*This review contains light spoilers for “Baldur’s Gate 3”*
The video game industry is in a weird spot right now. Even though there have been a lot of excellent games released, there has been a rise of bad alongside . Parts of the video game industry have been letting corporate greed get in the way of making games fun. Whether it be microtransactions or games released in broken, unplayable states it seems there is always a catch alongside an anticipated video game.
“Baldur’s Gate 3” takes strides in spitting in the face of corporate greed.
“Baldur’s Gate 3,” released Aug. 3, is a turn-based, role-playing video game developed and published by Larian Studios. The “Baldur’s Gate” series takes place in a fantasy kingdom, with “Baldur’s Gate 3” having its own separate story compared to the previous games. It is based on the “Dungeons & Dragons” tabletop role-playing system, using dice to determine the effectiveness of the player’s choices.
At the beginning of the game, players either create a custom character with a blank-slate backstory, choose one of six pre-made “origin characters” with their own storylines or a customizable seventh origin character. Each possible character has unique questlines and paths, but they can largely play the same depending on play style.
No matter which character the player chooses, the player is tasked with removing an illithid tadpole, a parasite that transforms people into alien creatures called mind flayers. As the game progresses, the player is presented with a plethora of choices that will impact the story and relationships with other characters.
I was hesitant to buy this game at first because it is a top-down game where you click to move your character instead of the traditional way with the WASD keys. The game also has turn-based combat, which I’m not a fan of. However, seeing the overwhelming praise of this game and hearing how much my friends were talking about it, I decided to check it out.
It’s party time:
It’s important to note that I haven’t finished this game yet. Unlike “Starfield,” where I put the game down due to horrible performance. I am still playing “Baldur’s Gate 3,” which is a massive game filled with well-polished and thought-out content.
The amount of quests, items, characters, locations and other gameplay aspects is staggering. There are multiple acts to this game. I am 20 hours in, and I haven’t finished Act One. I haven’t seen a game this big and stacked with content since “Elden Ring.”
Where “Baldur’s Gate 3” separates itself from other role-playing games is with its dedication to interactions with other characters.
A major aspect of this game is the interactions with other characters. Whether it be convincing an enemy to befriend you, a friend to fight for you or some other wacky situation, the commitment to a natural and versatile social system in this game is a step above any other RPG I have played.
I love games like “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” and “Elden Ring,” but character relationships always felt a bit shallow. In “Baldur’s Gate 3,” the game practically forces you to get to know these characters and has you spend a long time with them. It’s not quite on the same level as “The Last of Us” or “Red Dead Redemption 2,” but there is enough charming development with each character to form a genuine bond with them.
Roll for initiative:
“Baldur’s Gate 3” wears its “Dungeons & Dragons” source material with pride, and the greatest example of this is how it handles combat and player freedom.
The amount of flexibility available to the player is unbelievable and provides enough incentive to go back and play this game multiple times. Whether you choose to be a bard or a barbarian, you will eventually come across a challenging fight and need to think outside the box.
For example, I had to save someone from a pack of goblins and, in the process, came across their leader. I was stuck on this fight for two hours and nearly gave up. Instead, I changed my approach. I decided to befriend the goblin leader, resulting in me being near him without arousing any suspicion. I then went to their armory, grabbed as many explosives as I could and placed them around the leader, allowing me to get a safe distance away before blowing him and all his minions to smithereens.
This isn’t the only example. There are dozens of different ways to approach every combat encounter, and it is refreshing to see this level of freedom. Plenty of games advertise themselves as being an RPG or having the freedom of choice, but none of them actually commit to these taglines. “Baldur’s Gate 3” really is the prime example of an RPG that gives the player the choice to approach any aspect of the game however they want.
Conclusion:
I view “Baldur’s Gate 3” the same way I view “Elden Ring,” a culmination of the years and hard work into building the best possible versions of these games..These studios are efficient and smart with their work, using everything they have learned from their past games and improving upon it to create something awesome.
I say this because the state of the video game industry is very demoralizing at the moment. Even though amazing games are released all the time, the business practices behind the companies that make these games are getting progressively more annoying and egregious to deal with. An example would be Unity Technologies’ new fee for developers who use their game engine. Seeing companies push this level of greed on consumers is the worst aspect of gaming right now.
“Baldur’s Gate 3” spits in the face of this philosophy by providing a fantastic game stacked with fun, enthralling content without any microtransactions or scummy business practices while still being able to pull in a massive profit. I wouldn’t say “Baldur’s Gate 3” is the standard for this type of game, but it should raise the standard of every other developer working today. This game makes me wish every developer had this level of passion and integrity for making their product as much as they did making a profit.
I haven’t had this much fun in a game since “Resident Evil 4 (2023)” released earlier this year, and still, “Baldur’s Gate 3” is in a league of its own, being the greatest role-playing game I have ever played and currently my game of the year.
