D&D’s Warlock ditches Baldur’s Gate 3 formula for something much darker

Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons has officially had its first gameplay reveal at Gamescom, and it looks completely different from its biggest competition, Baldur’s Gate 3, which is exactly what we need.

When you think of Dungeons & Dragons games, most will think of Baldur’s Gate 3. After all, it’s one of the biggest (and best) RPGs of the decade, and will likely retain that position for years to come thanks to its beloved companions, touching story, and enough character variety to warrant multiple 100-hour playthroughs across different stories and classes.

Now, there’s a new D&D game in town, providing a completely different experience from the renowned Baldur’s Gate adventure by focusing on one specific character. And, it’s probably the best direction Invoke Studios could have taken for what looks to be a uniquely dark and twisted tale.

Warlock brings dark details to D&D adventure

After watching the gameplay and speaking to the developers, it’s clear Warlock is intentionally trying to distance itself from Baldur’s Gate 3, and for good reason. The last thing this game needs is “Baldur’s Gate 4” expectations.

Instead, Warlock is a third-person open-world action-adventure that’s purely single-player. It’s got a pre-written story, so no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ endings, and takes place in a world that feels nothing like the Sword Coast we saw in BG3. You play as Kaatri, a veteran warrior forced into Darkon, a Domain of Dread in the Shadowfell that is every bit as grim as that description suggests.

Essentially, Kaatri and her patron Tasha (one of the most powerful archmages & villains in D&D) are tasked with uncovering raw magic while searching for ‘someone Kaatri loves’ as the developers carefully put it. During which you learn new powers, battle a variety of monsters from Beholders to undead ogres and explore a dense but hopeless region in desperate need of a little TLC.

Invoke Studios

In the gameplay trailer, we see combat and spellcasting that showcase a much faster, more fluid approach than Baldur’s Gate 3’s familiar turn-based battles. Your own quick thinking and the versatility of Warlock’s spells are instead at the heart of combat.

Those spells, alongside some intriguing ritual features, will help players defeat enemies, traverse Darkon, and solve puzzles along the way.

All this combines into what feels like a stellar action-adventure experience unlike anything we’ve had in D&D video games before. It’s dark, dreary, challenging, and has all the epic battles and open-world explorations (complete with various hidden mysteries) that D&D thrives on.

While Warlock is still some way from release, if there’s one thing to take from the new gameplay reveal, it’s that any Baldur’s Gate 4 expectations should be dashed. Taken on its own terms, Warlock looks set to offer a very different kind of D&D adventure.