In an interview, Swen Vincke talked about the new combat system in Divinity and why it’s already more fun than in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is considered a masterpiece that can hardly be surpassed. At least, it has received top ratings worldwide and fans are raving about Larian’s role-playing game. Hardly anyone can really imagine that it could get any better.
But Swen Vincke obviously can. The CEO and chief developer of Larian wants to do just that with the next role-playing game, Divinity. He doesn’t know yet if it will work. But there are already early signs that it might. At least, the studio boss revealed in an interview that he is already having more fun with one aspect of the game – even at this early stage of development – than he did with Baldur’s Gate 3.
We’re talking about the combat.
A better combat system
Vincke didn’t want to reveal too many details about Divinity’s gameplay in the interview. However, he promised even more freedom across the board, especially in the combat system. The combat in Baldur’s Gate 3 was fun, no question about it – but it was hard work for Larian.
The team had to find a way to implement the D&D system in a way that made sense for their purposes. After all, Baldur’s Gate 3 was supposed to be largely based on the rules for Dungeons & Dragons that were current at the time. However, the combat system in the original game is not designed for the kind of dynamic combat that Larian wanted to see in Divinity: Original Sin 2, for example.
Now this limitation no longer exists, and according to Vincke, the result is a much more open system that is nevertheless much easier to learn. And that’s what makes it more fun for him right now:
“It’s a new system. But it’s easier to learn than in Baldur’s Gate 3. It gives you a lot of freedom and is very practical. It’s based on the deeper insights we gained during the development of BG3 and DOS2, and mixes them together. We’re still figuring out whether that’s a good thing or not. But when I first played and tried it out, I thought it was better than any combat in BG3. It felt right immediately.”
Will this be an even better role-playing game?
Divinity is currently in deep development, and according to Vincke, unlike Baldur’s Gate 3, it won’t take six years to complete the game. Whether that will actually happen depends on many factors that no one can predict. In any case, Larian is determined to make good use of the time and deliver a role-playing game that is at least on par with Baldur’s Gate 3.
You can learn more about the team’s vision in our preview, which is based on the interview with Swen Vincke.
