Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General Time to STOP

Did Divinity OS2 have bad sales? That's certainly not the impression that I got. I know Deadfire underperformed though.
The CRPG genre does have a habit of looking back, but I think that's for a specific reason. In the 00's, detailed 2D isometric environments gave way to 3D over-the-shoulder environments with the post-Infinity Engine games of Bioware being a prime example, or the shift between Beyond Divinity and Divinity II. I think a large part of the change in environments was rooted in new technology and its appeal, much like surrealist artists taking up the use of photoshop in the 90's simply because it was new technology (discussed in this excellent video ). It is difficult to understate the impact of 3D "open" worlds that came about because of Super Mario 64 (1996), Ocarina of Time (1998), Shenmue (1999), GTA III (2001), and Morrowind (2002). I think a lot of people feel that as a result of the 3D craze of the 00's, something else was lost. There is certainly a nostalgia factor that holds back the CRPG genre in this department, however. But I would say that DOS is less a victim of this nostalgia factor than PoE. Before the CRPG renaissance, all (western, some eastern) RPGs were headed in the direction of what one might call "ARPG-Soup," in that they all had the common features of real time combat (usually with no pause) based on a smaller set of easily accessible abilities that kept combat fast-paced and action-y. The camera was always over the shoulder or first person. The environments always 3D zones, often either open worlds or hub worlds with cinematics. These also featured full voice acting. If the trend towards ARPG soup is a case of convergent evolution, I think the CRPG renaissance is something like backbreeding (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breeding_back) an old species in the hopes of eventual divergent evolution. While there are certain features of 3D Open World RPGS that I would like incorporated into the genre, I am interested in seeing the kind of features which can be put into this old-new-RPG. I think slower, more tactical combat is part of it. I think terrain and varied effects are part of it. Greater replayability and run-diversity. Hopefully more dialogue-driven storytelling eventually. A return to more roleplaying options in your character with dialogue. De-emphasizing filler encounters and events. A resistance to procedural generation? An emphasis on caution and slowing the player down instead of making paths longer and filling it with random bullshit. We shall see where it goes, but I do think it is time to leave the early 00's and the 90's behind and to look at the 2010's CRPGs and RPGs as the main influences.