MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD FOR BALDUR'S GATE 3
Because of how vast it is, Baldur's Gate 3 is filled with moments that are heartbreaking, happy, sorrowful, shocking, and exciting. It runs the full gamut when it comes to emotional storytelling, and fans will find themselves sucked into a story that can take several hours to complete. Even for how long it takes to beat Baldur's Gate 3, it's also almost certain players will miss out on a thing or two, encouraging another playthrough.
However, there is one character twist that is so well-developed in the background that, when it comes, it makes perfect sense yet remains incredibly shocking. It's a reveal that can fundamentally shift one's trust in another character, and the funny part is that it begins in Baldur's Gate 3's character creation. After finishing their character, players get to design the look of their Guardian, but no one could have guessed where it goes from there and where it even goes beyond that.
Baldur's Gate 3: Learning Who the Guardian Is
Early on in Baldur's Gate 3, players will learn that the Guardian is the one preventing them from being turned into a Mind Flayer by the Absolute. It turns out they are trying to defeat the Absolute and end the Grand Design, but are also fighting a battle in the Astral Plane. The Astral Prism connects the player to their Guardian, who will try to influence some of their decisions such as whether or not to trust the Githyanki. Despite this, it's also interesting that the Guardian will push for players to accept the powers of the Mind Flayer tadpole, but it all becomes clear later on.
Eventually, players learn that their Guardian in Baldur's Gate 3 is actually a Mind Flayer known as The Emperor. Ironically enough, its name has little to do with its station among Mind Flayers, as it is a figure who has freedom so entrenched in their soul that they have been, during most times, able to resist the hive mind of an Elder Brain. Because of this, they are able to revel in their powers without losing themselves. Players will learn that they were an adventurer who sought power, perhaps not unlike the main character of Baldur's Gate 3, and they were able to highly influence the city as a leading member of the Knights of the Shield. This underground Illuminati of sorts is where he got his title, The Emperor.
While this twist can be seen coming, it's only one step in learning about who The Emperor is and whether players can actually trust the Mind Flayer or not. The next step seems like it could be missable by some players, especially if they do not complete Wyll's personal quest, miss certain parts of it, or do not recruit him (or have him abandon players). At a certain point, Wyll's father will reveal that there is a protector of Baldur's Gate beneath Wyrm's Rock Fortress. It is down there players learn the truth about who The Emperor was before he was turned.
Baldur's Gate 3: Learning Who The Emperor Is
In seeking the dragon, Anduran, for its aid against the Absolute, players will delve down below the fortress and solve a few puzzles (or brute force their way through). What they find is the remains of a dragon, instead of a living one. Upon approaching it, however, its mind will reach out as its consciousness still exists - seemingly calling the player a Coward. No, players learn, he is calling The Emperor that, for The Emperor was Anduran's greatest ally in his past life, the found of Baldur's Gate, Balduran. By this point in the game, players will have heard the name a few times. He was an inhabitant of Faerun, an adventure and seafarer, who would accumulate plenty of wealth and found the city, with it growing into a modern-day powerhouse. Eventually, he would fill the yearning for another adventure and set out for Moonrise Towers (obviously before the events of Baldur's Gate 3) and stumble into a Mind Flayer colony, becoming one of them.
There's more to the tale, including how and why Balduran would turn on Anduran and kill him, but this is a big twist. Not only is he the character who pushes players to accept a Mind Flayer's power and form, but he is the one who founded the very city they seek to protect. In him, perhaps players can learn a lesson about being obsessed with adventure and power, but he's also largely still Balduran at heart, seeking to protect the city he founded. It makes his character motivations that much more complex, and while the reveal is shocking no matter what, it's so contextualized ahead of the story that it makes perfect sense.
This is but just one of many moments like this in the game, if perhaps the biggest character twist or reveal even when compared to Baldur's Gate 3's Dark Urge character. Its ambition, storytelling, and perfect coalescence of so many game elements is why so many already consider it GOTY, and while there's still competition at every event (like The Game Awards), it definitely deserves every accolade it earns.
Baldur's Gate 3 is available now for PC. A PS5 version releases on September 6.
