New Divinity Game Is Avoiding One Problem That Held Back Baldur’s Gate 3

Divinity is the latest RPG from Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian Studios, going back to their original series for what is called their most ambitious project to date. Fans who’ve put hundreds upon hundreds of hours into BG3 know the game is massive, but not without slight limitations, particularly to how it structures its story across three big Acts. However, recent details about Divinity share Larian’s plans to overcome that restriction, perhaps resulting in one of the largest RPG titles ever made.

The many features of Baldur’s Gate 3 are rooted in mechanics from D&D, specifically the 5th Edition of the iconic TTRPG. However, those systems don’t impact the story structure of the game, which is divided into three distinct Acts that each have their own world maps. The transition of players from one Act to another locked a past Act from ever being accessed again, as a way to contain the large scale of BG3 due to technical limitations.

Divinity Won’t Be Restricted In Size Through Story Act Limitations

The restrictions behind BG3‘s Acts seem to be going away with Divinity, which plans to give players more freedom in which parts of the game’s story they can pursue. According to technical director Bert van Semmertier in an interview with Games Radar, “there is no limitation on how big an Act can be” anymore in Divinity. Considering how long Baldur’s Gate 3‘s smaller Acts already are, this is almost a threat as much as it is an exciting promise of Divinity‘s ambitious scale.

One of the most disappointing aspects of BG3 was how certain interactions were lost once you reached a later Act, with entire locations and characters becoming removed from the story entirely. Although there were plenty of situations where characters would return, especially before the game’s final mission, BG3 felt disconnected at times as a result of its Acts being so separate. Divinity‘s promise of far larger Acts, and perhaps seamless travel between any story part, could expand the game’s world exponentially for more content across the board.

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Act 3 of BG3 is already praised as a truly massive section of the RPG, but Larian’s words seem to imply that even the introductory parts of Divinity will be far grander in size. For a long time, Larian Studios has established ownership over their own game engine, improving it over time to achieve these changes. While their games aren’t peaks of visual realism like big Unreal Engine 5 titles boast to be, not pouring every effort into advanced graphics allows Larian to expand Divinity and BG3 in different ways, both in story and gameplay.

Larian Studios Promising An Even Larger RPG Should Make Fans Extremely Excited

Although Divinity will undoubtedly come with its own restrictions, fans should be incredibly happy about the evolution to story Acts from BG3. It’s easy to forget on multiple playthroughs that BG3 Act 1 is still a game within itself, easily taking up 30-60 hours of gameplay if you search for every event, secret, or piece of obscure lore and loot hidden within the extraordinarily detailed world. That isn’t even to mention the great wealth of characters interactions that make up supposedly BG3‘s smallest Act.

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The idea that Divinity could have an Act 1 almost as large as the final part of BG3‘s story is mind-boggling to think about. Even if it takes multiple years to fully develop, Divinity has the chance to be the largest RPG ever made, dwarfing Baldur’s Gate 3 in some areas. The game may also support multiplayer better through its restructured approach to story Acts, allowing players to transition to areas better without having to worry about leaving anything behind.

The modding scene should also celebrate Larian’s announcement surrounding Divinity‘s Acts. Before, BG3‘s Act design made it practically impossible for mod creators to build custom campaigns into the game. While some fans are still working hard to overcome that limitation, this restriction made it harder for mods to express player creativity when it came to story elements. Given how Larian Studios and their games usually have such a positive relationships with mods of all kinds, this was an unfortunate obstacle.

With that barrier removed, players can look forward to big story mods in Larian’s newest title, maybe even during Early Access or the first stages of an official release. This approach to Divinity‘s development is certainly a step in the right direction, but it remains to be seen how free Acts will be when the game does come out.

What do you think of Act restrictions being removed in Divinity? Leave a comment below or join the conversation in the ComicBook Forum!