who bought D:OS2 also buys this game, then as a AAA production this game will be a failure. Yes, there will be some people who are not D:OS2 fans who will buy the game because it is D&D, while there will also be some D:OS2 fans who will not buy the game because it is D&D and not D:OS. But ultimately, Larian needs to be able to appeal to those RPG fans who for one reason or another did NOT buy D:OS2 if they are to expand on D:OS2 sales. That's people like me. So why go out of your way to stick a finger in my eye?
