Divinity: Original Sin is kind of a goofy game. We said in our review that the plot is "enlivened by Larian's knowing sense of humor," which is a nice way of saying that it's loaded with puns, silliness, men with many cheeses, and a conversation with a hard-of-hearing mayor about all the sects taking root in his town. But how will that approach carry over to the very grim-and-serious computer role-playing game experience of Baldur's Gate?
We should probably start by acknowledging that Baldur's Gate isn't actually a grim-and-serious RPG at all. (Sorry about that.) There are moments—boy, are there moments—but there's also an awful lot of humor: Stuff like the Golden Pantaloons, the phenomenally annoying NPC Noober and his equally irritating sequel brother Neeber, the whole Minsc and Boo thing, and actually official bonus content like Alora Annoys James Brown.
Despite that heavier-than-you-might-remember comedic element, studio boss Swen Vincke told VG247 that Larian will dial the jokes back a bit (but not entirely) for its first foray into the Forgotten Realms.
"It’s going to be somewhat darker, more serious," Vincke said. "But serious topics work much better if there’s a little bit of humor in there, and Dungeons and Dragons is about having fun at the tabletop. So that means there is going to be stuff that will make you smile."
Vincke hinted that the things that make you smile could even include a return of Minsc, the slightly addled ranger from Rasheman, and his faithful companion Boo, a miniature giant space hamster.
"If you look at what the Fifth Edition has done, characters like Boo and Minsc are still alive," Vincke said. "Bhaal and maybe a couple of other guys are still around. What’s gonna happen with that? You’re gonna discover when you play BG3."
Baldur's Gate 3 doesn't have a release date yet, but here's everything else we know about it. And now, let us groove with Minsc.
