Baldur’s Gate 3 was last year’s Game of the Year and took the industry by storm, peaking at 875,000 players at launch, here is my thoughts on this record breaking title.

I have just finished my playthrough of Larian Studios new hit game and I’m about to embark on my second run, doing all the dastardly deeds my drow would never even have thought to do the first time round.

Short story is, I had a blast with this game. All the way from the start to the very end, it caused me many late nights and dominated my playtime over the past few months. Yes, the game is that long. However, the roughly 64 hour long story managed to keep me hooked.

Now when I talk about my experience with the game, It’s good to know that I played it on the Xbox Series X and patch six launched halfway through my playtime. So, if you are playing on other platforms or at a later date, your experience may differ. 

Baldur’s Gate 3 is a colossus of a game. There are choices to be made from the very beginning.

There are even multiple characters to play as: you can create your own custom adventurer and forge your own legacy, or play one of six origin characters (If you choose to create your own character, they will become your companions). 

You can also play as the Dark Urge origin who has no recollection of their memories and an appetite for murder. Already you can see the choices you have are numerous.

You start out being infected with a parasite from a creature known as a mindflayer, that is supposed to turn you into one of them, which is what happened to everyone infected before you. It doesn’t do that so It’s your job to find a cure and work out what makes you special.

This is the crux of how your time in Faerûn begins, as you navigate your character through three acts of difficult and impactful choices, addictive combat and as many magic items as you can find. 

Each act focuses on a different aspect of story building. Act One is all about world and character building: you learn how the world works, how it treats your race and what kind of person you want to be.

Act Two is where you learn more about the threats you are facing, the damage they can do and what secrets your companions keep.

Act Three is where you are judged for all your past decisions and you bring everything together to be the hero the city needs. It serves as a well written conclusion, where every key character gets their moment in the limelight.

Side quests are littered everywhere for you to find: from discovering a random talking amulet to stumbling across murders.. It all comes together in the conclusion and I don’t feel like I wasted a second doing any side quests, which is a rarity for me.

This structure worked for me. The story is well paced, and although there are a few dungeons that drag on and some difficulty spikes, the experience to me felt balanced. 

Whilst the story and worldbuilding is done well, the characters are where the game excels. Your ragtag bunch of companions and vicious enemies provide you with a memorable and heartfelt experience.

Having said that, it does take a while for companions Karlach, Wyll and Astarion to come into their own and seize their moments. (Karlach and Astarion especially are exceptional in Act Three).

Their questlines are lengthy and impactful, spanning the entire story with numerous different ways they can end. You can feel your influence over them and by the end you feel as if you are their actual friends now that your journey is over. 

However, I did feel that many of the companion quest lines were too similar. Most of them were that they had been scorned by a higher power (God, Demon and Master), and they now want revenge. This felt a little tropey at times especially when everything else is so innovative.

You can also become enemies with them if you go against their values too much through the approval system, which highlights thinking about your party’s morals and every character has their breaking point.

Romance with these companions is solid, with several unique scenes for whoever you choose to date that add to the dynamics between you and them.

I did feel that most of the romances peaked at the end of Act Two and there aren’t many extra scenes towards the end, which felt like a bit of a letdown. Maybe I’m just a romantic, but I could have done with more.

The villains: Ketheric (JK Simmons), Gortash (Jason Isaacs) and Orin (Maggie Robertson) each provide a different threat and you can see the talent of the actors shine through, each delivering menacing and engaging performances. 

The combat in Baldur’s Gate was a highlight for me. It isn’t necessarily fast paced and was avoidable on numerous occasions, which suits my preferred approach of talking my way out of things. However, when it was time for combat, I found myself engaged and on the edge of my seat.

Combat is turn based and on a character’s turn you get an action, bonus action and movement. Where the game gets fun is what you choose to do in that allotted time. 

Your options are mostly defined by your choice out of the twelve classes: you could be a fighter who hits four times a round, a wizard who unleashes fireballs on your opponents or a cleric who is always there to heal your fighter after they discover the enemy hits hard.

These choices are numerous and allow you to customise your team to suit your playstyle. Spending time learning the game’s mechanics and how things work will massively boost your enjoyment. 

There are now custom difficulty settings where you can choose how clever the AI is, how hard you hit and how much health you have. This and the addition of Honour Mode (only one save file) mean you have complete control over how you play.

The only thing you can’t control is the dice. For most things in this game you will need to roll a check, whether that’s attacking, pickpocketing, talking or defending. Any time you make a check, it will have a numerical DC (difficulty class) you need to beat. 

You can make this easier by improving your stats and proficiencies. It is a huge part of the game and dictates what successes and failures your character will deal with.

I enjoyed this system. It made combat more dynamic and made me feel good when by Act Three I could smash any persuasion check placed in front of me due to how I had built my character throughout the game.

The graphics are stunning in this game: the people look great, the world looks great and nearly every piece of loot looks unique and you guessed it, great. You can see the love and care Larian poured into this game in every building, location and background that just makes you feel immersed.

This, mixed with an incredible soundtrack by Borislav Slavov which added to every moment it played in (Down by the River and Raphael’s Final Act are my favourites), kept me invested at every stage.

All of this makes for a unique and special experience that will be a treat for anyone who enjoys tabletop games or is looking for a slower RPG experience. 

However, my experience was hindered by bugs. The scale of this game means things go wrong, a lot. Two companions broke for me and wouldn’t follow me anywhere. I faced crashes, turns which enemies wouldn’t end, broken quest rewards and several other issues.

When you reach Act Three, you can really see the mask start to drop which does leave a sour taste in your mouth. To be this far into launch and to still not have these bugs ironed out is a problem and takes away from the experience. 

I also felt Baldur’s Gate as a city needed to have more random encounters or situational events that happen.. It felt like in Act One and Two, every character had a part to play but that just wasn’t there with Act Three. Most of the city’s residents only had one or two lines to say. 

These are just nitpicks I had with the game, but with some samey companion quests and motivations and weaker romance conclusions, I don’t think it’s a perfect game.

Having said that, I do think it’s one of the best TTRPGs out there and the story, characters and combat make this a must have for fans of fantasy. It will not be for everyone and if you know you aren’t a fan of turn based combat or slower narratives, this might not be for you. 

However, it was definitely for me. Whilst we won’t be getting DLC or Baldur’s Gate 4 from the developers Larian, at least for now, I am eager to hear what story they tell next. If it’s anything like this one, I will be along for the ride.

I give Baldur’s Gate 3 a 9/10 – Outstanding. It is a game that defines player choice and gives you the freedom to be whoever you want. Replayability and value for money is evident, and it has been one of my favourite gaming experiences in the last few years.