Baldur's Gate 3

Lots of reviews criticising the game for being early access. However it was clearly stated in 2020 that buying it at that point, you are getting EA. And the creators actually discouraged buying their game early. During EA lots of user feedback was taken into consideration. Lots of changes were implemented. Fights are varied, some more, some less challenging. The routes you can take however are mind blowing. I have about 200 hours in the game, and even today I can find hidden solutions. The cinematics improved quite a lot. Some of the character actors are actual actors, some are YouTubers (like cohhcarnage).

I waited a long time to play this. I have been a fan of baldur's gate for a long time and i was a fan of the divinity games as well. I understand that some people who are stuck in their ways wont like this game because its not an exact replica of BG2 with better graphics but for me, taking two amazing franchises and putting them together to create BG3 was an amazing idea and i think the Larian team was the perfect group to do it. Now that its close to release and we have had alot of news from them, trailers and interviews, i think some people should come back and edit these reviews because they poured everything into this game and you can see it from the way they speak about it. Can't wait to get to Baldurs gate! Enjoy everyone!!

Now I am so excited to get out of the Act 1 comfort zone and live the whole adventure a hundred times over, with so very different characters and so many different choices. I used to be a power gamer optimising all stats and all, but BG3 has had me rediscover a more enjoyable way to experience D&D. Sure, the game UI is modern, this is very detailed 3D and no longer far above isometric paintings, D&D is now 5th edition... that's a lot to take in. But please, "It is not a valid BG experience because it is not a valid experience" is just not a valid argument either. So let's be reasonable. This is the same studio working on it who did the D:OS and D:OS2 games, with their own tools as usual, only with better skilled people and upgraded techniques and knowledge and toolings. The important thing is that they are good at making those games, so let's enjoy what they managed to do to support our D&D fancies. They did really good, no less than we've come to expect from their talented teams. The settings are familiar (a bit after BG time, same region as BG, same races, religions, ...), but the story is all new to me. The only thing I find is "too much" is the fact that all main characters (potential companions) have such incredible stories that it feels hardly acceptable that your party is made only of such extra-ordinary people. Also, I regret that the music theme be so different from that of the BG games in style. That, for sure, is too close to D:OS and too far away from BG. However I like it. It just doesn't feel BG-ish. Well, to sum up I'd say the game is reeeeally great, you should really role-play it to enjoy the stories instead of going all power-user in it. Note: many bugs encountered, even though non-blocking. This will improve with patches for sure, but I must say the amount of those I encountered was unpleasant since Mr Larian's Head shortened the wait before release saying it was ready for pc... I naively thought most bugs had been squashed. Have FUN !

I could write two thousand characters about Larian's unbelievable success in translating a pen and paper RPG, in which players actions are limited only by their imagination, to a computer game. I could write two thousand characters on the world, the characters, the interactivity, the feeling of playing in a party. I could even write two thousand characters on the character creation, the races, the skills, the spells, the combat, the effects, the music. Instead, I'll just draw your attention to one simple fact: This is the game that other developers didn't want Larian to make. Developers who have to answer to publishers, so crunch and run their talented employees into the ground. Publishers who have to appease shareholders, so insist their games are filled with cosmetics and skins obtainable through microtransactions. Larian don't need to sell you a battle pass. They don't need to add Rambo as a playable character, drawing you out of the experience. They certainly don't need to sell you fifteen different types of hat, or fuggin' BLUE. After two decades of scraping by, they managed to build D:OS. They improved upon their formula with the sequel. And now, finally, they master their art and reap the financial rewards they deserve. A studio at the top of their game, creating something they love, working to their own deadline. On this day, a new definitive fantasy CRPG is born. Baldur's Gate III isn't just a worthy sequel in a fantastic and beloved series, it's the greatest party based role playing game that's ever been made.

Over the years I have learned not to follow titles but the team of developers instead. Baldur's Gate was made by a team of gamers for gamers competent people that care about what they do for a living. Check out Divinity Original Sin I and II if you want more quality gaming from the same team that made Bladur's Gate III.