Poirot is back. And no, we’re not talking about the upcoming Kenneth Branagh movie.
Baldur’s Gate 3 early review: Modern fantasy
11.08.2023 - 17:41 / techcrunch.com
First, the basics. Baldur’s Gate 3 is a Dungeons & Dragons game through and through, but you don’t need to be familiar with that world or those systems to enjoy it. It’s a dense roleplaying adventure that alternates between an old-school isometric view and close-up, voice-acted cut scenes, offering players a world of choice through complex, cascading chains of cause and effect.
If some roleplaying video games throw you into the deep end of the swimming pool with their ethical dilemmas, Baldur’s Gate 3 pushes you into the Mariana Trench, hands bound, and tosses a pocket knife in after you.
The game offers a fascinating slice of one of D&D’s major settings, the Forgotten Realms, introducing you to gods, monsters and space-faring alien civilizations in a way that’s much more compelling than your average black and white good vs. evil fantasy retelling. No matter what you set out to do, you’ll make Faustian bargains wrapped in Sophie’s choices — and given the complexity and layered world, no two playthroughs are the same. If any of that sounds even remotely compelling, this is a game for you.
Baldur’s Gate 3 follows Baldur’s Gate 2, one of the best-loved RPGs of all-time — and one that was released over two decades ago. Ghent, Belgium-based developer Larian Studios was tapped to craft the sequel, which at the time was incredible news for anyone familiar with Larian’s stellar track record. Personally, I’d only played Larian’s last game, the awkwardly-named Divinity: Original Sin II, but that game’s incredibly wildly rich, interactive world was enough for me to immediately download Baldur’s Gate 3 at launch. This game plays very similarly, but benefits from the combined boons of a massive budget, D&D’s rich systems and its lore.
I’d never played prior D&D video games, but like a lot of people, I started playing with friends during the pandemic. I’m probably more into the crunch — the technical side: subclasses, modifiers, et cetera — than the average person and watching everything you’d write on a character sheet come to life in three voice-acted dimensions is very cool. Anyone well-versed in D&D’s spells and classes will certainly find an easier learning curve, but from my 20-ish hours in the game so far, anyone who likes to sink into a crunchy, tactically-minded game or just loves roleplaying will find a ton to enjoy here.
Larian loves the gray areas and Baldur’s Gate 3 is all about player choice. Unlike a normal on-rails RPG, the game sets you loose from its earliest moments. Everything is interactive and problem solving in the game feels like the best moments in tabletop D&D.
Want to get behind a guarded locked door and into an ornate chest? Cast an illusion spell to create a diversion, have your rogue pick
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