Baldur's Gate 3 Isn't A Live-Service Game. Stop Treating It Like One.

By 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Stacey Henley

Published Jul 17, 2024

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Summary

Patch 7 is Baldur's Gate 3's latest major patch, and hopefully the tinkering can stop.
Endless kissing patches have played up the superfans, but now the game is losing itself.
After weakening the story through Minthara's recruitment, Astarion's tragic arc has also been fanfictionised.

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Baldur's Gate 3 is my favourite game of the past five years. Yet every time I hear news about it, I roll my eyes. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Larian's regular updates have gradually grown more pandering, starting with the necessary focus on fixing bugs and smoothing out the jank, which happened to include some new kissing animations. But over time, we've seen yet more kissing updates, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Minthara's recruitment path changed at the cost of the game's rich writing and roleplaying, and a happy ending party. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Enter Patch 7.

This is the final major update we're getting, and once more, it feels aimed at terminally online mega fans. Baldur's Gate 3 is Larian's first hit of this size, and would be the biggest hit ever for almost every studio working today. It went from making revered but mostly overlooked fantasy games to making the biggest game on the planet, without really changing much in terms of strategy and intent. It feels starstruck by itself, ill-equipped for this level of fame.

Baldur's Gate 3's Updates Feel Tailored To Superfans Only

Lae'zel and Shadowheart kissing in Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur's Gate 3 is not a live-service game, and was never envisioned as one. It spent a long time in early access precisely so it could hit the ground running, and it's only because of the sheer, unprecedented scope of possibilities that bugs still slipped through the cracks. But it has now 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:catered so much to superfans that toxicity in the community, though rare in what is a mostly supportive one, bursts through and demands more more more. I'm not sure why Larian is listening.

It had the opportunity to continue Baldur's Gate 3 on its own terms. Expansion packs, either offering new missions, maps, or 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:even reimagining the game as a one-shot🌳 adventure with core characters playing a role, would have allowed it to grow in new ways. But the studio has decided to shift attention elsewhere, and has 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:earned the ri💝ght to cast off the shackles of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dungeons & Dragons. So why can't it slip the shackles of its fanbase?

In making 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:so many updates about kissy faces, Larian has signalled to this side of the community that it sees them and cherishes them. It is, as Minthara proves, prepared to cater to their whims to get all the characters together for a wholesome fanart style group hug, regardless of how much it must mangle the story to get there. While Larian swaggered to its new release date in the wake of St𝔉arfield, that confi♏dence has changed overtime to an almost cloying showmanship, hooked on cheers f🐻rom the crowd as it cavorts to their demands.

Baldur's Gate 3 Patch 7 Is Everything Wrong With BG3 Patches

Astarion kissing a player character in Baldur's Gate 3.

But let's dig into this patch specifically. It's the final major patch for the game, though some other additions like photo mode and crossplay are still to come. It does sometimes feel as though those sorts of tangible improvements have been deprioritised over the sorts of fan rewards we've seen in these patches, but games are hard to make (and harder by the magnitude of a thousand when they're this big), so I'm not sure that's entirely fair.

However, there are still some issues with the substance I have here. Firstly, there's a hint at 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Alfira becoming a temporary companion, but I'm once bitten (or once kissed and then kissed again with better animations), twice shy. I love Alfira, and do feel as though there is a Bard-shaped hole in the party. Given Alfira has some narrative link to the core story and general themes of displacement, she is a natural fit.

But why now? If having Alfira has a major impact on things, why transform the story through a patch after telling fans you're moving on to something fresh? 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Why not commit to an expansion that would allow everyone to experience this together, rather than twisting exactly what a 'true' playthrough of the game is? And if she doesn't have a major impact, well, why do it at all?

However, I must admit that without the background of previous patches aimed at smoothing off edges and drawing hoots and hollers from ShartFan69 (wait, this isn't a Baldur's Gate fan account...), I'd be more hopeful of what Alfira could bring. I've written many features about things I'd like to see in BG3, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:and this was one of them, though I was banking on an expansion for most. But what I find h🔜arder to square are the changes to Astarion.

When Astarion ascends, he becomes a more arrogant and abusive character. He grabs your Tav's face as he kisses them, tossing it aside when done. He forces them to kneel and grabs their throat. Right now, your Tav looks scared when this happens - scared of what might happen, scared of what Astarion has become. In Patch 7, the implication is this fear will be taken away, and while it's true that you can play as an evil Tav and may admire Astarion, I fear it seems as though it will now show the scene as more playful and erotic for all Tavs. These repeated patches have loꦦst Larian the benefi𓆉t of my doubt.

These changes remind me a lot of what happened with Minthara, where you could be nice and still recruit her because you having the bestest best time ever is the only thing that ever matters. Astarion has a rich arc that respectfully and effectively explores trauma and abuse. It shouldn't be endlessly open to tinkering just because people think he's hot.

There is a big difference between consensual 'step on me' aggression and Astarion's controlling, belittling behaviour and it feels like a step into fanfiction to make Tav enjoy Astarion's actions.

Baldur's Gate 3's patches don't seem to acknowledge the fact that Baldur's Gate 3 is a stand-alone, single-player experience. A masterpiece of one at that, shattering awards records with its excellence. Why does the author insist on letting fans doodle on the pages just so they feel included in its greatness?