Baldur's Gate 3 Preview: The Struggle of Morality in the RPG Game
In this Baldur's Gate 3 preview, our protagonist recounts the morally questionable decisions they've made so far in the RPG game, and admits to having no qualms about killing people who annoy them or denying help to those who have wronged them. It's certainly an interesting take on the world of Dungeons & Dragons and a reminder that there's still more to come in the upcoming game.
The player recounts the events so far in their journey through the D&D world of Forgotten Realms. They recount saving a she-devil, pursuing justice through excessive violence, and setting out to befriend an Owlbear cub by visiting its cave with a group of adventurers.
The player admits that the Owlbear's body language made it clear that the creature wanted to be left alone, with the narrator acknowledging that they "seemed to be asking me to leave". However, the player persisted, and the Owlbear attacked, forcing the player to defend themselves. They admit to feeling terrible about killing the Owlbear, but were faced with the distressing sight of the cub attacking and consuming its own dead mother.
"It was just a baby," the player says. "What else was I supposed to do? Kill it to spare its suffering? I couldn't do that. I couldn't let it starve." They then decided to kill the cub as well, to end its suffering.
After that, the player later discovered that the egg they had obtained was useless and couldn't be hatched, so the option to acquire an Owlbear cub companion wouldn't have even worked. Regardless, the player now laments their actions and the loss of the life of an unborn cub.
"I feel like a monster," the player says. "I've never felt this way in a game before. Like I'm filled with this guilt, this sadness. I've done terrible, terrible things, but this... I feel like I've lost something. Maybe it's just an egg, but it feels like something more."
"I can't believe how much Baldur's Gate makes me feel like a monster," the player continues. "I feel like a bad person, and I'm filled with guilt over killing an innocent creature. It's... incredible. I guess there's still more to come."
Baldur's Gate 3 will release on PC in 2022.
