Baldur's Gate 3

I don't normally write reviews, but this game is a masterpiece! Great all round role playing experience with a quality story, voice acting and cut scenes. Some of the Larian silliness I could do without, but overall they've done a great job.

Well, I could write plenty about this game. I initially was sceptical, a little afraid of what it might be after Siege of Dragonspear. But, I decided to give it a go. And here's what I found: First, plenty of design attention were put into it. Even the EULA on first run (do read it, enjoy). Music is giving me a little Ultima7 vibes. Interface, while weird inistially, is quite convenient. I can clearly see inspirations of other titles, intentional or not (I'm saying Planescape: Torment, Arcanum...), and in most positive aspect of that. Gameplay is good, combat is fun. Setting is modern D&D, and this IS DIFFERENT from what original Baldurs Gate were - keep that in mind so you won't disappoint yourself. Still, take it as it is (meaning - D&D5), and you'll be fine. Characters - some likeable, some not, but everyone of them... Let's go to meat and soul of this game. Acting. So damn good. Everything is voice acted AND individually animated. And it's not Oblivion acting. It's top f-ing notch theatrical AAA-class acting all the time. I don't want to give spoilers, but dayomn, it really tempts me to describe performances. This is Absolut (he he hee, Larian - see what i did here? :P ) feast of entertainment. Hollywood should learn from those guys. Regarding what other reviews touched on - bugs, well I haven't encounter many (one graphical glitch and small issues with Vulkan, but on DX11 is fine and I should update my drivers). There was recent f-up with saves due to retracting one hotfix, as you will see in reviews, but should be temporary (and Larian, srsly, give option to stay with affected version instead of rolling back), so most likiely when you are reading this it will be no issue. And no, I did not had issues with GOG installation. TL;DR Not D&D3 or 3.5 like classics, but D&D5, great acting, plenty to see. 10/10 from me.

I've never experience as much freedom in a game as I did in Baldur's Gate 3. Almost anything you can think of is usually possible. There's almost always more than one way to solve any problem, from talking you way out of it, sneaking around, using the environment or nearby objects to kill enemies, or just brute force slashing your way through them. What's amazing is the game often acknowledges that you took a different approach than the obvious one. The characters are amazing. Depending on your own personality you might find some of them annoying, even grating, but the best part is depending on your interactions with them, how you participate in their own little side quests (or just sometimes bringing them along on main quests), their personalities change. Or, you can just kill them all and go your own way - the game doesn't care! No one is "essential" to the plot (though killing certain characters can lock you out of or into certain endings). The combat system rewards careful thought especially at higher difficulty levels. You'll often find it beneficial to try to think a few moves ahead, anticipate what enemies might do, and how you'd counter them. It's not a bug-free game, but the few I've encountered were usually easily resolved by a quick-load or something simple like that. Most are funny rather than game-breaking. I once accidentally dropped Shadowheart into the Underdark to her death because I went to camp while standing on a cliff and when I left camp she was in mid-air. Another time Lae'zel pretended I hadn't brought her to an important meeting even though the cut-scene had shown her standing right behind me. Larian has been hard at work patching the most troublesome bugs since launch and they show no sign of slowing down. If you're a fan of turn-based RPGs, games like the Divinity Original Sin series, or Dragon Age, it's worth checking this out.

I grew up playing the original Baldur's Gate and Fallout series. I've played a lot of RPGs, and I'm getting on a bit now. In my opinion, there isn't another game that comes close to this level of nuanced character relationships, especially coupled with the astounding variance of voice acting tone/delivery. It blows my mind with each and every playthrough. This is but one of the many highlights that I'd like to bring up, but it is so exceptionally well done I believe it transcends all expectations of the genre. It's an EA game, and I knew that coming into it, so the occasional animation and sound jank gets a forgiving pass, but with the last few patches released, it feels like the engine's rough edges are finally starting to look smooth. Larian aren't treating this game with neglect, by no means. If you've read the other reviews commenting on how this is Divinity: D&D edition, then I strongly urge you to take those comments with a grain of salt. Baldur's Gate 3 takes place 100 years after the events in Baldur’s Gate 2 and shortly after the events of descent into Avernus. With the EA you are only teased about the Gate, but, and without spoiling anything, all the stories in BG3 are tangibly connected to this central point. We are also only able to experience a small portion of the first act, with another two to follow after that. It does feature many new creations by Larian, and they are all brilliant. Those of you expecting some kind of "On the last episode of Baldur's Gate" direct continuation of the second game may feel slightly misled, so please head into this with an open mind. I've played through twice solo, and once with the family. My wife also has two solo playthroughs, and each time we are discovering something new, hilarious and always thought provoking. Do not hesitate to take the plunge into this jaw droppingly beautiful game. I highly encourage you to take your time whilst exploring, and make sure you engage with all the fantastic characters.

I spent 30 minutes just thinking about what to write to give an impression how great this game is, can't find the right words. Seeing other game devs speaking out that we should not expect games to be this monumental(I don't agree with them :D), that it's the anomaly, etc... kinda give it away. Thank you Larian. I will throw my money on you with passion next time you decide to make a game(Hope it's DOS3 :P). Excellent game, worth every single $. 40 hours in and I can already see the massive replayability and the sheer amount of choices that can lead you down the different path.