Among the many, many, many design choices Larian Studios was praised for in the making of Baldur’s Gate 3 was the excellent feel of its combat and character progression. The game’s tabletop-inspired “character sheet” is so robustly designed that whether players choose to precisely synergize their items and abilities or just smash buttons to make big numbers go up, they’re sure to fulfill the power fantasy of a classic Dungeons and Dragons adventure.
One key reason this system works so well? The loot. Or at least, that’s according to head of production David Walgrave. In a green room conversation backstage at the 2024 DICE Awards (where Baldur’s Gate 3 was named Game of the Year and won other accolades), Walgrave expounded on the studio’s philosophy that special items in video games should introduce massive changes, not incremental stat boosts.
