Baldur's Gate 3

As someone who knows nothing of this setting, I can't recommend this. From the character creation, you have a ton of stuff thrown at you with no explanation, from stats to mechanics to lore. It only gets worse when gameplay starts. You're told to pick a race, class, abilities, but don't get a good picture of how any of these things will work once things start. If you didn't choose one of the premade characters (which incidentally robs you of that character as a companion), then you get zero backstory. You're on a mindflayer ship in Avernus. What's a mindflayer? What's Avernus? Who even are you and how did you get here? How do my spells and cantrips work exactly? All little to no explanation. I met a handful of companions and none really drew me in. For me a party-based RPG is all about, well, the party. The handful I met varied from dull to hateful. They were useful in combat, at least. My first real combat encounter I had to save scum thrice just to get through it. The game tells me to avoid getting in melee range of these enemies, as they can kill me in one blow...and they immediately use dash to get right up in my face. Again, with no proper explanation of the combat mechanics, the game becomes frustrating. I'm sure this is a fine game to those already familiar with the setting and rules but for others I can't recommend it.

Let me start by saying that I'm a hardcore fan of Dungeons and Dragons and the original Baldur's Gate games and since first gameplay videos and the beta program until today I have a little gripe with Larian naming this Baldur's Gate 3. This and 2 game design elements is why I give it 4 stars. I'm nearing the end of Act 2 (probably) at the time of writing. I have had very few and minor bugs since summer, I cannot understand what could be wrong for those who complain that the game is unplayable in December. And other people who complain about other aspects (controls, or bad items etc) could probably just learn to play the game and not presume that all games are made with the same controls, or mechanics etc. Read up on tips if you need help. Everything you need to succeed is there in the game. Act 1 is very strong and gives plenty of exploring and roleplay options. You get to know the world and the quest you are on. Act 2 is more straightforward and to the point and again plenty fun to explore. So far the game is fun, well written and well acted. You need to make use of your own class abilities and abilities that different items grant you to succeed. The world is immersive and has nice lore for any Forgotten Realms fan. But as I mentioned earlier i'm not entirely happy they called it Baldur's Gate 3 - as it has quite little to do with the 2 previous games. Yes they use the same city in the end and even some same characters, but they could have called it anything else. The only real connection to pervious games is one of the backgrounds that you can choose. And the second thing that irked me was the choice how they handled the warnings of leaving an area. When you get notified that finish any open quests - take it seriously. Another small thing is the fact that you are able to explore some places before you get quests for them, and this can make the quest log and story hard to understand. Looking at you Specific temple in Act 2. All-in-all nice experience so far!

I love BG3 although I don't think it should be considered a direct sequel to BG1 and 2 like its name entail. It has become my third favorite game right after Fallout New Vegas and Pillars of Eternity. I hope its popularity will bring some other great CRPG in the future. Like the title of this review I would say it's a near perfect game (for me). It starts very strong with act 1 & 2 but falls a bit flat somewhere in act 3. There's still lots to love in act 3 but it's riddle with bugs, performence issues and an all around less cohesive story progression/pace. The game is still well worth it for any 5e fans and any Larian studios enjoyers. I spent over 300hrs on it on steam and am thinking of buying the deluxe edition to further support the devs that made this amazing game.

Interesting plot, interesting companions, and well-designed pacing of exploring/missions make letting go of this game very hard. Not very often I think about replaying, but halfway through I was already making plans for replays with other races, classes, and friends. Absolutely worth the price and the praise it received everywhere.

Pros: After Dragon Age: Origins, this is the best RPG from a storytelling point of view. The combat is great, the exploration mechanic is amazing, the voice acting is incredible, as is the soundtrack. Forget GOTY, this is Game of the Decade. Cons: loading times are a bit slow, the UI still needs work