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And she’s very wicked again.
Maggie Robertson, the actor who played the iconic Lady Dimitrescu in Resident Evil Village, is set to play another memorable villain, this time in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Larian confirmed this to me at an event I went to this week, where I played the launch version of the game.
Orin the Red, as the character is known, is a magical, shape-shifting menace. A sexy but sadistic presence who will appear time and time again through the game – towards the latter parts of it – to test your resolve.
Orin works for one of the higher powers you’re rallying against in the game, and she stands out visually for her nearly entirely white eyes, blazing red and revealing bodysuit, and skin you can see smokey patterns shifting around on – this is a really nice effect. She’s ruthless and will try to use her shape-shifting powers to catch you off guard and trick you into making terrible decisions.
Based on what I saw – and I’m sorry there are no pictures available I can share with you – I’m confident Orin will emerge as one of the most memorable characters in the game.
Robertson joins a star-studded cast in Baldur’s Gate 3, which includes JK Simmons – who you’ll probably know as the newspaper editor in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films – and Jason Isaacs, who you’ll probably know as Lucius Malfoy from the Harry Potter films. Critical Role’s Matt Mercer is also in the game as returning Baldur’s Gate character Minsc.
While they might be the stand-out names in the cast, the performances across the game are exemplary, both from the close companions around you and from characters you meet in the world. I’m a particular fan of the goblins.
And it’s in these many conversations you’ll have – and importantly, the many permutations of those conversations you’ll have – that the game has been able to rack up such a high cinematic hour-count, at around 170 hours. Note, though, you won’t see anything like that in one playthrough.
Baldur’s Gate is very nearly here on PC, due for full release 3rd August. It’ll take a bit longer on PlayStation 5 (6th September), and a little bit longer still on Xbox because there are some issues getting split-screen co-op working well on Xbox Series S.
I’ll be bringing you deeper impressions of what I played at the BG3 event (including the PS5 version) next week, plus a chonky interview with Larian boss Swen Vincke. For now, though, be sure to catch the just-aired Larian Panel from Hell for the latest public look at the game.
