i started my adventure on launch and just now completed my first playthrough at 270 hours - there have been times where i almost got caught up in the hype, seeing all my friends beating it in a week or two, or a month if they're slow.
i also wanted to rush through the game and see everything and be able to watch the spoilery videos and read the subreddit and check fan arts and start my new playthrough, but i knew i would never be able to experience playing this game for the first time, ever again. so i took my sweet time, read every book, clicked on every crate & jug, spent 40 minutes on a casual dialogue choice that wouldn't even change anything, thinking `what would katniss everdeen respond to this?` (yes i am a roleplayer) - and ahhh i'm so glad i took my time with it. it turned this already amazing game into something so so so special to me, i completely got immersed in this world, even the random NPC's that only have 2 lines of dialogue have so much depth to them, with such sad letters you find in their house, or in their pocket, or a random letter that involves a treacherous plan from an uncle to its niece that you find laying around and then when you see those NPCS you feel like you know their life stories even though they only speak the same 2 lines.
oh especially the companions, if i feel that way about the NPCs, please imagine how i feel about my companions. it's like i know these characters since forever, and i don't even like all of them, just like irl! some of them are everything to me, some of them i find very annoying & i dislike them, but i still care for them after everything we've been through.
i have huuuuuge respect for larian studios for achieving this at this level!!! i mean i already had huge respect for them but it just went through the roof with BG3.
having already played DOS 1 & 2 (which are also on my favorite games list) i knew this game would be their best yet and bought it as soon as it released on early access, BUT EVEN THEN, I DIDN'T EXPECT THIS MUCH, THIS IS PURE MADNESS. i am soooo happy they helped so many people give a chance to this genre and see what an rpg adventure game truly is (and i hope this will stop some studios from marketing every game that has a skill tree as a rpg game already)
spoilers for act 3:
in the final fight, i decided to summon zevlor and his allies to help distract some of the enemies and i immediately regretted it. almost all of them quickly got killed by the red dragon, except a cleric, who had 8 hp left against the 400 hp dragon, and oh my god i wanted to save her so much but i just needed to get to the netherbrain and save the world, BUT AHH MY HEART IS STILL BREAKING FOR THAT MOMENT LOL. and most of the time i didn't even want to fight the enemies because i had empathy for them (definitely not for shar or bhaal worshippers etc though, nope nope nope.) like i didn't even hit a single time to the red dragon, or idk it was so hard to kill ansur... he was such a loyal friend... this game is a masterclass on helping the player connect to the characters with its writing, i mean it is a masterclass on almost everything actually. thank you for making AAA games great again (indie games are mostly great though, give them a chance if you usually don't)
also if you're new into the RPG genre with BG3, please consider also checking out `Disco Elysium`! it has no combat and it is purely written dialogue. i mean yes i am recommending it BUT it is nothing like BG3, so don't go expecting an epic fantasy game with crazy combat mechanics. they're both my favorite RPGs, and nothing even gets close to them, and i don't think anything will top them (except maybe these developers new games lol)
they're both masterpieces, but disco elysium sadly didn't get as much love, so please do yourself a favour and check it out especially if you're into storywriting! :)
Rest In Peace Jim Southworth, Lead Cinematic Animator. Thank you for everything. ♡
i also wanted to rush through the game and see everything and be able to watch the spoilery videos and read the subreddit and check fan arts and start my new playthrough, but i knew i would never be able to experience playing this game for the first time, ever again. so i took my sweet time, read every book, clicked on every crate & jug, spent 40 minutes on a casual dialogue choice that wouldn't even change anything, thinking `what would katniss everdeen respond to this?` (yes i am a roleplayer) - and ahhh i'm so glad i took my time with it. it turned this already amazing game into something so so so special to me, i completely got immersed in this world, even the random NPC's that only have 2 lines of dialogue have so much depth to them, with such sad letters you find in their house, or in their pocket, or a random letter that involves a treacherous plan from an uncle to its niece that you find laying around and then when you see those NPCS you feel like you know their life stories even though they only speak the same 2 lines.
oh especially the companions, if i feel that way about the NPCs, please imagine how i feel about my companions. it's like i know these characters since forever, and i don't even like all of them, just like irl! some of them are everything to me, some of them i find very annoying & i dislike them, but i still care for them after everything we've been through.
i have huuuuuge respect for larian studios for achieving this at this level!!! i mean i already had huge respect for them but it just went through the roof with BG3.
having already played DOS 1 & 2 (which are also on my favorite games list) i knew this game would be their best yet and bought it as soon as it released on early access, BUT EVEN THEN, I DIDN'T EXPECT THIS MUCH, THIS IS PURE MADNESS. i am soooo happy they helped so many people give a chance to this genre and see what an rpg adventure game truly is (and i hope this will stop some studios from marketing every game that has a skill tree as a rpg game already)
spoilers for act 3:
in the final fight, i decided to summon zevlor and his allies to help distract some of the enemies and i immediately regretted it. almost all of them quickly got killed by the red dragon, except a cleric, who had 8 hp left against the 400 hp dragon, and oh my god i wanted to save her so much but i just needed to get to the netherbrain and save the world, BUT AHH MY HEART IS STILL BREAKING FOR THAT MOMENT LOL. and most of the time i didn't even want to fight the enemies because i had empathy for them (definitely not for shar or bhaal worshippers etc though, nope nope nope.) like i didn't even hit a single time to the red dragon, or idk it was so hard to kill ansur... he was such a loyal friend... this game is a masterclass on helping the player connect to the characters with its writing, i mean it is a masterclass on almost everything actually. thank you for making AAA games great again (indie games are mostly great though, give them a chance if you usually don't)
also if you're new into the RPG genre with BG3, please consider also checking out `Disco Elysium`! it has no combat and it is purely written dialogue. i mean yes i am recommending it BUT it is nothing like BG3, so don't go expecting an epic fantasy game with crazy combat mechanics. they're both my favorite RPGs, and nothing even gets close to them, and i don't think anything will top them (except maybe these developers new games lol)
they're both masterpieces, but disco elysium sadly didn't get as much love, so please do yourself a favour and check it out especially if you're into storywriting! :)
Rest In Peace Jim Southworth, Lead Cinematic Animator. Thank you for everything. ♡