This review contains spoilers
I loved this game, it deserved all the GOTY wins in 2023, but it is far, far from perfect.
Baldur's Gate 3 does so many cool, interesting things that I love, but it takes very few of those things far enough to be truly incredible.
For example:
-The combat is super refined compared to Divinity Original Sin 2, which was often too chaotic, but the combat arenas are, mostly, circles with various inclines. There were only a handful of encounters where the environments lent themselves to the verticality and creativity that is possible with the systems at play.
- The party companions are exceptionally well-written and beautifully acted with interesting stories unto themselves, but they have very few meaningful interactions with each other after Act 1, which can make the experience feel pretty shallow at times.
- The setups and questions presented in the main plot are, more often than not, extremely intriguing and full of potential, but the reveals and surprises are usually the most predictable possibilities on offer (the Emperor reveal, for instance).
Additionally, there were some aspects that I just found frustrating overall:
- The romance, when actually moving and going somewhere, felt nice, but it's paced out terribly, which often means it won't progress at all for dozens of hours. Especially when compared to other RPGs with a major romance focus—Persona or Dragon Age, for instance—Baldur's Gate just doesn't seem to care about it enough to warrant it being there in the first place. Act 3 has some moments where the game remembers you've forged a relationship, but for the most part, that entire aspect of the game is done and dusted by the end of Act 2, which is disappointing to say the least.
- The autosaves in this game are needlessly harsh, especially for a game made in 2023. I know you can change the frequency of them in the options, but honestly, no one should have to do that in the first place.
- Act 3, while it has a lot of offer in terms of content, really collapses under its own weight with everything it tries to wrap up in the narrative. This game needed another act to straighten out the pacing, and if that meant it needed another year of development to cook, I think they should have done so.
Now, I understand this all seems pretty negative so far, but I have things I loved with no caveats as well:
- The freedom of role-playing, as well as how much of it the game accounts for, is genuinely incredible. The number of options based entirely on how you built your character is awe-inspiring.
- Baldur's Gate 3 is beautiful: the characters are expressive, and the environments are gorgeous and varied.
Most of all: I had a great time playing all 120 hours of so of Baldur's Gate 3. It had some things that frustrated me, certainly, and I definitely don't think it accomplishes the same things that other classic Western RPGs have—not yet, anyway—but Larian is well on their way to being a legendary studio, and they've made a game I'm destined to play on-and-off forever.
NOTE: I have started a second playthrough (Dark Urge), so I have not experienced everything on offer.
Baldur's Gate 3 does so many cool, interesting things that I love, but it takes very few of those things far enough to be truly incredible.
For example:
-The combat is super refined compared to Divinity Original Sin 2, which was often too chaotic, but the combat arenas are, mostly, circles with various inclines. There were only a handful of encounters where the environments lent themselves to the verticality and creativity that is possible with the systems at play.
- The party companions are exceptionally well-written and beautifully acted with interesting stories unto themselves, but they have very few meaningful interactions with each other after Act 1, which can make the experience feel pretty shallow at times.
- The setups and questions presented in the main plot are, more often than not, extremely intriguing and full of potential, but the reveals and surprises are usually the most predictable possibilities on offer (the Emperor reveal, for instance).
Additionally, there were some aspects that I just found frustrating overall:
- The romance, when actually moving and going somewhere, felt nice, but it's paced out terribly, which often means it won't progress at all for dozens of hours. Especially when compared to other RPGs with a major romance focus—Persona or Dragon Age, for instance—Baldur's Gate just doesn't seem to care about it enough to warrant it being there in the first place. Act 3 has some moments where the game remembers you've forged a relationship, but for the most part, that entire aspect of the game is done and dusted by the end of Act 2, which is disappointing to say the least.
- The autosaves in this game are needlessly harsh, especially for a game made in 2023. I know you can change the frequency of them in the options, but honestly, no one should have to do that in the first place.
- Act 3, while it has a lot of offer in terms of content, really collapses under its own weight with everything it tries to wrap up in the narrative. This game needed another act to straighten out the pacing, and if that meant it needed another year of development to cook, I think they should have done so.
Now, I understand this all seems pretty negative so far, but I have things I loved with no caveats as well:
- The freedom of role-playing, as well as how much of it the game accounts for, is genuinely incredible. The number of options based entirely on how you built your character is awe-inspiring.
- Baldur's Gate 3 is beautiful: the characters are expressive, and the environments are gorgeous and varied.
Most of all: I had a great time playing all 120 hours of so of Baldur's Gate 3. It had some things that frustrated me, certainly, and I definitely don't think it accomplishes the same things that other classic Western RPGs have—not yet, anyway—but Larian is well on their way to being a legendary studio, and they've made a game I'm destined to play on-and-off forever.
NOTE: I have started a second playthrough (Dark Urge), so I have not experienced everything on offer.