Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Story & Character Discussion The ending is a slap in the face [endgame spoilers within]

I'm sure Larian had their reasons for releasing the game when they did but perhaps the solution would have been an ending slide saying 'to be continued'? Just a thought.

But for unknown reasons they absolutely dislike transparent communication whatsoever. What are their plans? How did they come to make the decisions around story, characters, gameplay and so on?

Instead they try to respond to the community by releasing features and fixes. It's just that, no matter how hard they work now, the developers cannot meet expectations raised by flawed or lack of communication and a premature release ("17000 endings", "everything is in the game as planned long time ago"). In fact it's backfiring hard as serious bugs are released with every patch.

Give us a post release PFH already (or any other forum really) with an AMA from the community and disclose your future plans around BG3. Talk to us.

Now this I can agree with. Is there any way we can get this request through to them? There is no communication happening and I don't think a post-release PFH is likely. They sure like to interact on Twitter, but they're mostly just retweeting fan art/content.

Instead they try to respond to the community by releasing features and fixes. It's just that, no matter how hard they work now, the developers cannot meet expectations raised by flawed or lack of communication and a premature release ("17000 endings", "everything is in the game as planned long time ago"). In fact it's backfiring hard as serious bugs are released with every patch.

I don't mind the bugs and the technical issues - those can be fixed and almost certainly will be.
What I am most upset about is how towards the end of Act 3 the narrative ceases to matter, choices railroaded suddenly we're all on a straight line to a finish that doesn't allow for player choice in a game which in Act 1 and 2 was full of meaningful player interactions.

So we get to the end and in all honesty it's the worst ending to a story driven game I have ever come across - because it isn't an ending.

An ending is the end scenes in Witcher 3 Blood and Wine, sitting in your vineyard with the love of your life (or your best friend) discusing plans and hopes when you already know the outcomes for your friends and the world you have interacted with from ending slides just prior.
An ending is the end slides from BG2 or even the party scene from Act 1 of this game.
An ending is knowing what your companions and friends plan to do next and whether or not you will be a part of it. Where are Scratch and the Owlbear and who is feeding them? We're the de facto guardian of a small child and her cat - who is looking after them if we are now Illithid or dead or swanning around trying to get killed in Avernus? You know what an ending isn't?
2 minutes of nondescript and unromantic chat to your romance partner from 8 feet away - some time later.
And some random NPC saluting some random statue.

Ok so thats what I am concerned about. But to my mind at least some of that, at the least some ending slides, should have been in the game at release. I hope some of it will be in this mythological definitive edition but I'm not actually holding my breath.

My solution?

I just stop playing before the end sequence even starts so I don't have to deal with the soul crushing it generates because the love of my life in this game is unascended Astarion and the chances of Larian getting off their 'Poignant' streak and giving me a scene similar to sitting in my vineyard with Astarion (or equivalent thereof for Karlach or any other possibility we may have had as a love interest) seem to be non existant at the moment. I'm hoping I'm wrong but it is what it is, and maybe given time modders can take up the slack.

BTW I don't think complaining about a non existant ending is entitled in any way. It's not at all unreasonable to have expected a proper story ending in a story driven game you have paid full price for.
I'm sure Larian had their reasons for releasing the game when they did but perhaps the solution would have been an ending slide saying 'to be continued'? Just a thought.

100% couldn't have said it better myself, except for 1 point: I have seen one game that was worse on release... Mass Effect 3. On release it was PURE SHIT how Astarion would eloquently put it. You cannot compare BG3's shit ending to ME3's shit ending. Not even close baby. It was so shit on release I am happy that I forgot the finer details (which are still to be found on youtube... but I don't wanna go through reliving that crap ever again).

Not even CP2077 was that bad and yes it was bad, I played it once and uninstalled and not planning on reinstalling it, even if I was paid to replay it. Hell no.

With respect... throwing decades worth of universe lore under the bus for the sake of nonsense last minute plot twists and sudden drama seems to be quite exactly what a lot of folks are complaining that BG3 is doing, too...

It just doesn't make sense to me that the Emporer, given who he is, would go over to the nether brain. He created the city, now he's gonna help destroy it? Seriously? Who thinks like that?

It's so illogical it's painful.

Spoilers for Dream guardian:

It just doesn't make sense to me that the Emporer, given who he is, would go over to the nether brain. He created the city, now he's gonna help destroy it? Seriously? Who thinks like that?

It's so illogical it's painful.

I could go on and on about the ending. There's no denouement at all, and every story needs a denouement.

I'm a writer/editor/writing teacher and omg do I ever want to sit whoever wrote those end scenes down to a writing 101 class. Sheesh.

Yuuup. And honestly, it currently probably *is* the best. They've raised the bar on a lot of facets of gaming and I really hope the other companies are paying attention.

The bar was so low they were releasing unfinished games and using the people who bought it as unpaid testing labour. I really hate that.

And yeah, BG3 has bugs, but soooo much works the way it's supposed to. They've got polyam options and I've been really wanting that for around a decade or more in CRPGs.

I think people forget how awesome the game actually was on full release, compared to other recent games. Larian did do a lot right. I just wish they'd hired a competent editor to catch eff ups like the emporer ridiculousness.

Yuuup. And honestly, it currently probably *is* the best. They've raised the bar on a lot of facets of gaming and I really hope the other companies are paying attention.

The bar was so low they were releasing unfinished games and using the people who bought it as unpaid testing labour. I really hate that.

And yeah, BG3 has bugs, but soooo much works the way it's supposed to. They've got polyam options and I've been really wanting that for around a decade or more in CRPGs.

I think people forget how awesome the game actually was on full release, compared to other recent games. Larian did do a lot right. I just wish they'd hired a competent editor to catch eff ups like the emporer ridiculousness.

Yuuup. And honestly, it currently probably *is* the best. They've raised the bar on a lot of facets of gaming and I really hope the other companies are paying attention.

The bar was so low they were releasing unfinished games and using the people who bought it as unpaid testing labour. I really hate that.

And yeah, BG3 has bugs, but soooo much works the way it's supposed to. They've got polyam options and I've been really wanting that for around a decade or more in CRPGs.

I think people forget how awesome the game actually was on full release, compared to other recent games. Larian did do a lot right. I just wish they'd hired a competent editor to catch eff ups like the emporer ridiculousness.