It does SUCK and the hope is that at some point during production Larian reconsidered the idea. But once again we'll never know until it's too late because, as usual, their communication with the user base is minimal and it borders almost into open disregard/contempt for the fanbase.
It sucks for several reasons.
Because it makes for a stiff and predictable narrative structure they already relied on, because it prevents you from interacting with an EXTENDED party beyond the companions you are explicitly carrying around during exploration (which is another area where the competition found way more elegant solutions, instead: Kingmaker, WoTR, most Bioware games, the Ys series or FF to branch out WRPGs, etc) and it sucks even worse because the decision is also paired with a SMALL default party of four, to begin with, so it would be the "worst of both worlds", really.
Few companions (because, you know, making them "Origin stories" is expensive, like if I actually cared for the feature), all introduced very early in the game without subsequent surprises, no chances to mix and match things later "alternating titular players with benchwarmers" at will and a small party in top of it.
I don't really have a LOT good to say about Dragon Age Inquisition, but at very least they really nailed the structure of making you interact with an extended cast of companions over an extended period of time beyond the ones you were carrying around all the times.
Production value and budget aside it was even better in Pathfinder Kingmaker, that spawned across literal YEARS from your early days as an raggedy adventurer up to being a kingdom ruler, with a cast of 13 companions plus several non-groupable allies and counselors that went all the way through the adventure with you and you learned to know over time, even if you weren't to necessarily include them in your party.
Last edited by Tuco; 14/05/21 11:00 AM.
