A "hardcore" Baldur's Gate 3 campaign could take 200 hours, and "the replay value is very high"

We already know Baldur's Gate 3 is going to be a meaty RPG. Developer Larian Studios says a casual playthrough will take around 75 to 100 hours, but for hardcore players who want to see as much as they can with one character, the completionist route could be well over 200 hours long.

But Larian is also promising lots of reactivity and different perspectives for us to play through the game with. In an interview with PC Gamer in its latest magazine edition, Larian Studios co-founder and creative director Sven Vincke says "the replay value is very high".

The game contains a wealth of choices and consequences, all wrapped up into the storyline. "There's not a single thing that's not connected to the main plot," Vincke states, "you get different perspectives, and that's what the fun is". Perspectives come from roleplaying as different characters, whether that's one of the presets or a custom one made by yourself.

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"We've spent six years making sure that each individual bit of story connects to one another," Vincke reveals, "so regardless of how you go through it, it will always make sense to you." The game's plot will derive heavily from the identity of your character and the beginnings you choose, he also says, as he describes the "individual reactivity" of the game. "[The game] incentivises you to go and do things because of who you are, and what your identity is."

The interwoven plot points is what led to the estimated number of 17,000 permutations of the game's ending from lead writer Adam Smith. Even if the broader plot points of the ending remain the same, there's a range of ways you can end up there.

So, if you're planning on replaying Baldur's Gate 3 to discover the different perspectives the game has to offer, you'd better clear out your calendar. Playing through a couple of characters casually could already run you up to 200 hours. If you want to see absolutely everything that's in Baldur's Gate 3, you could be spending thousands of hours with the game. At least PC players have a whole month of Baldur's Gate 3 before Starfield comes out, eh?

In our Baldur's Gate 3 preview, we explain how this is the closest thing we've got to a video game version of D&D.

I'm a freelance writer and started my career in summer 2022. After studying Physics and Music at university and a short stint in software development, I made the jump to games journalism on Eurogamer's work experience programme. Since then, I've also written for Rock Paper Shotgun and Esports Illustrated. I'll give any game a go so long as it's not online, and you'll find me playing a range of things, from Elden Ring to Butterfly Soup. I have a soft spot for indies aiming to diversify representation in the industry.