Hey you! Yes, you. Are you usually cautious about games that seem to be overly popular? Do you often get disappointed if you permit yourself to get hyped about anything? Did you already come to terms with the fact that you're never gonna play an RPG again that's not a hack n slash, actual shooter or a clunky nostalgia tribute? Forget all that. Get Baldur's Gate 3. It is one of the most come-to-live and immersive RPG experiences that you will ever play, and it's both beautiful and mechanically sound. There is this taste of freedom to experiment and explore that we so often miss. As with any game you'll be able to find downsides to it, but in my book BG3 is one of the few games that do deserve to be called a 5 star game. Though, one thing's for sure: If I'll ever have to see a mind flayer or githyanki again after BG3, I shall yawn myself to death. I don't need any more of those ever again.
I'm so sorry to say this, but I can't call this good at all. I immediately bought it when I saw it on GOG even though I didn't have high expectations, simply to support this effort and signal that yes, we do want projects like this! But... I can't say the purchase is worth the money. I don't want to take a shot at the developers for whom this surely is a labor of love, but I have to be honest. Unfortunately, it's not a great remake. It hobby project by a couple guys and so dated even at release, you're hoping the remake will get a remake. If you're an oldschool RPG lover, you are used to games being clunky and a bit hard to immerse into, but this is a solid level below our standard. Let me walk you through a couple of positives before we get to the negatives: + Music is still amazing. The remakes are solid and there's the option to switch between remake and original soundtrack at any time. Nice. + The character customization is an important and great addition to the game. I used to pick my portraits in the old games to fit the combat sprites because otherwise the disconnect between the two was just too weird. This is fixed here! It's not great and you can tell minutes into the game that the NPCs are all remixed from it but still glad it's there. + You can tell that the devs love the old games and wanted to stay true to the originals - You'd expect that a remake is a better, modernized version of a game. This is not. I can't say that anything about it is better than original Sternenschweif. I implore you to get the original games from here if you haven't played them. This won't do justice. - The absolutely lifeless 3d characters and abysmal animation during intro kill enthusiasm immediately. - Bit mad at testers and friends for not advicing small and obvious improvements that could fix a lot about the game. Skin your textboxes. Get an artist to paint much more. HIDE those models. - A miracle that it's possible but combat is even WORSE than in the original.
