Baldur's Gate 3 devs originally went for a truly “cartoony” art style, but I'm glad they didn't go with it

Baldur’s Gate 3 devs originally went for a truly “cartoony” art style, but I'm glad they didn't go with it - VideoGamer

Baldur's Gate 3 originally had a more "cartoon-y" art style before Larian Studios changed their minds about the game's look.

videogamer.com

TL;DR: Baldur’s Gate 3 nearly rocked a bright, exaggerated “cartoony” vibe in its early stages—think indie‐book illustrations—before lead character artist Alena Dubrovina and the team scrapped that approach (twice!) and rebuilt everything from the ground up. After experimenting with stylized directions, they settled on the more grounded, richly saturated look we see today, borrowing the realistic proportions and bold colours that made Divinity: Original Sin so memorable.

Honestly, it’s hard to imagine BG3’s massive success with a totally different art style, so kudos to Larian for sticking with the polished, pseudo‐realistic visuals. That said, with two new projects in the pipeline, here’s hoping they finally unleash that playful, cartoon-heavy design in one of them—because let’s face it, we’d all love more animated Larian shorts (and maybe some epic WizKids-style minis).