. . . at least not before I have even made it to what I consider the midway point. Pathfinder Kingmaker now has the dubios honor of being "that game", the only game I dropped barely into the second act. It's like that girlfriend that won't tell you what she wants, expects you to read her mind and then ignores you when (surprise) you can't read her mind. If you are thinking about getting this game because it "is like the Baldur's Gate of old", then think again. Game mechanics, wayfinding, story, all are almost totally broken. Here is your typical day spent playing: Travel, travel, die in random encounter, reload save, camp, bet random encounter, enter area too high level for you, die, reload save, travel, travel, travel, camp, travel, travel, camp, and so on... If you want a great locked 3D Iso with clear mechanics, a good story, good chracters, etc., you''re better off replaying Baldur's Gate . . .
First things first. Baldur's Gate 3 is not GOING to be a great game . . . Because it is ALREADY a great game. Having played through 50+ hours of the entire EA material, I'm thoroughly invested in the characters, the plot and the world, and I will be suffering until full release. TBH the game as it stands now is a 4.2, but it has the potential to be 4.5 to 4.7 and rank among the true masterpieces out there (BG 1&2, Witcher 3, DAO). Technical Review (the bad): 1. Most cut-scenes are messed up. Bad camera angles, characters meld with each other, etc. Assume this will all be ironed out at full release. 2. Crashes hard about once per every 20 hours of gameplay, often in the same locations (serious fights). Again it's EA . . . 3. Enemy AI is well done, but very very slow... Technical Review (the good): 1. Combat system is well interpreted and works pretty well. (It seems to me that the DnD ruleset has imposed a certain "descipline" upon Larian that I did not see in DOS2, and I LIKE that discipline. Yes there are still exploding barrels and all that, but many of the fights in DOS2 were so unbalanced that it seems like you were expected to be OP to win, and that detracted from the game for me). 2. Mouse/keyboard controls work well and quickly become second nature. 3. Sound/Audio/music is well done, and fits the game. Non-Technical: 1. Writing, story, character interaction is headed in the right direction (4.0). This is what lost me in DOS2, and one reason I quitDOS2 mid-story. I had no attachment to the story, the lore or the characters in DOS2 and so it became a meaningless grind for me. Not so with BG3. Yes there is still some flushing out that needs to be done, but clearly Larian has learned lessons from Bioware and CD Project Red. 2. The world is beautiful and feels real (4.5). 3. If EA Patch 6 is 30-40% of the entire game, then the game is going to be the right length. Summary: Great so far, keep going!
I can't believe I missed this one and only started to play it now. This game is very much like Witcher 3 six years BEFORE Witcher 3. Good story, great characters, RTP combat with great depth. It is not as beautiful as Witcher 3, but given it's age you should not expect that. A must play for any fan of the genre . . .
Pros: Good story concept. Cons: Clunky combat and movement mechanics (got stuck twice in first 4 hours), poor quest design, so-so writing and bad pacing.
Best PC game since original Baldur's Gate . . .
