There's One Lesson Baldur's Gate 4 Must Learn From A Previous GOTY Winner If It's Going To Succeed (2025)

Baldur's Gate 3 took the world by storm, breaking records and introducing a whole new flock of fans to both Dungeons & Dragons and the classic CRPG series. Naturally, thanks to the millions of copies that it has sold, many immediately thought that a sequel would be on the way, with Larian Studios helming it and delivering something truly remarkable once again. However, Larian has stated clearly that it isn't making any more games set within the DnD universe, and has even returned the rights to the Baldur's Gate setting back to Hasbro.

Fortunately, there are plenty of other developers that could make Baldur's Gate 4, many of whom would be the perfect fit. However, no matter who makes it, Baldur's Gate 4 needs to avoid falling into one obvious pitfall that has ailed so many potentially great games. In fact, it needs to learn one important lesson from a previous GOTY winner that was in its exact place garnering massive sales and critical acclaim before faltering with its very next step.

BG4 Can't Be Too Much Like Baldur's Gate 3

It Needs To Do Something Different Or Risk Being Forgotten

If a potential Baldur's Gate 4 wants to succeed in the same way that Baldur's Gate 3 did and garner not just the same level of critical acclaim, but also set new expectations for story-driven RPGs, then it needs to be as different as possible. That's not to say that it can't borrow some ideas or even try and achieve the same level of unbridled ambition that the third game managed. Rather, Baldur's Gate 4 needs to do something really different, something Baldur's Gate 3 didn't or even couldn't, otherwise it risks being a forgettable experience comparatively.

All too often, sequels rest on the laurels of their predecessors, as has been seen with Sony's narrative-focused sequels that don't move the needle as much as the originals. Baldur's Gate 4 simply cannot afford to make that mistake, as Baldur's Gate 3 is not just a great game, but one of the best RPGs ever made, and easily one of the best games of all time. There is a lot of expectation for a sequel to live up to, so much so that it wouldn't be surprising for Hasbro to leave a considerable amount of time between releases.

Of course, Baldur's Gate 4 will be different, just by virtue of switching up its narrative, introducing new characters, abilities, locations, and more. After all, it can't literally be Baldur's Gate 3 again, unless Hasbro weirdly decides to reboot it inexplicably. However, what it can do that will ultimately see it falter is make the same mistake as another GOTY winner's sequel, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and that's thinking that introducing a handful of new mechanics is enough to keep things feeling fresh.

BG4 Must Learn From Zelda: TOTK's Mistake

It Can't Just Be The Same Game Again

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, much like Baldur's Gate 4, had a ridiculous amount of expectations behind it. It would be almost impossible for it to not only live up to the precedent set by the genre-defining legend, Breath of the Wild - which went on to inspire one of the greatest games of all time, Elden Ring - but surpass it in some way, giving players another unique masterpiece that will be fondly remembered. While it was admirable in its attempts to achieve this goal, it ultimately failed.

That's not to say it's a bad game, TOTK is excellent and ambitious, but rather that it didn't do enough nor offer enough originality to inspire the same level of excitement that its predecessor did. While it was certainly more than the glorified DLC that a lot of people claimed it would be, its introduction of, admittedly, very cool new features, such as Ultrahand, and new locations both above and below ground weren't enough to reinvent Zelda in the same way that BOTW had.

Many may argue that it didn't need to as it was, after all, a sequel. However, if a developer is making a sequel to a masterpiece, it has to do more than simply add more features. TOTK didn't learn this lesson soon enough, and, as a result, fans got a good, yet unoriginal experience that didn't expand upon the franchise as successfully as its predecessor. This is the lesson that Baldur's Gate 4 must learn, as, if it does more or less the same, then it risks falling into relative obscurity much like TOTK.

How Baldur's Gate 4 Could Set Itself Apart From BG3

It Could Change Its Gameplay Style

Luckily, there are many ways that Baldur's Gate 4 could reinvent itself and set itself apart from BG3. For example, much like how Breath of the Wild took the Zelda format and made it a truly open world, BG4 could switch up the genre, taking it from an isometric turn-based RPG to a first-person open world, or even a third-person Witcher-style adventure. Alternatively, it could make its combat real-time like the original series, make it an MMO, and add in a whole host of new mechanics, classes, dialogue options, and more.

These aren't all necessarily better ideas, but they would make BG4 stand out from BG3, making them distinct works of art. It's a tall order, but a developer could make BG4 the best open-world or the greatest third-person fantasy game, much like how Larian made BG3 the best turn-based RPG available. That is why picking the right developer for the job is so important, as it can bring its expertise in a specific genre to create something truly special.

Hasbro is definitely aware of the expectations on its shoulders to pull something amazing out of the bag, but that doesn't mean it is up to the task. Larian poured a lot of passion into BG3, as well as its experience making the Divinity: Original Sin games, and that's what ultimately made it great. Fortunately, it already sounds like Baldur's Gate 4 will go in a different direction, as PC Gamer spoke to Eugene Evans, the Senior VP of Digital Strategy and Licensing for Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast, about the right approach for a sequel, with Evans stating:

"We're going to take our time and find the right partner, the right approach, and the right product that could represent the future of Baldur's Gate. We take that very, very seriously, as we do with all of our decisions around our portfolio. We don't rush into decisions as to who to partner with on products or what products we should be considering."

Ultimately, fans just want Baldur's Gate 4 to be a great game, much like its predecessor. That shouldn't be too difficult to pull off, especially after BG3 laid out all the groundwork for it to thrive. However, for BG4 to be a masterpiece just like BG3, then it needs to do something special, something groundbreaking, or completely reinvent itself all over again. Baldur's Gate 4 has the potential to be truly incredible, it just needs to learn the lesson that TOTK ignored.

Sources: YouTube/Nintendo of America, PC Gamer

Baldur's Gate 3

RPG

Franchise

Baldur's Gate

Platform(s)

PC , macOS , PS5 , Xbox Series X

Released

August 3, 2023

Developer(s)

Larian Studios

Publisher(s)

Larian Studios

Multiplayer

Local Multiplayer

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence

Number of Players

1-4

Local Co-Op Support

1-2 Players

Split Screen Orientation

Vertical Only