I'm not exaggerating when I say that Disco Elysium, the unexpected 2019 hit CRPG by ZA/UM, changed my brain chemistry. I've come away from my experience with that game equipped with a new understanding of how failure can be used as a design tool, how it can be made fun, engaging, and worth dropping the save-scumming for. And I desperately want Baldur's Gate 3 to follow in those footsteps.
The words "fail state" pop up in video essays and opinion pieces about games for a good reason: how the player fails is one of the most important decisions designers make. What happens when they do, how long it takes them to try again—entire genres, such as roguelikes, are sometimes defined by how punishing they are when the player beefs it.
