‘You’re going to start crying’: Baldur’s Gate 3 dev promises gruelling difficulty
Right about now is the perfect time for a Baldur's Gate game, especially as Dungeons & Dragons has had something of a cultural resurgence. As Larian Studios takes over from BioWare for Baldur's Gate 3, it looks like the series is capitalising on the D&D hype.
The role-playing tabletop archetype has been rocketing upward thanks to Stranger Things and the recent Honour Among Thieves movie adaptation, so a full RPG video game set in the world of D&D is the next best logical step - leaving the pre-existing Baldur's Gate franchise in the best place for a return.
Developers at Larian have assured players that everyone can get involved, and while that includes even the most dedicated who've been playing since the original title release in 1998, Baldur's experts will apparently be left "crying" over its difficulty.
Baldur's Gate 3 promises brutal difficulty
The developers of Baldur's Gate have come forward to assure fans that if they want it to be, the new game can be a truly gruelling experience. In a nice way, obviously.
During the Panel From Hell prior to the full release of Baldur's Gate 3, the game's Creative Director Swen Vincke and Senior Combat Designer Matt Holland have suggested that the hardest difficulty is going to be brutal - just how fans like it.
"That's our hard mode," says Holland of the Tactician mode. "That's the one that's really going to challenge you in the combat – and even outside the combat in some ways."
What does the Tactician mode entail?
Click to enlargeThe presentation revealed just what the difficulty mode can offer to players, and while it does include the basics, it goes much, much deeper with its difficulty.
Of course, the mode increases enemy HP and makes them tougher, but a showcase confirmed a small encounter with some Goblins that has been revamped for the difficulty mode, with some extra oil and explosive barrels peppered around the area that have made the encounter much tricker to approach.
It's impressive how much detail has gone into the difficulty mode, and fans of the most brutal video game experience are going to be very pleased. As long as they don't detonate in minor Goblin encounters.
