Under 1% of Baldur's Gate 3 players reached the end with no companions, but this still has unique dialogue: "We are chasing that feeling of absolute freedom"

Before its release, promised to include 17,000 different endings — but does it really? There's undeniably a ton of player choice and variation in the game. There are even hundreds of contingencies and failsafes in case players try to break . It wouldn't be too much of a stretch at all to say there are thousands of different ways its story can play out, but 17,000 endings is an entirely different kind of claim.

Minthara is definitely one of Baldur's Gate 3's spicier companions, and a firm fan favorite for those that enjoy a little bit of bloodshed in their RPGs. Back at launch, you couldn't actually recruit Minthara without slaughtering a bunch of Tieflings (or turning her into a sheep), and while a recent patch has allowed players to not have to make that choice anymore, it's still very clear that she isn't a particularly pleasant person.

Although Honour Mode in offers a unique challenge, the heightened difficulty also comes along with a single save slot, which can put much more focus on one of the game's biggest shortcomings. Added in the game's fifth major patch, Honour Mode is a difficulty setting that goes beyond even the previous hardest mode, Tactician, buffing enemy stats, changing their tactics, and giving bosses unique Legendary Actions to make them even more challenging. Along with the added in-game difficulty, though, Honour Mode also comes with the caveat of only allowing a single save, effectively eliminating save-scumming from the equation.

Baldur's Gate 3 has you level up to become more powerful, which is pretty standard when it comes to video games these days. Leveling up gets you more health points and stat bonuses, as well as access to powerful spells you need to defeat tougher enemies. Not leveling up puts you at a massive disadvantage later in the game, but it's one that YouTuber Fracture was happy to burden.

Spells in offer potent buffs vital for survival in the new Honour Mode. This latest difficulty adds numerous challenges for players, including one save file and permadeath if all characters die. Luckily, there are multiple ways to make Honour Mode slightly easier with supportive spells. These can help mitigate the increased damage bosses deal with their new legendary actions.

If you’ve been holding out hope that Baldur’s Gate 3 might find its way onto PC Game Pass in the future, I’ve got some bad news for you: it’s very unlikely to happen.

Baldur's Gate 3 developer Larian decided "from the get-go" that the mammoth RPG wouldn't be coming to Xbox or PC Game Pass, and that isn't going to change.

The critically acclaimed Baldur’s Gate 3 is available now for Xbox Series X/S after launching for PC and PS5. Of course, the question now is whether it would ever arrive on Game Pass at some point. In an interview with IGN, game director and Larian Studios founder Swen Vincke said it’s not happening.

An issue on Xbox causing saves to disappear has now been fixed.

A Baldur's Gate 3 player thinks they've found the forge that Karlach mentions in her special epilogue scene.

The most recent patch for adds two new gameplay settings, one of which is the ultra-difficult Honour Mode. It's one of two new modes added in Patch 5 of , in addition to the highly flexible Custom Mode. In many ways, it's similar to the hardest default difficulty setting in , Tactician Mode, but is far from a simple expansion thereof. In fact, it's so much harder, it includes a lengthy pop-up window warning about all the ways it can screw players over. It's less than ideal for a first playthrough, but could be interesting for a repeat or challenge run.

Baldur’s Gate 3 had a huge night at The Game Awards 2023, winning Game of the Year and then just launching the game on Xbox Series X|S. Surprise!