Larian Blew Their Chance at potential "Game of The Decade" (BG3 vs Witcher 3)

[AssassinZX]

So at the end of Act 3, I can finally say that Larian may have possibly had a shot at creating what could have been a potential "Game of the Decade" and surpassing the gold standard or bar set by Witcher 3 in 2015 for a fantasy/RPG game....

Except they blew it on two fronts:

1) Cut down significant parts of Act 3, even if I excuse the current bugs/performance issues, it is weak story wise and non-climatic.

2) Too much woke influence and unrealistic character writing/relationships:

Where is my trusty Alistair-like companion (Dragon Age Origins)? Where is the Vesemir-like character that Geralt had in Witcher 3? Majority of the male characters are made to be either incompetent (Rolan), feminine or flawed (Gale) or just evil (Kethric).

The druid Halsin could have fulfilled this role as a "wise guide/mentor" but they cheapened him to a bestiality bear-secks marketing ploy and his story is non-existent by Act 3.

Romance is broken, I just want to be friends with most companions and not choose between "romantic" and "a-hole" dialogue options.

I don't entirely blame Larian for this though, especially for #2, because I think a lot of the woke was forced onto them by California-based Wizards of the Coast that own the IP.

Larian's previous game DOS2 did not suffer from the same woke influence and unrealistic character relationships that BG3 suffers from.

It's still a good game compared to the soul-less trash being pumped out by other AAA devs this year, but sadly missed the mark as a potential contender for 'Game of the Decade'.

Final Fantasy 16 and Zelda: TOTK has better and more realistic characters, character relationships than the mess this game does.

[zero]

define woke

[Razamanaz]

Wrong decade!

[Paroe]

The moment someone screams "woke" you can write them off as a snowflake melting under playersexualism. There is no "gay" or "gay agenda" going on here. Characters are unilaterally interested in YOU the player, no matter your flesh.

[Coffee Addict]

witcher 3 is not the game of the decade not for me anyways

[Jonah Falcon]

Originally posted by AssassinZX:

Final Fantasy 16 and Zelda: TOTK has better and more realistic characters, character relationships than the mess this game does.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_n5E7feJHw0

[alex010300]

They can still released it later on as patches or expansions.

[Action Man]

K

[Naamtar]

BG3 is most certainly one of those "once in a decade" games and deserves to be held with that regard.

I'd count it up there with stuff like Dragon's Dogma or Bloodborne, but not at the level of something like Dragon's Age: Origins.

[Razorblade]

Originally posted by AssassinZX:

I don't entirely blame Larian for this though, especially for #2, because I think a lot of the woke was forced onto them by California-based Wizards of the Coast that own the IP.

Larian has an entire game ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ on conservatives for being greedy, homophobic, murderous zealots who hate poor people and the environment.

They were a "woke" company long before your people even stole that word from African American culture.

[Ultima]

Originally posted by Paroe:

The moment someone screams "woke" you can write them off as a snowflake melting under playersexualism. There is no "gay" or "gay agenda" going on here. Characters are unilaterally interested in YOU the player, no matter your flesh.

This isn't completely fair. It's obvious in some games like the failed Saints Row Reboot, or the upcoming Fable game. There's a consistent trend of making female characters look rather unappealing, like Aloy of Horizon Zero Dawn having her facial structure changed in the sequel She looks like she has facial edema or had a botched plastic surgery akin to Mickey Rourke.

I don't think this applies to BG3 at all as the reality is they made each of the characters adapt to you. Considering their budget, it was the best route. I think what would have helped is if they added platonic dialogue choices that still furthered your relationship with X character. The complaints from many who thought they were furthering a friendship, only to find themselves in an awkward situation with *all* of them, are valid. It would have been nice to have more interaction with Gale without triggering romance, as I had already set my character's eyes on Asterion.

[Blanch Warren]

Game can be improved and re-evaluated later. It's been done before.

