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And yet even compared to the streamlined games of the past, modern games like BG3 are even more streamlined and bland.

In some ways, yes. In some ways, no. The Infinity Engine was as static as they came back then (look, never touch). It's even more static now. And the quests didn't get any less linear and hack&slash, with combat in general usually being the only option.

In the grander scheme of things, I'd rate BG3 as the "missing link" between what was started on Kickstarter back then (Wasteland 2, Pillars et all) + the indies (Jeff Vogel, Spiderweb) and the big guys on the block (Bethesda, Bioware, et all). The former are deliberately going for a retro aesthetic. The latter have largely abandoned 1980s/1990s/early 2000s RPG design altogether in a rather desperate bid to reach an ever larger crowd. https://fextralife.com/forums/t293778/bioware-we-want-call-of-dutys-audience

BG3 technically is the kind of project hinting at where things may have picked up from next if that hadn't happened. Far from the only one possible. But one possible.

Last edited by Sven_; 11/05/24 12:14 PM.