Baldur's Gate 3

I had a blast playing BG3 with family and friends. Every time I play the game, I find stuff, quests, missions, that were not there before, or I expect a quest to go in a certain way, only to find out, that it is completely different. It is fun, exciting and really enjoyable. To really have fun with it though, you best play it with a friend or two or maybe even get a full group of four.

Ok, this game was a triple threat for me. I am a huge fan of Dungeons and Dragons, playing since the boxed sets. I'm also a huge fan of Forgotten Realms. Lastly I love turned-based party games. I can not speak to what others have written about this not feeling like a Forgotten Realms game, as I see elements of the realms in every aspect of the game. I've not played any of the Divinity games, so I can not also speak to common elements between the two. What I can say is I've enjoyed every minute of the nearly 200 hours I've put into this game. I'm on my third playthrough, and I discovered new content in each one. The game really reacts to how you play the game, with consequences for actions. It is entirely possible to render quests incompletable because you've killed an essential npc, or acted in a manner as to preclude further progress. These don't feel like bugs, like in Skyrim, but rather a natural consequence of the player's actions. Depending on race, background, class, you will be presented with unique opportunities to quests. I found the writing to be excellent, and the companion stories compelling. You sometimes meet the same npc in the different acts, and their stories have progressed. The whole game feels well thought out. There are some UI nits to pick. Why can't I put arrows in a quiver, and potions into a bag, and still maintain access to them. Once something has been added to wares it would be nice if it dropped to the bottom of the inventory, or removed from inventory to its' own tab. Selecting targets can be a little finicky, especially if npcs are moving around, and happen to walk in front of the camera as you're clicking. Many awkward conversations start and end with an errant click. These flaws are minor, and in no way detract from the enjoyment of the game.

While the game itself is ok, launching the game is a lottery, no matter how you close the game the game will freeze when traing to play again

What's good now: - graphics - sound - dialogues (many-many options with your race, class, etc.) - animations (only in dialogs) - battle system (it's amazing! Evolution from DOS2 + DnD system.) What's bad now: - action animations in cutscenes: ship crash, dragons (worst animation, hello from 00s) - too few classes now - too many bugs now Developers, please, I'm begging you, add the option to hide my helmet in the next patch. I think, it is not very complicated. A helmet in cutscenes is really annoying.

-It's not a sequel to BG1/BG2. And it shouldn't be. Those who finished those games should know that the protagonist either ascended to godhood or retired after having done more than any adventurer could hope to achieve(reaching the point of rejecting godhood). The game seems more closely tied to the Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus 5e published campaign, and that's what it should be, relevant to current dnd material(as the originals were again part of the then current dnd world). -It's not Real Time With Pause. Although, I'd love to see such an option in the game, just like Obsidian did adding turn-based combat to their RTWP game, so that it satisfies fans of the gameplay of the originals(I'm count myself among them), remember that it's a dnd game and dnd is turn-based. It's more true to the rules than the originals were, but the originals adapted the rules in a way that made the combat feel more normal. I'm partial to the latter, but I like the turn-based choice as well. -It's like DOS2. And that's a good thing: D:OS2 is amongst the best turn-based RPGs ever made - the systems it has for interaction with the environment have been phenomenal and pushed the genre many steps forward. Taking all that experience while using a well-known and loved setting(Faerun/Sword Coast) in a well-known and loved ruleset(D&D 5e) is as good as it gets. I remember playing DOS and thinking how amazing it'd have been if it had a more dnd-flavoured ruleset. Now that it does, it feels amazing. Still, having an option for RTWP would be great, but yeah, I don't know if that's possible(I wish their engine allows it) So far, I've had some issues with my PC - the game seems to run sluggishly on my machine(it's a 5 year old laptop, though), and while it's extremely sluggish on very high graphics, taking it all the way down doesn't improve the quality as much as expected. Running out of space so I can't go into much more detail: The game so far seems great and I'm having a (sluggish) blast!