Baldur’s Gate 3: Should You Play the First Two Games Beforehand?

Although decades have passed since the prequels to Baldur’s Gate 3, gamers wonder if they need to play the first two games beforehand. The original Baldur’s Gate was one of the earliest acclaimed titles on PC, released in the late 90s. Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn launched in 2000, meaning Baldur’s Gate 3 will be the first mainline title in the franchise in twenty-three years. With so much time passed between the second and third titles, fans are dying to know if they require knowledge about the previous two games’ stories to understand Baldur’s Gate 3.

What Is the Story of Baldur’s Gate?

The franchise takes place in the fantastical Forgotten Realms, a campaign setting used in Dungeons & Dragons. The original Baldur’s Gate game takes place on the shoreline of the fictional land of Faerûn, in a region called the Sword Coast. Baldur’s Gate is the name of the largest city in the area.

The first game followed the exploits of a young Ward under the protection of the mage, Gorion. The Ward travels across the lands to learn about their heritage and the region’s iron crisis that causes metal to fall apart. The main hero is then captured by an evil mage in Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn. They need to escape and learn more about why they were caught in the first place.

Both of the first Baldur’s Gate games had expansions that further elaborated on the story and setting established in both titles. There was initially going to be a follow-up to Baldur’s Gate 2 called Black Hound. But the game was canceled for unspecified reasons.

Is the Story of Baldur’s Gate 3 Connected To the First Two Games?

Baldur’s Gate 3 takes place in the same region as the first two games but far into the future. The threequel happens over 120 years after the events of Baldur’s Gate 2, in the year 1492 DR.

While there are references to the original Baldur Gate games, the story of Baldur’s Gate 3 isn’t directly connected to the first two titles. You can play Baldur’s Gate 3 without having to play the original two games in the series.

However, it should be noted that both Baldur’s Gate and Baldur’s Gate 2 are regarded as some of the most iconic RPG games on PC. Enhanced versions of both games were released in 2012 and 2013, respectively. It’s also good to play the first two games beforehand to better understand the world and characters.

Baldur’s Gate 3 has the forces of darkness rise again. The game focuses on a new player avatar infected with a parasite. The parasite slowly turns the protagonist into a monster, yet they also become more powerful. Depending on the player’s decisions during their journey, their character may turn more evil.

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Baldur’s Gate 3 will launch on PC on August 3 and later release on the PlayStation 5 on September 6. An Xbox Series X/S version of the game will launch later.