Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General Companions mixed fan base (some spoilers)

The challenge I find (for all these characters, in equal measure) is that the moviegoer in me feels one way about them and the d&d player in me feels another. I like all 5 actually, depending on what Character I want to play for myself, conveniently in the same order in which they are presented during the game - since I tend to lead Villain and then follow up later with Hero lol. But when I say I like them, I mean I like them primarily as sketches or draft concepts. I enjoy character vignettes in D&D crpg companions, with gaps left over to fill in with the imagination. After a certain point, the more fully realized the companion character becomes (sans input from me) the worse they function for that purpose, and the greater the need becomes for additional characters to then service the imaginative vignette developing desire.

To imagine that it's just going to be this (+3 more) is what worries me most. It feels like that's the kiss of death for this kind of party based crpg, and the shelf life will be cut short in it's prime. Most of the impressions or feedback I offer when it comes to BG3, comes from a perspective like 'what does it actually take to make a game that can endure for two decades? like Baldur's Gate did?' I see this as substantially different in a CRPG than what it takes to make an enduring novella or a classic film or an endlessly rewatchable cartoon, and so my attitude towards characterization is pretty different in that context. My solution for BG3 would be this but in a somewhat more polished and measured (read limited) final presentation, because I think that would provide the requisite scaffolding for the long game here - while not necessarily dethroning the fab 5 from their pride of place. Sadly, I suspect that for each new Origin Companion they add to the game (1 at a time as seems likely) that groans of disappointment will follow from many quarters for the new characters not living up to one's highest hopes for them. We haven't had any added yet, so when it eventually happens (with Minsc or Karlach or whoever), you can just predict the collective sighs of "meh" that will attend to their big debuts.

The issue is quantitative as much as qualitative, and the quantity is strikingly low right now. So if someone likes Shadowheart cause she bitchywitchy and someone else doesn't like her for that same reason, and if Larian's solution is to just continually vacillate and iterate with each new build to make Shadowheart somehow both (and everything in between) - then it morphs from a "choose your own adventure" story into a "choose your own chimera companion from the big list of 5" story, and that will be weaksauce for sure.

The quickest response I can give is that I love all 5, and I also hate all 5, and the only way I can think of to make them better at this point is to leave them alone, and focus on other stuff before it's too late lol




Ps. Apologies in advance if that pushed a little off topic. I was also going to ramble about how I feel like this game is veering towards a Street Fighter 2 Player 2 form of characterization - i.e. Red Gale vs Purple Gale, or Yellow as a Toad vs Green as a Toad Lae'zels - when what we really need is the BG3 Ultimate Turbo Streetfighter 50+ Edition! - but then stopped myself, but then didn't.

hehe