<The characters in this story feel too much like modern day, Covid-19 era, rude and crude earthlings.>
Yea that basically sums it up for me. Doesn't feel like your in a gritty Faerun high fanstasy setting; like all the characters are modern drama cosplayers from some <westworld> town in the USA.
yeah but everything evolves and maybe when you are a child the characters in BG1-2 seem amazing and deep but then you grow up and you realize how shallow and simplistic they really are.
Because that's the key to universal likability in terms of writing. You make the characters as shallow as possible, or have them follow archetypes and then allow the reader to superimpose themselves onto the character. Its why Twilight was so popular, the main character was devoid of any actual personality or opinions.
And that's fine, its less of a risk for sure. What Larian is doing with these characters is the greater risk, and to some extent I think its a mistake. I don't think people are ready for this level of realism. Its why most people don't like Art. Art is work. Harry Potter is easy, Infinite Jest isn't.
