Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General Baldur's Gate 3 vs Solasta comparison

There are some improvements, but I guess what I am trying to convey is that the BG3 companions can elicit a sort of emotional response, but they sort of come off as flashy while mistaking the idea of depth for the idea of mystery. The D:OS2 companions had a slightly different problem. With about half of them, you don't really learn anything new about them later on that you didn't already know from talking to them towards the beginning of the game (Beast in particular was so forgettable that he had to be re-written in the Definitive Edition).

There's a reason why we get a lot of fanart about the BG3 characters, but with the exception of Shadowheart, hardly anyone talks about their actual characterization beyond 'we don't know enough to judge them and/or they're hiding something from us'. So whatever depth they have now is largely limited to whatever they're keeping from us, and Larian putting all of their eggs into this basket could be a big mistake if the reality doesn't come close to matching the insane theories people are coming up for them. There's also a reason why Halsin is apparently more popular than some of our actual companions, though his appearance is a big part of it too.

I should probably break down my thoughts on each of the characters.

- Lae'zel: Member of a strong warrior race. I think she could be interesting as she clearly hasn't had the opportunity to see the world on her own just yet, so I won't pass judgement on her at this stage of the game.

- Shadowheart: The obvious favorite. I see her as someone who is basically a mix of Morrigan and Solas, the two most popular characters in the Dragon Age franchise. Unlike Morrigan though, the rest of the BG3 cast isn't yet strong enough to bring her to that same iconic level. Morrigan's interactions with the rest of the DA:O party helped her steal the show there - and that dynamic doesn't exist in BG3's party yet, if it is ever meant to.

- Wyll: Interesting enough that everyone isn't quite sure if he's supposed to be a Neutral or Good aligned character. But everyone's final opinions on him likely hinge entirely on exactly what his actual relationship between himself and the demon is.

- Gale: Not going to lie, I see way more people talking about what he might be, rather than anything he does as a current member of the party. Some of the theories I've seen go as far as to call him a reincarnation of someone that fought with Mystara in the past. He's the biggest question mark in the party, and also with the highest potential for disappointment here.

- Astarion: Seemingly has the most fanart of every character. Rather flamboyant and very self-serving, but other than that, we don't know much about him as an actual person beyond his vampiric traits. He's currently the odd one out in the party, really. He'll probably be less of an awkward character once we get the rest of the cast in - I imagine he might get along pretty well with the apparent werewolf bard character.

The major thing that makes me favor the Pathfinder companions more is that they are simple at first glance, but the more you travel with them and look at them more closely, it's apparent that they have layers of depth beneath it all that you can analyze by their behavior throughout the game, either witnessed or implied. They are also framed as characters that are a part of the world they are traveling in, instead of characters with stories that are so out there that the rest of the world is seemingly a blur in comparison, if that makes any sense.

I think a very direct comparison would be the dialogue you get in both games when selecting a party member and moving them around. In BG3, you get simple quotes either talking to themselves or responding to the party leader, such as how they're ready for combat or a neutral quip about their current predicament. In WotR, you get comments that are obviously directed to the rest of the party instead. It can still include quips about why the party is still standing around or that there are things to be done, but occasionally you get something that really reinforces a party member's personality and background, like someone questioning the gods, a self-deprecating joke, and so on.

That said, the above is a relatively new feature to BG3, so we'll probably get more variety later.

I don't think BG3's writing is bad by any means. I and I imagine many others just prefer the Pathfinder style by far.