The recent State of Play presentation from Sony revealed a new trailer for the upcoming full release of Baldur's Gate 3 from developer Larian Studios. Although the game is currently in early access on PC, this new trailer revealed it would be receiving a console release on the PS5. While this is great news for fans hoping to see Baldur's Gate 3 come to consoles, the graphical fidelity shown in the latest trailer raises some concerns about the game's presence on the PS5.
Initially launched in early access on Steam in 2020, Baldur's Gate 3 players who have had the chance to play the game on PC have generally reported favorable experiences with game, earning it Very Positive reviews on its Steam page. Larian's previous work on 2017's critically acclaimed title Divinity: Original Sin 2 has earned the studio a favorable reputation among RPG fans. However, despite being in early access for nearly 3 years, Baldur's Gate 3 still looks visually unchanged from when it first launched on Steam, leaving it looking like it's stuck in the past.
Baldur's Gate 3's Graphics Demonstrate its Differences from Past Larian Titles
While the graphics of Baldur's Gate 3 might not impact the enjoyment of the game for some, for others, it's a bit disappointing given the quality Larian has become known for after the success of Divinity: Original Sin 2. Their previous release was applauded as a masterclass in RPG story telling and game design, garnering nearly universal praise from critics and fans alike. However, Baldur's Gate 3 takes a somewhat different approach to its presentation than Divinity: Original Sin 2 did, which could be the source of its lower than expected graphical quality despite an increase in Baldur's Gate 3's PC system requirements.
It's clear from the trailers for Baldur's Gate 3 that it includes more cinematic cutscenes intermixed with its third-person and top-down gameplay segments. This gives players a chance to see characters from a closer perspective, revealing some of the graphical imperfections that would otherwise have been missed with the camera pulled back a distance. Divinity: Original Sin 2 was much lighter on cutscenes of this variety than it appears Baldur's Gate 3 will be, making it easier to gloss over any lower resolution character models. The focus on the top-down view also helped with the game's lighting as it could be viewed from a wholistic perspective, rather than isolated on character close-ups.
The real culprit of these dated graphics is likely Baldur's Gate 3's early access status. With the first act of the game being released in early access on PC in 2020, it's likely that the game's visuals stem from the time just prior to the launch of the current generation of consoles. This means that while the game looked good for the time, standards of graphics in games have progressed in the past 3 years as the PS5's hardware has shown what it's capable of producing visually. Expectations of what a game should look like on the PS5 have dramatically changed, and it seems Baldur's Gate 3 has not adapted to meet those expectations.
Given the quality of the graphics at the time it launched into early access, it's likely Larian has spent the past 3 years developing other aspects of the game, such as story and game mechanics. As a result, the graphics of the game look somewhat dated when compared to other games designed with the PS5 hardware in mind from the start. While it is possible Baldur's Gate 3 could see a visual overhaul before its launch later this year, fans should keep their expectations in check.
Baldur's Gate 3 launches August 31, 2023 on PC and PS5.
