Larian Studios’ Baldur’s Gate 3 has been a major inspiration for many since its 2023 release. Alongside inspiring the final battle of Netflix’s Stranger Things, the CRPG has also inspired CD Projekt Red’s work with its upcoming RPG The Witcher 4.
While CDPR itself is also looking to Larian’s work for inspiration, so are former employees. Mateusz Tomaszkiewicz, the lead quest designer of The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077, has confirmed that the popular CRPG has served as a major inspiration for his upcoming vampire RPG, Blood of the Dawnwalker.
Talking to GamesRadar, Tomaszkiewicz says that Baldur’s Gate 3’s grand approach to player choice is influencing his new game. “I love the games that did this in the past, and I loved what they did with Baldur’s Gate 3,” the creative director said.
Tomaszkiewicz explains that the wonder of Baldur’s Gate 3 is how it constantly pushes the ingrained narrative forward while also “maximising your freedom of choice”. It’s an endlessly difficult task compared to a strict linear structure, but it’s also thoroughly rewarding if you manage to pull it off.
The game designer says that BG3’s approach to storytelling is “very exciting”. Larian’s latest, more than any of its past titles, gives players a lot of manipulation over its world: “what do you want to do, which pot lines do you want to do or not do, and how does the game world react to this?”
“[BG3 proves] you can have a super well-crafted, very emotional, cinematic experience, but if you’re basically like an observer with extra steps, to me, it’s not as exciting as really participating and leaving my mark on the game world,” Tomaszkiewicz says.
While Baldur’s Gate 3’s depth of choice has served as a major inspiration for Blood of the Dawnwalker, other games also play their part. BG3 is a colossal game that can take 100 hours to see through to the end, and Tomaszkiewicz doesn’t want that for his RPG. Instead, the game’s length is more inspired by the likes of Gothic, allowing for breadth of choice in a smaller, shorter container.
“I feel tired with games that are way too big,” he continues. “I don’t have that much time, and I prefer more condensed experiences, but I still enjoy open worlds. One of my favourites from the past were the Gothic games, for example, and they were much smaller worlds, but they were so dense with detail, quests, and characters, and it felt like you really inhabited that space. This is something I really enjoy also.”
The legacy of Baldur’s Gate 3 is already making its mark on the games industry. Larian’s game has inspired the likes of Solasta 2, another CRPG, and has helped other games in the genre become bigger than ever. In an interview with FRVR, Owlcat’s Anton Emelyanov explained that Larian’s success has shown that there’s a hunger for the genre that many publishers have underserved.
“Major successes in the genre reaffirm that there is a large audience for deep, story-driven CRPGs,” Emelyanov said. “They don’t change our direction, but they strengthen our confidence that investing in complex systems and narrative depth is worthwhile. It’s motivating to see the genre thrive. We’re also very glad that BG3 and our games have rekindled many players’ love for CRPGs and introduced the genre to entirely new audiences.”
While Baldur’s Gate 3 continues to inspire others, Larian is now working on its next major release: Divinity. Described by CEO Swen Vincke as “Larian Unleashed”, the upcoming CRPG no longer has to abide by the technical restraints of its predecessor, allowing Larian to craft its biggest adventure yet. There is currently no release date for the game.
