Summary
Baldur’s Gate 3has given players unparalleled freedom to be who they want to be in its world, and that has helped make RPG fans fall in love with it. Not only does every single action they take have an effect on the story, but they also have immense control over the look of their characters. Larian Studios was able to craft an advanced character creator that some players may spend hours in, and it may have even seta new standard for RPG character creatorsin the process.
WhileBaldur’s Gate 3’s freedom is fantastic, Larian Studios also omitted a pretty important RPG feature. The studio may have wanted to make every choice feel important, but it should have given players a way to back out of one. Instead of letting players change the appearance of their character on a whim,Baldur’s Gate 3forces them to keep whatever appearance they chose at the start. This seems like a strange omission for a game that prides itself on giving players control, and hopefully a future update can rectify that.
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Baldur’s Gate 3 Needs a Change Appearance Option
Building the perfect RPG characteris a very important part of any adventure, andBaldur’s Gate 3is no different. Ideal character creators let players customize almost every single aspect of their protagonist so that they can be who they want to be in that world. They not only want to ensure that their stats and abilities are in line with what they want to play, but they also want to make sure their character’s physical characteristics match how they want to be perceived.
Some players may spend hours perfecting their protagonist before they actually start the game. Usually, only some of these features are actually permanent as games often give players a way to change certain aspects of their character throughout the story.Saints Rowlets them get plastic surgery,World of Warcraftoffers a barbershop that does a lot more than cut hair, and games likeThe Elder Scrolls 5: Skyriminclude NPCswho purely exist to change the player’s appearance. With customizable characters often comes a feature like this, but for some reasonBaldur’s Gate 3left it out.
As of now,Baldur’s Gate 3does not have a way for players to change their appearance once the game starts. They cannot change face shape, scars, body size, or even the hairstyle that they chose inBaldur’s Gate’s character creator. This forces players to plan ahead as they are stuck with whatever appearance they choose at the beginning. The only things they can change are the clothing and weapons that they use, but they should be able to change so much more.
Baldur’s Gate 3is all about player freedombut forcing them to stick with one look seems like it goes against that approach. Players should not be stuck staring at the same exact appearance for the entire story. While it is too late for Larian Studios to add this ability at launch, it should be included in a future patch. The studio could simply add a barbershop NPC or camp mirror and fix this problem entirely if it wanted to.
The lack of an option to change one’s appearance does not detract fromBaldur’s Gate 3too much, but it does seem like a strange omission. Larian Studios has built its reputation around listening to the fanbase and hopefully this is one of the things it listens to post-launch.
Baldur’s Gate 3is available now on PC, with a PS5 release on September 6 and an Xbox launch to follow.
