Larian Studios Forums Divinity General Discussion Seems like lots of people want a darker or more evil game, but is that an accurate sampling?

I agree with many things you said but I think you're kind of "missing the forest for the trees" in a way. I don't mean that to be an insult by any means I just think you have to understand why you enjoy being a hero in RPG's.

For me, dark fantasy has been my favorite genre in pretty much my entire RPG history. I want my villains to be very evil and cunning. I want monsters to look horrifying. I want society to be flawed and the darker parts of human nature to not only be visible but be a part of the world. I want all these things because when you are a hero in that sort of setting it makes you feel more heroic when you decide to do the "right thing" in that kind of environment.

I'm actually currently playing through BG3 as the Dark Urge for the first time. I'm having a hard time forcing myself to be evil because I don't typically enjoy playing villains in RPG's, but I highly respect that the option exists. As long as I have the freedom to choose an evil option, or an option that isn't quite heroic, and that impacts the story and the flow of the game then that makes choosing the more classic "hero" option that much more fulfilling to choose.

I guess what I'm saying is that if Larian left out the option to choose violent or otherwise evil options from the game it would make choosing the good and honorable options feel lacking in depth. The same thing goes with the setting. You want parts of the story or setting to be oppressive and dark that way your hero can fight it and defeat it and bring light back into the fantasy world. I honestly think Larian has nailed this in almost all of their stories even going back as far as Divine Divinity. The team does a great job of straddling dark topics/subject while still allowing you to "come up for air" so to speak and get a break from it in the story or throughout the adventure. Plus their comedy usually lands, (and not in the way that Marvel has ruined their stories by inserting comedic one liners during dramatic parts of their films) almost as a reminder that there's still joy to be found within the darker tones of the setting.

I also agree that I typically prefer to get my "happier ever after" if you want to call it that. But in order for that kind of ending to be earned I want the hero and his friends to really have to fight for it and go through hell and back so it feels deserved. My original playthrough of BG3 was as a Storm Cleric of Bahamut and I romanced Shadowheart, and saved Baldur's Gate. I was almost as good as you could possible imagine (although a bit vindictive at times) but there's nothing quite like the feeling of growing a good hero into a powerful badass that destroys evil in spectacular ways.

I believe Larian has a good feel for what their players want. I wouldn't sweat too much about the darkness of Divinity. It's kind of like The Lord of the Rings, you have to have oppressive evil and good fighting against overwhelming odds so that when a good player overcomes the evil it feels that much more powerful.

Edit: As a last comment about this topic, I'll also say that I really enjoyed how Larian sort of got feedback from it's players in Act 3 of BG3 and basically questions you on how you want the story to end. It's a brilliant way for the game to understand what the player is trying to accomplish for an ending and I hope they expand this in their future games. In fact, I'd love to see it used (albeit possibly more subtly) throughout their games, because if the game understands the intentions of the player it makes creating drama (when your intentions are countered) and satisfying conclusions (when you see your hard work pay off) that much more impactful as you play.