Baldur's Gate 3

Haven't played too much yet, but the quality of everything from the UI, to the cutscenes, to the control of the characters, to everything else is just next level. I can see how other AAA developers felt self conscious when seeing this. Not just any studio can make something with this level of care. This will most likely go down as an historic masterpiece of the RPG genre

20h in and the only complaint I have is minor UI issues with inventory management. Baldur's Gate 3 captures the spirit of a D&D5E campaign surprisingly well. Character Creator (****) You can easily create great characters of many iconic D&D races, there is even a toggle for lore accurate skin tones. I would have like a tool for sculpting faces and sliders for body shapes. Mechanics (*****) BG3 captures D&D 5E mechanics to an amazing degree. There are a few changes: Shove is a BONUS ACTION, meaning it's easier for ranged characters to make space. Short rest is istantaneous, and basically a free heal. Projectiles don't need to be micromanaged as far as I can tell. Skill Rolls (*****) BG3 handles exceptionally skill rolls, even keeping track of optional bonuses and inspiration. Combat (*****) BG3 is a lot harder if you play it like other turn based RPG. It's not meant for you to charge into an enemy camp head on and win. You'll die. Instead you need to plan well your approach, have a strategy and exploit the terrain (fall damage, cover, high ground, obstacles, puddle of oil/mud) to have a fair fight. Real Time/Turn Based (***) The game is real time, but becomes turn based for characters in combat. It's a mechanic that can be exploited by having characters in hiding kiting the cone of view of the enemy, and position themselves for free and get huge damage against surprised enemies. It's a bit baffling how it works, you need to learn it. Inventory (**) It's clunky. No sort when you look at TAB party. Hard to sell split and transfer items. Characters and storylines (*****) Intruiging, interesting, nuanced. Play the game and discover them. Graphics (*****) Simply amazing. Sometimes the camera get stuck on high walls. Branching Choices (***** *) BG3 goes above and beyond, it's incredible. at 18h I found a necklace with "speak to the dead" and found that dead have story relevants interactions.

What a great game. Worldbuilding, story, character development, combat tactics, companions, freedom of choice, graphics and sound nice as well. Some things are annoying, like the stealth system, but overall one of the best games I have ever played.

Absolutley enjoyed my time with the game and the story, sadly the all of that seem to fall of and be rushed the further in the game you go. i was so exited for act 3 and got very dissapointed same goes for companions writing and conclusions

I've been playing games for 30 years now, so I count myself as a grumpy-old-gamer. I can preach all day about how modern games have lost their souls for bs graphics and dlc. BG3 has just proven that all wrong. Here is a game that comes with all the heart, all the soul, and all the love that made 90's games so fantasic. Even the bugs play towards that nostalgic charm. I loved every minute of this game, and if you ever played BG1 & 2 and enjoyed those, this is the same and more - forget reviews saying otherwise - the cost is worth it for the respect/hommage value alone. Thank you, LS devs, for the love you put into this (and the hope you gave back to an ol' gamer).