finally, FINALLY, beat this game. At 180+ hours, BG3 is just an objectively great game - however its many bugs and technical performance issues did ruin many of its great experiences for me. For all the good that it has to offer, for how inconceivably big it all is, you will still somehow come across occasional frustration at all the little things that won't work or go wrong. In my playthrough from August 2023 till now, I have been glitched out of multiple quests and had to wait for updates, performance was so bad in some overworld areas i had to wait several mins to be able to walk, and my cloud saves never once worked. I'm sure everyone has heard the praises sung of this game, and they are all true - its a great game. However, know going in you WILL have issues. I don't think theres ever been a bug-free playthrough of this game to date.

My more detailed thoughts down below:

Personally speaking, I think for all the grandeur this game has, I think it would be a bit better if it was like, at least 10% smaller. I personally do not mind being told in a game that I can't do something, especially if its counterproductive to an overarching narrative. I can appreciate just how big the game is, just how much they let you do and what an accomplishment that is, but I also feel like sometimes that time and effort could've gone elsewhere. I would rather a smaller, cleaner experience than a more open, messy one - but that is a personal bias.

Also, it would be dishonest to not mention my feelings on the updates. Are they fun? Yes! Do I want them? Sure! But it does put a bad taste in my mouth that the biggest fans of this game experienced a totally different (and objectively much less satisfying) ending than there is now. If you played and finished BG3 in August or September right when it released, you played a product that was unfinished and deeply flawed. Not unplayable, not busted beyond repair, but just an unfinished product. I understand that the studio needed to release it after 7 years of dev time, I also understand that it was a good product even with these faults, but I do also get to have my feelings about it, and I don't really feel /good/ about the state it was released.

However, a LOT of the praise this game gets is absolutely correct. Outside of the occasional confused mistake, the combat is extremely fun. I'm a SRPG fan, so I was always going to like it, but it really scratches that itch for me - at its best, the combat in BG3 is really, REALLY fun. Some classes are definitely better than others (I'm very partial to monk) but I also don't think that's a horrible thing. Some units will just be a little worse, and its interesting to play around their flaws or rebuild them into something entirely different.

The art in this game, when it loads correctly, is fucking fantastic. My god what a fresh breath of air the environments are. In the slog of games with procedurally placed vegetation and trees, its so nice to see that the environments in Bg3 are very lovingly crafted. Even little areas have a good amount of detail and composition work. The overworlds are beautiful, each act feels so distinct. The character designs are very classic DnD, but I think they are very fun within that setting. I would've loved to have a bit more control over what my characters body could look like, particularly that you could have a smaller chest and ass if you played a more feminine body.

The writing in this game is pretty good, but I wouldn't consider it stand out against other fantasy adventure medias. Outside of a few events, you will probably be one step ahead of the narrative at all times. Which, to be clear, is not a bad thing - but it does give it a very "storybook" vibe to the whole experience. Like being read a fairy tale you kinda already know. The characters are where the writing really shines its brightest. There are a lot of interesting individual character moments, though everyone is right, you can most definitely tell who were their favorites to work on. Dialogue wise, Karlach, Astarion, Gale, and Minsc are stand outs, but I think that is in part to the strength of their comedy writing - storywise, I'd personally pick Lae'zel as the most compelling, though all of the companions truly do have their moments.

Overall its a really good game, if you like RPGs, have a good PC (maybe your one of the lucky few that have a PS5), and have over a hundred hours to burn then I would honestly recommend it. It's not a perfect experience by any means, but no game is lol. Maybe one day I will redownload it to play a Dark Urge playthrough. Not now tho lol.