Highlights
- Baldur's Gate 3's full release brings significant changes, including a more robust character creator and alterations to the opening section aboard the Nautiloid ship.
- The revamped ship section is noticeably slimmed down, with fewer rooms and changes to item placements, creating a different gameplay experience from the Early Access version.
- The removal of certain sections and enemies may slightly impact the first minutes of gameplay, but overall, the changes add freshness and excitement to the game for players coming from Early Access.
Before its launch, Baldur's Gate 3 had been in Early Access for around 3 years, giving players access to the game's first act, which alone has dozens of hours' worth of content. Now that Baldur's Gate 3 is out, along with some hotfixes, it's become worthwhile to note the differences between the pre-release version and the full game.
One of the more evident changes comes when players boot up a new campaign because, after the initial cutscene, they are introduced to a character creator far more robust than what was on offer when the game was in Early Access. Many will likely spend a long time sorting out what type of character they will spend the next several dozen hours embodying, and there are other changes that make Baldur's Gate 3's opening hour feel substantially different.
Baldur's Gate 3's Introduction Feels Almost New in the Final Release
Outside the revamped character creator, the opening section aboard a Baldur's Gate 3 Nautiloid received significant changes that meaningfully alter the pacing. This interplanetary ship piloted by Mind Flayers is where the protagonist and many party members are held captive and infected with a tadpole whose intent is to transform the host.
The Early Access version and final release begin familiarly as the pre-rendered cutscenes remain unchanged. Similarities only continue when players wake up in a room with the same layout across both versions, the room housing the Intellect Devourer also remains unchanged, but that is where the differences become evident.
Some are small, such as removing the initial jump at the edge of the Nautiloid, and a few items are in different places throughout the ship, but there is a point it becomes clear that th game was substantially slimmed down from its original version. This newer version of the ship only has one room between where the player meets Lae'zel and when they enter the area where Shadowheart is trapped in a pod.
This shift can feel jarring for players coming from Early Access as that version featured a smaller room where the first imps are. The game also now forces players into a confrontation with these imps as it used to be easy to sneak up and dispatch them before they notice. Since stealth in Baldur's Gate 3 also operates a little differently in the final version, it is less convenient to have a character attempt to hide in the middle of combat to get better attack accuracy.
The changes continue with the complete removal of the ship's exterior where surviving Mind Flayer thralls and Intellect Devourers are fending off the devils and githyanki invading the ship. It's a section where players fight off several more imps and face an Intellect Devourer with living thralls in an optional fight.
There were more bodies to loot for any extra bits of gold and supplies, but its purpose was to extend the scene by a few more minutes. Removing this part does take away slightly from showing the full extent of the battle, but was likely for the best as players are encouraged to replay Baldur's Gate 3 several times.
A lengthy initial sequence can slightly damper the first minutes of a new playthrough and is ultimately a small loss given how detailed Baldur's Gate 3 is. Still, for anyone coming from Early Access, these changes have a decent impact on the game's opening moments.
There are some significant similarities, and the changes to the introduction are ultimately a remix of what had been there already, but there is something cool about seeing something a player might have seen several times be altered to this degree. It makes replaying th game feel fresh again and instills some excitement to see how else the game might have been altered.
Baldur's Gate 3 is out now on PC and will come out September 6 on PS5.
