With Baldur’s Gate 3(BG3) being all the rage right now, I thought I would do a little piece on it for the few who have not investigated it or wanted to know more before investing in it. To this end I sourced several people from my social media circle to get their take on the game, their expectations, and how well it held up to those expectations.
The basis of some of the stronger expectations were based on the studio that created the game, Larian Studios. Some expected a clone of the studio’s previous game, Divinity 2: Original Sin. Others were not sure what to expect. Even the few having played the Earl Access (EA) of BG3 for 70-100 hours of playtime, said they were blown away by the final product. The depth and complexity – in a good way – impressed them.
The reviews seem to be raving, but it’s worth it to delve deeper. Look for the negatives to balance the cons – if we can find them.
The only significant cons seem to be the limited number of optional NPC companions and in that, there are no options amongst the companions that are exclusively lawful good. They all have a little evil or selfish motivation to them. However, this makes sense from a game developer’s perspective. People are going to want either evil companions or good ones, depending on the story arc they are trying to follow. So, Larian choosing to make them all a little grey allows the players to use any or all the companions without some options being totally blocked out based of what kind of character the player wants to play. Now, from what I understand if you go hard-core evil in your decisions in game, then you will lose access to the companions as they will not want to work with you anymore, so it is not a totally open menu.
The other con I read about was the multiplayer mode. Now, with multiplayer mode you can have up to 3 other players in your party, so a classic 4-person party for the experienced D&D player. But it takes away all the companion options, so you lose all the dialogue interactions that come out of having those NPCsin your party. This may be balanced out by the fact that Larian didn’t pull back on the quality of the content when it came to the co-op mode. All the same quests and such are there. Even with an all-player party. So, you still have that full immersion experience, regardless of how you choose to play the game.
And finally, the last consistent con I found was the time. It takes a lot of time to get through this game. Now, this may not be anything unusual for experienced and avid gamers. Such as one person I talked to, they finished their first playthrough in 130 hours in the first 2 weeks of the BG3’s release. I do not have that kind of free time to put into a game, unfortunately. So, if you are a casual gamer and just want a quick and fun game to play, BG3 may not be for you. However, if you are willing to stick it out, the pros of this game are immense. Let us get into it.
The choices! From character creation to which chest to lockpick, the options are nearly limitless. You are still somewhat restricted because of the nature of it being a video game, but inside of that, you can do almost anything. From a “paladin who smites evil, expect to be a powerhouse in the mid/late game with Smites and crazy tankiness,” one player told me. “Want to the be the scout/infiltrator that every D&D table has but typically doesn’t do a great job at it? Rogue has you covered as you unlock 100s of doors and chest to get items/money.”(Discord handle:Freightrain) With the volume of choices extending to all the different side-quests and plot lines you can follow besides the main story, you may sink hundreds of hours into a single playthrough or just accept that you will not see everything on any one playthrough.
Another great thing is replay-ability. I do not know about you all, but I have a bad habit of getting bored with a game once I play it and beat it once. BG3 seems to have fixed that problem. You can replay multiple times and still, with different choices, end up with different endings. No overarching fate cornering you into a certain ending no matter what you do. What you choose matters. You wake up one day and decide to make some fast cash without looking at the assassin’s job too closely? Well, guess what? You just killed a quest giver for later in the game. One person said that they saw results from their Act 1 choices surfacing in Act 3, over 100 hours of play later! Every choice matters! Which is good, but also stress-inducing!
The EA players generally rave about in the final version, finding themselves impressed, surprised, and excited about playing it over and over. It is clear to me that, if you want a fantasy world RPG video game to scratch that D&D or TTRPG game itch, BG3 is probably your best bang for your buck! So, get out there and game on!
RPG Counterpoint 
Leave a comment