Skip to main content

Long read: How TikTok's most intriguing geolocator makes a story out of a game

Where in the world is Josemonkey?

If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Here's over an hour of new Baldur's Gate 3 gameplay

Take the initiative.

Larian livestreamed over an hour of new Baldur's Gate 3 gameplay last night - and it looked great.

Larian boss Swen Vincke played the hotly-anticipated fantasy role-playing game live, showing off new narration, the tweaked user interface and player choice. During the presentation, the viewers could decide which path to take: venture into the underdark or kill the hobgoblin Dror Ragzlin. I won't spoil the result!

What I will spoil, however, are some of the improvements that have been made to the game during development this year. For example, the narrator that leads players through the game has changed to present tense/second person narration from past tense.

Elsewhere, changes have been made to the initiative system. Previous gameplay showed the side initiative, which has evolved over the past month. Characters with similar individual initiative can now be grouped together automatically, which let the player try out combinations and align their attack in a group initiative system. Other characters and enemies have individual initiative.

Shown for the first time was the inspiration system. Here, inspiration points allow the player to reroll one of their dice, which comes in handy if it means the difference between life or death. You get inspiration points as a reward for finding special solutions during the game.

Also of note: Vincke played as a custom character elf, and the demo showed how the world reacts to who you are and the decisions you've made.

Watch on YouTube

All in all, Baldur's Gate 3 looks fantastic. Larian is working towards releasing the game in Early Access form in August 2020.

Read this next