Original sin

Baldur’s Gate 3 isn’t the first successful attempt to marry cinematic aspirations with the traditional branching narratives and simulationist world-building of CRPGs. 2009’s Dragon Age: Origins had a very similar mission statement, offering a spiritual successor to BioWare’s earlier Baldur’s Gate titles long before Larian took us back to the titular city (and its surrounding areas).

  • polygon@kbin.social
    1·
    1 year ago

    I feel like JRPGs completely changed what an RPG video game is. They are watered down compared to the original cRPGs from the 80s and 90s. Then the “westernized” version of JRPGs watered it down even more. The old cRPGs were so big and so complex. OG Baldur’s Gate, yes, but also Wizardry and Ultima too. I enjoyed Dragon Age because I liked the story, but I’d say Divinity: Original Sin 1 & 2 are more direct descendants of the old cRPG days (DA 2 & 3 bear no resemblance to cRPGs at all). I think Dragon Age games are good modern RPGs everyone should play but Baldur’s Gate 3, imo, is a proper cRPG straight out of the 80s with 2023 graphics.

    I’m so thankful this game is proving to be so popular. Maybe people are discovering (re-discovering) what RPGs used to be, and what makes them so great.

  • Thebazilly@pathfinder.social
    1·
    1 year ago

    Why is everyone acting like Dragon Age: Origins is the only fantasy RPG that ever existed? Baldur’s Gate 3 is the next step in a long legacy of genre defining games.

  • tuckerm@supermeter.social
    1·
    1 year ago

    Oh man, I loved playing Dragon’s Age: Origins. I had a sort of “unexpected companion” when I played through it in college.

    I was a computer geek; I had a gaming PC. My roommate was in a frat and had an Xbox 360. The only games he ever played were Call of Duty and Madden.

    One day he came home with a copy of Dragon Age for the 360. He said, “This seems like a game you would know about. One of my fraternity brothers lent it to me. Have you played it?” I had just bought it a few days earlier but hadn’t played it yet. Of course I’m expecting Call-of-Duty-Madden-360 roommate to hate it.

    Later that week I was going to party and he was staying home – a reversal of how things usually went. I got home very late, very drunk, expecting 360 roommate to be asleep. But no, there he is, playing Dragon Age. As soon as I walk in he says, “BRO I’M IN THE DWARVEN CITY HOW FAR DID YOU GET CHECK OUT THIS SKILL I UNLOCKED FOR ALISTAIR AND DUDE THERE IS A DOG.”

    We played through the campaign on our respective machines over the next week, sharing tips and strategies along the way. It was great.