Baldur's Gate 3

I'm so amazed on how this game can have so much content without being bad or boring O_O this game has consumed my life I can almost feel a tadpole moving inside my brain. Baldur's Gate 3 is a reminder of what the Golden Age of gaming used to be like. No microtransactions, no season pass, no subscription, no content-cut DLC. Thank you Larian.

[b]Happy 2nd Anniversary to Baldur’s Gate 3! [/b] We all know every RPG from now on has to fight this monster and will likely lose in round one. I was two years late to play this game. I played BG1-2 for the first time this year, before starting BG3. Not because I’m old-school, but because I like playing things in order and Veilguard’s existence sent me spiraling into a desperate hunt for real BioWare vibes. You’ll hear a lot of people talk about how good this game is and they’re absolutely right. [h3]Let’s talk about the stuff you don’t hear as much.[/h3] I adored BG3. But I also think it’s fair to say: [b]if you don’t have a ton of time, a high tolerance for waiting and a healthy wrist, there will be friction.[/b] For some, that friction is manageable. For others, it’s the reason you quietly never finish Act I. (49% according to Steam and if I hadn't modded my game, I would’ve been one of them.) [b]I have mild [u]carpal tunnel[/u] in my right hand and the...

I thought I understood Baldur’s Gate 3. I’d beaten it twice, mastered my builds, and could practically recite Karlach’s dialogue from memory. Then I clicked Honor Mode. Honor Mode isn’t just “hard mode.” It’s a perfectly polite way for the game to lean over your shoulder and whisper, “One slip… and it’s all gone.” You get one save file, enemies get new tricks, and every fight feels like a high-stakes chess match where your pawns are also your best friends. Suddenly, goblins aren’t XP—they’re terrifying. You triple-check every spell slot like a paranoid accountant. You find yourself bargaining with RNG gods during attack rolls. And when you survive by the skin of your teeth, you feel like you’ve just returned from war. The highs are incredible. The lows are… deleting a 60-hour save because you forgot a mage could Counterspell. And yet, that’s what makes it glorious—your victories mean something, because they were earned. If you want to experience ...

If you are OBSESSED with DND and basically want a game to mimic an episode of Critical Role, then you will absolutely love this... If you aren't obsessed with DND, then this game will feel extremely overrated. I'm not throwing any hate at the game or anyone who likes it, but this is a real love/hate kinda game. I like DND, and was a dm for a long time. I played a lot of tabletop. In my opinion this has all the weaknesses of Tabletop and all the weaknesses of a video game, with none of the strengths of either. Tabletop allows for near infinite creativity with a good dm and party. You can take your wacky spells and items and use them in unforseen ways. A video game cannot do that because it will only operate within the game parameters. A video game can do all of the math and table numbers instantly, offering a much more streamlined gameplay experience. This game doesnt do that in favor for a more DND feel. The result is a game that plays as slowly as DND (aka several hours to do an...

I don't know why but even after 15 hours the game just feels like a chore. You can tell a lot of love has gone into every aspect of the game, but it just isn't for me even though I wanted it to be. Constant inventory management, managing short and long rests, slow dice rolls, poor decisions made by companions when navigating areas with traps unless you unlink and control them manually or disarm every trap, companions not always following when you jump gaps, extremely long and punishing battles (mostly because even after 15 hours I haven't understood all systems and when spells are available or not). I feel the UI makes it difficult to understand if the spell is locked behind long rest, short rest or some other resource. Just generally the overwhelming amount of choice you have in every situation was way too much cognitive load for me to enjoy.

It's the best games that are both the easiest and hardest to review. Easy to say a game is good, harder to explain why, and monumentally difficult to write a review that has even a glimmer of hope of being read next to the 685,047 other reviews this game has. I guess this is review #685,048. Baldur's Gate 3 is in all ways a perfect spiritual successor to the Infinity Engine games, Baldur's Gate 1 & 2, Icewind Dale, and Planescape. The story is a new chapter in the BG 1 & 2 saga, and you'll even encounter a couple of the heroes from those much older games. And this has everything. And I mean [i]everything[/i]. Tasteful, well optimised graphics. Deep gameplay (although it's my personal opinion that D&D5e is a terrible system and the character builds people come up with show pretty clearly it's still as broken as 4E was... you've built your character wrong if you don't have at least 3 classes!). The game takes into account every element from shadow and light, heat and cold, le...

Honestly, I didn’t think I’d be into this game at first: I quit after just an hour of playing. But after coming back to it, I ended up doing three runs in a row. I’ve rarely felt something like this with a game. The system, inspired by tabletop RPGs, can seem a bit complex at first, but once you get the hang of it the world, the characters, their interactions, the choices you can make… it’s incredible This game is exceptional.

Baldur’s Gate 3 feels less like an epic RPG and more like a never-ending chore. Everywhere I go, somebody has to stop me for a conversation. Everyone wants to talk, dump their tragic backstory on me, or argue about something. It’s exhausting instead of immersive. I don’t feel like a hero on an adventure; I feel like a therapist trapped in a medieval group therapy session. Then there’s the story. Characters die, supposedly dramatic things happen, and I just… don’t care. The game tries so hard to make me invested in everyone’s fate, but it never clicks. Instead of being shocked or emotional, I just roll my eyes and keep going. If the game can’t make me care when a companion dies, something’s gone wrong. And don’t get me started on the combat. I’m playing on normal difficulty, yet I miss constantly. It feels like nine out of ten attacks whiff, even when I’ve set things up correctly. Nothing kills the excitement faster than watching your party stand there flailing...

I will always appreciate the great aspects of this game, and will probably think the most about them after I uninstall it. The art direction, the voice acting, the Inspiration re-roll system, and the plethora of customization are wonders to behold, and everyone should play this game at least once for those aspects. Unfortunately, I felt there was a lot left to be desired. - There wasn't as much freedom in the choices as I would have expected or wanted - Some of the character reveals and motivations didn't make sense to me in Act 3 - The autosave system does not trigger as often as other games, and you must abuse the quicksave system to avoid hours of redos. - Not all classes and sub-classes are viable options for dealing with boss fights, especially when there's high level hordes as well. - Some bosses are unbelievably difficult and relentless if your party isn't optimally mix-max'd, making the cheeky way of avoiding fights using Stealth, Athletics, and Telekinesis the only se...

(TLDR; I highly recommend this game! I needed three attempts to get into this game and spent €100 on it, buying it on both PS5 and Steam and I do not regret a single euro I spent on it. I see it as a way of me thanking Larian for this masterpiece, years later after the party.) I needed three attempts to get into this game, having never played Baldur's Gate or any similar game for that matter before. Not a game that goes as deep as Baldur's Gate 3. I'm actually happy I ended up peer pressure buying the digital game on PS5 back when it first came out, paying full price for it then, and buying it again on Steam with a bit of a discount. I'm happy to support Larian Studios in their honestly mind-blowing endeavor. I'm on my second playthrough now, and I'm honestly so amazed by how differently the story is playing out when compared to my first playthrough. I have to wonder: was I playing the game blind-folded the first time around? I can't fault myself too much for it, I was really tryi...