(I'm not reading all 58 pages of this before responding to the title.)
I, too, am a WotR player and am using it as an rpg fix until BG3 is released. I see you guys are talking about FF and other games that I haven't played, so I can't make any comments on that.
I do think that WotR is BG2-esque simply based on its design. BG3 is going the "next-gen" route and will be closer to DAO or something with turn-based DND thrown in. I personally like it and am glad they're going in a newer direction, rather than making an isometric clone or "Original Sin 3."
BG3 so far reminds me more of the Neverwinter MMO and again, Dragon Age, both more modern games. I mean it's still point-and-click and turn-based, but graphic-wise. I really hope they add PC controller support soon because when I first downloaded this, it was the only mouse-controlled game I had installed. I had to redo my desk just so I could play it. The Steam controller mapping does work but it's still a little wonky.
As for the story and everything, I think they're doing the series some justice. I barely remember the end of Throne of Bhaal, but I played SOA a fuckload when I was a teenager and I almost have it memorized still to this day, 20 years later. I get BG2 "vibes" from the setting in BG3. It's not a generic fantasy land. Everything's grittier and dark like BG2 was.
I haven't beaten WotR yet, but I did make it to act 5 in one playthrough. I like some of the characters and hate some of them. Sometimes the world feels dull because nothing happens, and then sometimes you'll go back to a location and everything's different. This doesn't happen enough in games. A lot of games feel lifeless and dull (Greedfall is a prime example). WotR is loads better than Kingmaker, which was too dull for me to beat. The best part was the almost immediate thrust into the main story line and the world practically ending. Your character was vital to the continuance of reality and gave me that special feeling like older Final Fantasy games did.
I still prefer Deadfire to WoTR. WotR was basically fight after fight, and Deadfire was much more interesting with optional giant boss fights and secrets to find. It felt a lot more polished than WotR did.
I would not compare Owlcat and Larian, though. I would not like BG3 to be like WotR. BG2 already did that, and if Owlcat did it then there'd really be no progress made at all. It'd just be BG2 with modern graphics at a higher resolution. Larian is going much much further, especially with the conversation cinematics. The game is going to be AAA quality and not just an homage or reiteration of older styles of games like WotR is (even though it's a good game).
