Back in the early pandemic days I played through all of BG 1 and 2 on the switch with a completely fresh character. I loved the scale of the games, how it gradually grew from personal coming of age quest up through a continent-ending plot to resurrect the dead god of murder.
Ever since it was announced I’ve wondered if BG 3 has anything to do with the previous games. Does the actual plot involve the Bhaalspawn? Or the events of the previous games in a major way, like the iron crisis, Jon Irenicus, the vampires in Amn, etc? No major spoilers, please, since I’m probably going to grab the game anyway, but I want to temper my expectations if it’s not a true third installment that follows on the themes of the first two (divinity, the value of a soul, what it means to control your destiny, the danger in being friends with someone immensely powerful, etc).
Thanks!
I can’t say for certain. It’s a long fucking game. I’ve not even gotten to Baldur’s Gate itself yet. I e met Jaheira from the previous games, and my current BBE is Ketherec back from the dead; but it doesn’t have anything to do with Bhaal spawn. At least not yet.
Jaheira says it’s been well over a century since the events of the second game, though. A lot of the side story stuff likely will have been forgotten by most people around, since only the longer lived races will have been around to witness things.
It definitely follows the same themes, though. There is a lot of focus on indoctrination and religion. Particularly, being raised to believe something that turns out to be fake. At least 3 of the companion NPCs have quests revolving around their faith, finding out they were lied to, and dealing with that whole mess. There is a lot of deception and use of the unreliable narrator. You’re going to be given tons of conflicting info and you’ll only discover the truth by investigating further.
As a fan of the original 2 games, I am loving this one. However, I would suggest you temper yourself against the technical issues. There are a lot of bugs. None of them have been completely game breaking yet, but they can be extremely frustrating.
You don’t need to have played bg1 or 2. The story has little to no connection other than bring situated in the same world and making references very rarely. There are some easter eggs too.
With that veing said, I know bg1 and 2 may feel a bit clunky and dated but they were amazing and warrant a playthrough. I think they did many things better than bg3 to be honest.
