What I’m playing: a true masterpiece of an RPGDate: 10/6/2023 Very rarely do I play a game that checks off every single box I look for in a single player game, but “Baldur’s Gate 3” does exactly that.
Developed by Larian Studios, a Belgian game studio known for the “Divinity” series, “Baldur’s Gate” is a mesh between video game and a full on “Dungeons & Dragons” campaign. Using “D&D” as a template, players traverse the world of Forgotten Realms setting of “D&D,” making dice rolls in both conversation and combat, as they work their way through a branching story with plenty of different decisions to be made.
Growing up some of my favorite games were ones that had engaging stories where choices matter, with compelling characters and serviceable gameplay mechanics, think games like “Mass Effect” or “Dragon Age.” I can confidently say that “Baldur’s Gate” fits in this category.
What I love about these kinds of games is the seemingly endless replay value where you can create a different character, make different choices and see a radically different playthrough each time. For context one summer in high school, I played through “Mass Effect” and “Mass Effect 2” on repeat making different choices, teaming up with different party members and seeing how their stories unfolded. Currently I have two separate playthroughs in “Baldur’s Gate,” on different classes, making separate decisions and seeing where the story takes me, with the plan to do more.
Before jumping into the world of “Baldur’s Gate,” you are given the option to create your own character, deciding upon your class, race appearance and more. If you’d rather play as a pre-built character you can choose to pick one of the origin characters, the companions that will join you for your journey, all of whom have a unique back story and gameplay style.
While you may choose to play alone like I have, “Baldur’s Gate” does offer up to four player co-op, both split-screen as well as online. I have not tried the co-op yet, but everything I’ve seen online makes it seem like an enjoyable time to enjoy a great game with some friends to see what kinds of shenanigans you can get up to.
The game begins with your character captured aboard a mind flayer nautaloid, a ship full of creepy, squid-like creatures. The mind flayers are indoctrinating an army of people by inserting these tadpole-like creatures into their heads that effectively serve as mind control devices, that will eventually turn their hosts into mind flayers themselves.
Your first objective is to escape the ship and then try to find a way to remove the new resident in your head, with the help of an interesting cast of characters, all infected with tadpoles, but somehow all able to resist the orders of your new would-be mind flayer masters.
On my main save, which is a paladin, I am approaching the end of the game, having done most of what is available to me across Acts 1 and 2, with even more ahead of me in Act 3. Despite trying to do absolutely everything, I hit a couple of points where I missed out on story beats and character interactions because I was locked out of several areas after a certain point progressing the main story. On my second character, a bard, I have hit some of these areas I’ve missed so it’s going to be very interesting to me to see where some of these characters end up at the end on both playthroughs based on decisions that I have made. This is a game where you will not be able to see everything on a single playthrough, so replaying it is encouraged.
Another interesting aspect of the game is the fact that, based on your background, you will have different dialogue options for each encounter. One dynamic that I found hilarious across my two main playthroughs was the difference between the options for paladin and bard. On my paladin I was given many options focused on justice and mediating disputes between different characters. Bard has been hilariously whimsical because many of the specific options you get to choose are far from serious and often times leave characters scratching their heads after the nonsense you just spouted to them.
Speaking of the situations you come across, players have the opportunity to solve them in a variety of ways, either by talking your way out of them, initiating combat or even convincing certain characters to see the error of their ways.
Each of the characters you come across that join your camp are exceptionally well-written, each with their own quirks, backstories and character arcs. Each character is endearing in their own ways, regardless of how rough around the edges they may seem at the start.
Combat may take some getting used to as it is turn based and relies heavily on strategically placing your party of four against increasingly difficult combat encounters as you go through the game. Each character has unique abilities that can change the way each encounter goes. I highly recommend going with a balanced team composition, with characters that can focus on offense as well as support the entire party.
It is worth noting that, while Larian is working on the issues, after two polished acts Act 3 can be quiet buggy at times. From a stuttering frame rate to assets not loading properly, there are some issues in the third act from my experience on PlayStation 5. In some frustrating cases characters would want to talk to you about events that had not happened yet, so I was confused at one point when one character asked me about this decision I made that had not happened yet.
While I wouldn’t normally write up a review before finishing a game, “Baldur’s Gate” is just that good. Each act feels like nearly a complete story with a bunch to do and interweaving stories that make the world feel alive. As of the time of writing, I have clocked just over 42 hours of playtime, and anticipate that finishing will take me around 60 hours or so, because of the amount of content that becomes available in the game’s third and final act. I am looking forward to seeing how the story comes together in the end as it has been a wonderful journey so far.
Whatever I may come across in the remainder of my playthrough will not change my overall thoughts on the game. “Baldur’s Gate” has provided the kind of game I have been missing for close to a decade and deserves all the praise that has been heaped on it.
“Baldur’s Gate” also has a very hard M rating, so this is not something I would let the younger kids play, between gore, nudity and mature themes throughout the game.
“Baldur’s Gate 3” is available on PlayStation 5, PC and a release on Xbox Series X/S is scheduled for later this year, although no specific date has been given.
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