The third main game from the Baldur’s Gate series is almost here. Taking place 120 years after the events of Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn, Baldur’s Gate III shows the forces of darkness rising once more. This RPG developed by Larian Studios is not for the faint-hearted, with terrible villains running amok, one of which is Orin the Red.
Set in the Forgotten Realms Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting, this third installation has been a long time coming. The first Baldur’s Gate game came out way back in 1998, with the second game coming out only two years later in 2000. Though there have been spin-offs and offshoots, such as Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance, the third game has been in the works for 23 years and is now finally ready.
As with many games nowadays, it features the voices of some prominent actors including J.K Simmons (Whiplash, Spider-Man) in the role of General Ketheric Thorm, Tim Downie (Paddington, Outlander) as Gale, and Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter, The Great) as Lord Enver Gortash. It also features notable voice actors such as Matthew Mercer, (who any gamer or lover of Dungeons and Dragons will recognize from his myriad of roles), Jennifer English, and Amelia Tyler.
The role of Orin the Red is played by Maggie Robertson. The VO actress gained widespread attention for bringing to life the character of Lady Alcina Dimitrescu in Resident Evil: Village. This was actually her first time working in motion capture and voice acting within the gaming industry, and Robertson had no idea how big of an impact her character would have. She won multiple awards for portraying the character including Best Performance at The Game Awards and the Golden Joystick Awards in 2021.
Her latest character, Orin the Red gives off similar sinister vibes. A villainous character, she is an evil shapeshifter who enjoys inflicting pain upon others. In a trailer chatting about playing the character (via Larian Studios), she described Orin as “affectionately unhinged” as we see her stab into people with glee. Her shapeshifting abilities make her hard to pin down; she could attack as anyone from anywhere, with Robertson adding “She is incredibly tricksy and uses all of her wiles to get what she wants.” She acts as a member of the game’s “unholy evil triumvirate” alongside Simmons’ General Ketheric Thorm and Isaacs’ Lord Enver Gortash.
Her weapons of choice appears are two blades that she is intimately attached to. Talking about the weapons and how she worked them into her motion capture performance, the voice-over actress explained the character’s relationship with them stating, “They feel real and personified to her.” The sounds of them going in and out of flesh in the gameplay feel real enough to us. The conversation ends with Robertson reminding us, “Orin is a very disturbing figure in Baldur’s Gate III. She really takes the players on quite a journey so I hope that they sit back and enjoy the ride and let me know all of their terrifying thoughts.”
Baldur’s Gate III will be available on PC from Aug. 3, but PlayStation players will have to wait until September 6 before they can jump on the bandwagon, while the release date for Xbox is still up in the air.
