Dungeons & Dragons is one of the main throughlines in the Netflix sci-fi hit Stranger Things, but the show’s finale found inspiration from the acclaimed D&D game Baldur’s Gate 3, according to one of the show’s creators.
Spoilers for the Stranger Things finale follow.
Stranger Things co-creator Matt Duffer mentioned to Variety that he was playing the Larian Studios-developed title while working on the final season. Duffer implied that the climactic showdown with Vecna and the Mind Flayer shared themes and elements with both D&D and Baldur’s Gate 3.
According to Duffer, the show’s entire cast of characters found “self-acceptance” through the story and ended up “absolutely primed” going into the final battle.
“They’re the ultimate team, and it’s the party working all together to defeat this thing. And they each have their own individual skills, right?” Duffer said. “And that’s where I go back to Dungeons & Dragons, and something like Baldur’s Gate. Because that’s how you take down these monsters that seem otherwise unstoppable.”
One of the biggest strengths of Baldur’s Gate 3 was its memorable party members, such as Astarion and Shadowheart, all of whom go through their own compelling story arcs. Similarly, the characters of Stranger Things overcame obstacles and developed significantly through the show’s five seasons.
The fateful battle against the show’s two main villains is set in an environment referred to as The Abyss, a desert wasteland in an alternate dimension. The “party” of characters travels there through the Upside Down to confront Vecna and the Mind Flayer, taking the latter down through a coordinated attack involving firearms, Molotov cocktails, a flare gun, and other means of brute force.
Of course, Stranger Things and Baldur’s Gate 3 have some more explicit overlaps. As some of the characters in the show are avid D&D players, they often name the creatures and villains they encounter after D&D characters, such as Demogorgons, and of course, Vecna and the Mind Flayer. Baldur’s Gate 3 heavily features mind flayers in its story.
Interestingly, Duffer mentioned that “lots of video game references were applied to that final battle,” though he doesn’t elaborate on these references. One explicit reference early in the season was a somewhat inaccurate scene featuring Ghost ‘n Goblins.
