GameKhor
1 review liked by GameKhor
Baldur's Gate 3
2020
"Not goodbye. Not even close."
Everyone's correct that this is the level of video game creation that every studio should aspire to. And I'm not just talking about graphics. While it is incredibly detailed I wouldn't say graphics are the most realistic in the industry. But that's not the only thing to measure a game on. The critical role (sorry) is about how those beautiful graphics contribute to the world, characters and story. Between its adventure exploration and intricate turn-based battle system, Baldur's Gate 3 gives players the ultimate gaming experience.
Setting and story are fairly typical fantasy. You wake up with no memory and a secret power and gather memorable companions to fight against a looming threat. Your companions and many NPCs have the most character I've ever heard in voice acting. The writing for each matches their personalities but also doesn't overload you with backstory as you can choose whether or not to follow these side quests or talk at length. I followed all of these Companion quests to the end for better (2 almost made me cry) or worse (some decent loot).
Exploring every corner of the world is worth it as there is always something going on and opportunities for XP, loot, or just pure entertainment. The class you pick doesn't really matter as you'll be able to recruit pretty much every one available. I played a Cleric and Shadowheart was my very first companion. Eventually I phased her out when I met others so I wasn't doubled up.
The classes and combat are based on classic DnD TTRPG rules and systems. A basic knowledge of the game helps but you can pick up the basics pretty quickly. The biggest Pro is the freedom it gives you from movements, actions, offensive and defensive. You can approach a situation differently every single time. But this also comes with the biggest Con of the game...
Some puzzles, quests, and combats seem to be designed with a 'Correct' solution in mind. Some of these present themselves quite literally. At one point there is an in-progress chess game where you have to checkmate the King in 2 moves. I tried over and over but it kept resetting me. There are multiple ways to do it but it would only accept 1. I searched online (hard to find a solution as there are different puzzle generations) and some claimed that there is no solution at all - it's a red herring meant to lure you into combat. This sort of design is just unfair and unfun. Other ways this presents are combats that set up the enemy with high ground, invisibility, invulnerability and other buffs from the start. Leaving you scrambling to gain an edge. I like a challenge but some of these were just frustrating and frankly boring. Waiting for 20 enemies to make their moves while I take 3 turns just to move in range to attack. But these complaints would be around 10% of combats where all the rest were such a blast. Using a mix of my different party member's strengths.
I hit bugs but nothing game breaking. In the final fight all dialogue and music dropped. Sometimes cutscenes won't show a character during dialogue if something is in the way of the camera. One cutscene was normal but everyone was upside down? You can get stuck in combat despite defeating all enemies. Repositioning to escape back to camp takes a while but you can still do it. These are things that can be worked out and I would much rather have small bugs in a huge game than the reverse. Like Skyrim, I forgive its bugs because of how complete the experience is.
Would've liked to see a resolution for all my companions in the ending. I completed all their quests but only saw cutscenes for 2 and then my 1 romanced. Also, one of your major active quests tells you to decide what to do with [QUEST ITEM] but you never have to make this choice or find out what happens. Seems like this path was just dropped. Or plans to expand in a sequel or DLC? That's ok, I'll keep eating that garbage.
On top of all of this, the drop-in drop-out cooperative multiplayer works seamlessly and you can play this whole game with your friends. Co-op is a dying breed (most multiplayer are competitive) and this is the best implementation I've seen in a turn-based game. Because you don't have to just sit and wait. Depending on your initiative rolls (DnD!) you and your online friends may be able to make your moves at the same time! Really, really smooth design that I'm sure was difficult to program. Just thinking about combining real-time with turn-based hurts my brain. But hey, at least I don't have a mind flayer tadpole up there...
Everyone's correct that this is the level of video game creation that every studio should aspire to. And I'm not just talking about graphics. While it is incredibly detailed I wouldn't say graphics are the most realistic in the industry. But that's not the only thing to measure a game on. The critical role (sorry) is about how those beautiful graphics contribute to the world, characters and story. Between its adventure exploration and intricate turn-based battle system, Baldur's Gate 3 gives players the ultimate gaming experience.
Setting and story are fairly typical fantasy. You wake up with no memory and a secret power and gather memorable companions to fight against a looming threat. Your companions and many NPCs have the most character I've ever heard in voice acting. The writing for each matches their personalities but also doesn't overload you with backstory as you can choose whether or not to follow these side quests or talk at length. I followed all of these Companion quests to the end for better (2 almost made me cry) or worse (some decent loot).
Exploring every corner of the world is worth it as there is always something going on and opportunities for XP, loot, or just pure entertainment. The class you pick doesn't really matter as you'll be able to recruit pretty much every one available. I played a Cleric and Shadowheart was my very first companion. Eventually I phased her out when I met others so I wasn't doubled up.
The classes and combat are based on classic DnD TTRPG rules and systems. A basic knowledge of the game helps but you can pick up the basics pretty quickly. The biggest Pro is the freedom it gives you from movements, actions, offensive and defensive. You can approach a situation differently every single time. But this also comes with the biggest Con of the game...
Some puzzles, quests, and combats seem to be designed with a 'Correct' solution in mind. Some of these present themselves quite literally. At one point there is an in-progress chess game where you have to checkmate the King in 2 moves. I tried over and over but it kept resetting me. There are multiple ways to do it but it would only accept 1. I searched online (hard to find a solution as there are different puzzle generations) and some claimed that there is no solution at all - it's a red herring meant to lure you into combat. This sort of design is just unfair and unfun. Other ways this presents are combats that set up the enemy with high ground, invisibility, invulnerability and other buffs from the start. Leaving you scrambling to gain an edge. I like a challenge but some of these were just frustrating and frankly boring. Waiting for 20 enemies to make their moves while I take 3 turns just to move in range to attack. But these complaints would be around 10% of combats where all the rest were such a blast. Using a mix of my different party member's strengths.
I hit bugs but nothing game breaking. In the final fight all dialogue and music dropped. Sometimes cutscenes won't show a character during dialogue if something is in the way of the camera. One cutscene was normal but everyone was upside down? You can get stuck in combat despite defeating all enemies. Repositioning to escape back to camp takes a while but you can still do it. These are things that can be worked out and I would much rather have small bugs in a huge game than the reverse. Like Skyrim, I forgive its bugs because of how complete the experience is.
Would've liked to see a resolution for all my companions in the ending. I completed all their quests but only saw cutscenes for 2 and then my 1 romanced. Also, one of your major active quests tells you to decide what to do with [QUEST ITEM] but you never have to make this choice or find out what happens. Seems like this path was just dropped. Or plans to expand in a sequel or DLC? That's ok, I'll keep eating that garbage.
On top of all of this, the drop-in drop-out cooperative multiplayer works seamlessly and you can play this whole game with your friends. Co-op is a dying breed (most multiplayer are competitive) and this is the best implementation I've seen in a turn-based game. Because you don't have to just sit and wait. Depending on your initiative rolls (DnD!) you and your online friends may be able to make your moves at the same time! Really, really smooth design that I'm sure was difficult to program. Just thinking about combining real-time with turn-based hurts my brain. But hey, at least I don't have a mind flayer tadpole up there...