During Larian Studios' Panel From Hell presentation, the company revealed a handful of details about Baldur's Gate 3, including its early access release date, an extended cinematic trailer, and details about how the game begins.
This showcase treated us to a few new scenes showcasing some neat mechanics we'll experience within the world, although it seems like the game will not be fully launching for quite some time.
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Baldur's Gate 3 early access release date
Larian Studios revealed that Baldur's Gate 3 would be treated to a planned September 30 release date. Creative Director Swen Vincke also shared that this date is what the company is aiming for but that it could potentially change. However, he did seem pretty confident that they'd manage to launch the game's early access on time.
The game's early access was promised to be way larger than the early access seen in Divinity: Original Sin 2. Although the opening will only allow the player to reach level four, there will apparently be more than twice as many lines of dialogue, characters, spells, abilities and cinematic moments. Larian Studios made it clear that level four is not a number to be worried about. Keep in mind, Dungeons and Dragons boasts far different pacing than most games, with this level being a milestone the players only hit after a 20-hour journey.
This stream also revealed the full opening cinematic and where the game begins in general. Players will begin in the first layer of hell, Avernus, after a mindflayer inserts a parasite in their eye.
In this showcase, Vincke explains that the player will be forced to live with the parasite as it provides them with powers. This seems like a positive at first, but party members can determine if they desire to embrace the powers achieved from the parasite or try to rid themselves of this mysterious curse.
Furthermore, the player will spend quite a bit of time in the first layer of the Nine Hell, caught in the middle of a war between Demons and Devils. Larian Studios didn't provide more information on the opening of the game apart from these details, but it certainly looks like quite the cinematic early game we'll get to experience.