[Ultima]

Originally posted by AssassinZX:

So at the end of Act 3, I can finally say that Larian may have possibly had a shot at creating what could have been a potential "Game of the Decade" and surpassing the gold standard or bar set by Witcher 3 in 2015 for a fantasy/RPG game....

Except they blew it on two fronts:

1) Cut down significant parts of Act 3, even if I excuse the current bugs/performance issues, it is weak story wise and non-climatic.

2) Too much woke influence and unrealistic character writing/relationships:

Where is my trusty Alistair-like companion (Dragon Age Origins)? Where is the Vesemir-like character that Geralt had in Witcher 3? Majority of the male characters are made to be either incompetent (Rolan), feminine or flawed (Gale) or just evil (Kethric).

The druid Halsin could have fulfilled this role as a "wise guide/mentor" but they cheapened him to a bestiality bear-secks marketing ploy and his story is non-existent by Act 3.

Romance is broken, I just want to be friends with most companions and not choose between "romantic" and "a-hole" dialogue options.

I don't entirely blame Larian for this though, especially for #2, because I think a lot of the woke was forced onto them by California-based Wizards of the Coast that own the IP.

Larian's previous game DOS2 did not suffer from the same woke influence and unrealistic character relationships that BG3 suffers from.

It's still a good game compared to the soul-less trash being pumped out by other AAA devs this year, but sadly missed the mark as a potential contender for 'Game of the Decade'.

Final Fantasy 16 and Zelda: TOTK has better and more realistic characters, character relationships than the mess this game does.

I don't think Wizards of the Coast had any influence on Larian. Halsin wasn't reduced by wildshaping during intercourse. If you've played DnD, there are many examples in the lore of Druids doing that. They all wildshape into different animals, you really think a grove of druids wouldn't do that? You should look into the history of actual, historical druids. Besides, it's pretty comedic and you don't even have to see it. I don't think it's fair to get upset about a scene you're not even required to engage in if you don't want to.

They did make a mistake in not having enough platonic interactions. Gale, Wyll, etc seem like a missed opportunity for proper camaraderie, but I think that was a consequence of budget, not an agenda. Larian Studios is a Belgian studio that's far removed from any publishers. There are no overtly woke scenes in the game unless you go looking for them.

People would take the valid arguments against these agendas better if the right didn't have a puritan outrage at the most tamest of "woke" in a game. All of these characters, especially Asterion (who is supposed to be a Shakespearean vampire noble, not necessarily effeminate/gay) who has some of the best voice work this year. Many of these characters are fantastic.

[DrEmile]

" It would have been nice to have more interaction with Gale without triggering romance, as I had already set my character's eyes on Asterion."

umm they did...my character had a relationship with one of the characters, never tried to romance any of the other characters. Gale developed an awkward crush on my character
and asked about their feelings. My character let Gale down easy and then they spent a night watching the stars platonically and maintained healthy boundaries afterwards. I think the people complaining about "wokeness" don't know how to engage in dialogue without hitting on people.

[Cosgar]

No wonder you get banned so much. You literally ask for it

[Ultima]

Originally posted by DrEmile:

" It would have been nice to have more interaction with Gale without triggering romance, as I had already set my character's eyes on Asterion."

umm they did...my character had a relationship with one of the characters, never tried to romance any of the other characters. Gale developed an awkward crush on my character
and asked about their feelings. My character let Gale down easy and then they spent a night watching the stars platonically and maintained healthy boundaries afterwards. I think the people complaining about "wokeness" don't know how to engage in dialogue without hitting on people.

It's more so that it's painful, because you have to let every single character down easy. I had to do this with Gale, Lae'Zel, Wyll, and Karlach. The only character that wasn't aggressive and made me feel bad for having to reject them was Shadowheart. It's reasonable to want the characters to have platonic dialogue choices and events that don't require you to reject them romantically first, regardless of their gender.