So do you think it's possible to love BG3, if you haven't loved D:OS 1+2, even if it's so similar?
It is very much possible.
I have been playing both DOS2 and BG3 in the last few weeks, and I can say BG3 feels very, very different. Sure, you recognize Larian's location design, the combat is turn-based, and Larian went a bit too far with both the whimsical and the horrific for my taste, but personally, I can say that the most important reasons why DOS2 is not better than "mostly OK" for me are not present, or at least not present to nearly the same degree, in BG3 as far as we know it at the moment. A few points:
*BG3's origin characters may work not so well as player characters as DOS2's, but they are much more complete than DOS2's (which is one reason why they don't work so well as player characters). Their stories appear more involved, their screen presence is better, they come across as more authentic people. Whether you like them or not, they appear to be really well realized and as companions, I think they might turn out to be better than BG2's.
*DOS2's armor and damage scaling is completely absent since D&D doesn't have that. And that's a very, very big plus for me.
*DOS2's leveled equipment is absent. IMO we can be reasonably sure we'll find reason enough to upgrade our equipment now and then, but regular plate mail you can find at low levels should be just as useful at level 12. Fights won't be impossible just because you don't have the patience to make round-trips to every trader you can reach after every level-up.
*DOS2 has the most egregious example of front-loaded difficulty I have ever seen in a game ("ever" is about 40 years). All the most difficult unavoidable fights until you're close to the end are in the first act. Nothing of BG3's first chapter has been like those.
*Unlike in DOS2, it does not seem as if you'll need to be completionist in BG3 to keep up with the enemies in combat ability.
*Unlike in DOS2, not every encounter descends into "I can't move without stepping into some weird shit". There are a few of those, but then the problem is part of the environment and you can see it from afar.
