Devs of new RPG set in the world of Warhammer 40K talk about the real magic of Baldur's Gate 3. „It was the sheer palette of ways that you could express yourself”

No, Baldur’s Gate 3 isn’t the reason why Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy will feature more "wild romances" - though there’s no denying that Larian Studios’ work inspired the developers.

Related:Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy announced. Check out the Baldur's Gate-style RPG trailer from the Pathfinder creators

Owlcat Games has already said that its new Warhammer 40,000 game is being built largely from scratch. The developers share the same ambition that drove Larian Studios while they worked on Baldur's Gate: to craft an RPG that makes players feel like they’re sitting at a real tabletop RPG session.

In practice, this means Dark Heresy will feel darker and more intimate than Owlcat’s previous Warhammer 40,000 game, Rogue Trader. And there is probably nothing more intimate than romances.

Baldur’s Gate 3 lets players express themselves like never before

Let’s be honest: interpersonal relationships aren’t exactly the first thing you think of when it comes to Warhammer 40,000. Epic battles, unrelenting brutality, and fanaticism are what usually define stories set in this grim universe. This is especially true in video games, where players usually take on the role of an army commander or a Space Marine - or, in rare cases, an Ork, the last WH40K race anyone would expect to see in a story with ‘intimate’ themes.

Even in the grim universe of the 41st - or rather the 42nd - millennium, there’s no shortage of personal, down-to-earth stories, and that’s exactly what Owlcat Studio wants to focus on in Dark Heresy. Anatoly Shestov frames this in the context of Baldur’s Gate 3 - which makes sense, given Larian Studios is famous for its inventive romance options.

However, the director of Dark Heresy stresses that it’s not the romances (or the infamous bear antics) in Baldur’s Gate 3 that inspire the team, but rather the freedom players have to express themselves beyond dialogue and combat,” (via PCGamesN):

Shestov highlights a challenge that’s long kept developers from offering this level of freedom: the massive costs involved. It was only Baldur’s Gate 3 that showed developers the real payoff of this approach - and taught them how to wisely allocate resources and gauge player experience.

Not copying Baldur’s Gate 3, but rather "going under the skin"

Still, the director of Dark Heresy stresses that Owlcat Games is approaching romances in their own way - without taking cues from Baldur’s Gate 3, Dragon Age, or Mass Effect.

The developers emphasize that it’s not just about "sex," which, as Josh Sawyer once put it, is really just an "achievement." For the studio, the heart of character development and player interaction lies in emotions - not just love, but also hate, jealousy, and more. In other words, the ‘crazy romances’ (and there will be plenty) are just one way Owlcat plans to explore relationships with NPCs.

"Romances" in games often spark strong emotions. For some RPG fans, romance is almost a must-have in any serious game of the genre, but others argue that developers often reduce it to little more than "achievements" - a string of tasks leading to a steamy scene, as Shestov puts it. There are exceptions - Josh Sawyer even praised Cyberpunk 2077 - and it looks like the Dark Heresy team wants their game to be one of those exceptions.

Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy is coming to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, but there’s still no official release date.

1. Dark Heresy has the potential to become the best Warhammer 40,000 game

Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy

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• Overview

• Warhammer 40,000 (franchise)
• romances
• tactical RPG & strategies
• Owlcat Games