Remember that old ToEE game from Troika that had so many bugs you wanted to cry? Yep! That’s BG3. And honestly I could deal with the bugs cuz it’s early access but I hate when devs try to put their own take on the game instead of using the darn rulebooks. They’ve made the goblins in this game super intelligent compared to how they were written and it’s so bothersome. Use a different race if you want the enemies to be intelligent! AVERAGE goblin stats are SEVEN hit points. They made the entire race of goblins level 3 fighters clerics or wizards. They should have conquered all of Faerun by now! Just frustrating - great plot line, great cinematography- but if you are going to call it DnD then play DND and not some perverted version of it!
I'm an old school gamer, with 20+ years of gaming experience. RPGs are my favorite type of game.
I can say with complete certainty, even leaving the hype behind, that this game sets the bar absurdly high.
I was one of the people who didn't like the fact that the game didn't looked AT ALL like a BG, but like a DOS 3, but they shut me up with the release.
The game still doesn't look or plays like a BG game, but it's definitely not the DOS feel. It's something in between and it's enough to not be considered a bad thing. The lore is there, the story is there, the stakes are there.
Leaving the title behind, there's nothing to complain. Take DOS 2 and expand everything tenfold, with the rules of D&D. There are amazing characters, the world is amazing, they understand the lore and the ruleset, and they know what makes a game fun.
If I started saying everything I would never end, so take my word for it when I say, this game will be remembered for decades.
If you like CRPGs, this is for you and skipping it would be a travesty towards your own self.
tl;dr: Not exactly a BG game, but that doesn't really matter because the game is a 10/10.
ABSOLUTE MASTERPIECE.
I am an "old" gamer, so old that I played BG1 the day it was released.
I did the same with BG2, and that is still my favourite game of all time.
Still, I didn't expect much from BG3, I didn't play the early access, I didn't even pay much attention.
Perhaps because I didn't want to risk the memories being somehow tainted by a game of the same name that didn't live up to expectations.
But being around the gaming community, it was impossible to overlook the hype of course.
So I thought, at least give it a try. Very good decision. ;-)
From the fist minute this game did something strange, something that is rare in our time, it exceeded my expectations.
And so I can say, it is a worthy successor of BG2 and one of hell of a game.
It's a real joy to see the Forgotten Realms rendered in 2020s detail like this; the art is fantastic, the story is compelling, the characters are actually mostly likeable, the experience is immersive, the music is... well, there's music... all in all, this game really is a winner in many, many ways.
But the gameplay kinda... sucks?
Don't get me wrong, it's perfectly playable and enjoyable provided that you understand what you are in for, but I like some tactics with my tactical RPGs. There's more to it than turns, ranges, and movement speeds.
You can't hold actions, which means you can't aim a bow at a doorway and wait for someone to come through it to fire. Ambushes and strategic holdouts are out of the question. This is core D&D mechanical content that was left out, and more importantly it's essentially all that's left of D&D's tactical combat legacy in 5th Edition. At least we still have attacks of opportunity, for what they are worth.
You can drop into turn-based timing at any time, which is appreciated for precision control, but you still can't queue up simultaneous actions. No shooting two guards at once: shoot one, and the other immediately notices and initiates combat or confronts you about your crime, inserting their own initiative phases into your sequence or pulling you out of turn-based timing completely.
This doesn't necessarily require that guards be in line of sight of each other -- enemies have sight cones, but they are only applicable to the use of the Stealth skill (in that you do not have to make Stealth checks unless you cross one). Otherwise enemies have 360-degree awareness to a substantial range. Nevermind that these sight cones are often subject to substantial processor lag and sometimes do not update for seconds at a time.
There isn't enough room here to go on about this at length -- buy BG3 because you are interested in the story, not because you are looking for even a passable tactical experience. The latter is not here.
