Baldur's Gate 3

Larian tried to take on the legend and didn't delivered. From the moment we start the game we are not met with the invigorating music that welcomes us to embark on a journey, but rather blant and uninspiring sounds that more resambles moaning due to constipation. Combat is the next dissapointment. Instead of well-known real time system, we are thrown a completly boring and unnecessarily long turn based combat that deprives us of any tactical advantage. World presentation in another let down. Despite being quite large it feels rather cramped. Original approach with many smaller areas gives a feeling of a much bigger world and that high fantasy grandeur. World interactivity is also lacking. The "jump" is something we would rather have seen in an anime game. Solasta, a game with a fraction of a budget, gives an immensly more interactive world where we can climb walls, walk on ceiling, attack while climbing and perform a perfectly natural jumps. But the biggest dissapointment is the narrator telling us how you should feel about certain things... Is it a bad game? Not at all, but it's a bad Baldur's Gate game. Instead I would recommend newer games that do far better at capturing the essence of Baldur's Gate: Pillars of Eternity, Tyranny, Pathfinder, Solasta.

I really wanted to love this game. Playing Original Sin 1&2 in Coop were some of the most fun gaming hours I ever had. But this game is WORK. I am sorry but it just isn't fun. I had a friend who was constantly one Act ahead of me in his single player game so when we played together he knew the right order to play areas etc. so that you would not get screwed by level jumps etc. However, the moment he did not have time to play in Coop anymore I lost all enjoyment. Why do I still give 3 stars? Because I do achnowledge the sheer depth and scope of the game, it is impressive. Maybe it just caught me at the wrong time in my life. PS: The fact that all companions are super horny and hot for you was really distracting and might be the reason I did not continue playing. Gradually building releationships in games like Mass Effect or Dragon Age was a core part of the experience which is severly cheapened by this approach. Everybody can love everyone means that no one loves anyone. Limitations add meaning.

BG3 never quite feels like Baldur's Gate. It's tone is a little off, perhaps a bit more whimsical. Something about BG1/2 felt more grounded but maybe that's how Forgotten Realms changed in 5E compared to what it was in AD&D2.5. There are even times I almost feel like I'm playing Planescape: Torment with the sheer number of quirky and crazy things going on, along with all the extra-planar activity in this. I would have loved it if Larian had made this a Planescape game instead (though not a Torment sequel). It also feels quite a lot like Divinity: Original Sin 2. The various characters you interact with feel more like characters you would meet in that game than ones you would meet in BG1/2, but maybe that has to do with everything being voice acted and mocapped. The dialogue and the options the game provides are where it really shines though. You are constantly given options of using class specific dialogue on top of tonal dialogue (think good vs evil). Options to deceive, investigate, recall knowledge of history and religion, and so many more truly make conversations the best part of BG3. The turn-based combat is what really lends it that feel of D:OS2, however. Unfortunately, BG3's combat is just not as good as D:OS2's. Dungeons & Dragons' systems simply do not translate well into a video game. Video games have come a long way since BG1/2 and although BG3 is using 5E's more updated and streamlined systems rather than AD&D's THAC0, those systems still can't compete with ones that were specifically designed with video games in mind. Concentration, spell/skill usage limits, resting, progression curve, class balance, and so many other mechanics really drag the combat down (along with other aspects of the game). Turn based combat has really come into its own in recent years but the desire to adhere so strictly to the rules of D&D just ignores much of that. I'm still enjoying the game as I near its end, but it really has me wanting for the thing that could have been.

After about 60 hours (just entered into "act 3"), I must say that a lot of the hype about this game seems to be well orchestrated marketing. I really enjoy it where it reminds me of the old BG's and addons (e.g. the encounter with Elminster). It is challenging. I like round-based battle, that there are many dialogues, stealth options. There's a lot to be excited about, sure, just see the reviews online. Yet there is also a massive amount of severe logical flaws, bugs, annoyances. Some examples. - I'd rather have stranded from a pirate ship than a Nautiloid. Act I was nice, except for that: Goblins, Druids, a hag, the underdark, Gnolls, spiders, Grym. - Act II was linear. - There suddenly is a giant, evil, humanoid squid brain with tentacles and a Netherene crown. Wtf. Why not also a corrupted unicorn? - At just level eight, I just fought one of The Three. wtf. - Every cult has their parallel dimension: the astral plane, the weave, shadowfell, death (necromancy) ... running out of ideas? - I stealthed Kethric's room in Act II, before seeing him, found all kind of evidence for invasion and conspiracy; no consequence. - Voss just teleported to my camp. They could have come there all the time. - gore is unnecessary, e.g. Thorm doctor - romance is unnecessary, too easy, predictable - All (!) characters basically have the same "rebel against their oppressor" story. - For many many dialogues, I get multiple options, but it seems that the answer would fit either of these (no real choice). - Lae'zel keeps saying "Vlak'kith's will done" after defying the queen. Who cares? Me, it's an RPG! - Hirelings aside, my group too crucially depends on Astarion for (too many) sneaky tasks; he's the only "dexterity" character (would love a non-vampire monk or something). - Jaheira is Lvl 7 when I meet her. Minsc - will see. It is "eat or die" with the famous old companions. - I found few good "feit"s for casters, none for healer/supporters. There's more, just char limit here. Pity!

Played both BG1 and BG2, loved them both, and this is simply not a Baldurs Gate game. It's frankly insulting that they'd use the same name. They could have called it anything else in the world, kept it Dungeons and Dragons, and this would have been a different story. But then they wouldn't have been able to cheaply cash in on name recognition and hype by feeding off the interest of older, veteran players from back in the day. BG3's story is a mess of direction and quality with no sense of pacing whatsoever. It also does not take advantage of the Forgotten Realms setting whatsoever, with characters only ever talking about one single city amongst the vast world of landmarks. Not that it would matter, as the developers can't even get in-game road signs to point in canonically accurate directions anyways. That's to say nothing of the character writing quality either, which is equally a mess of shallow stereotypes who bore at best, and annoy like nails on a chalkboard at worst. Nobody on the BG3 writing team had any business being a part of this game, and it feels like playing a cheap BG fanfic. BG3 is also an absolute mess of performance. I picked up this game to play coop with my wife, as we played both DOS1 and DOS2 the same way. At best, BG3 manages to hobble its way through a coop experience. At worst, BG3 buckles under its own weight by developers who have no idea how to properly code an online experience. Dialogue options missing, characters not rendering, spell interactions not functioning as listed after they're cast, the list goes on. Performance is a disaster as well, with frame rates slogging into the single digits during certain areas of the game with an RTX 3080. I don't care if they claim "they'll fix it in a patch." This game was in early access for over two years and it's very obvious they did not prioritize performance. I'm also just sick of spending money up front and relying on the developers to fix basic expectations for a functioning game later.