What can I say that likely already hasn't been said.. Not much I reckon.

As a long time fan of the BG franchise, dating back to the original release of BG1 on CD back in the late 90s I was both excited and anxious over this title's release.

I'm one of those odd BG fans who prefer real-time with pause combat over full turn-based for CRPG games (I still love turn- based games like XCOM and Total War/Civ), knowing Larian was developing this following their Divinity IPs I could guess that they would very likely "just" use the same system for BG3.

I was correct and was still reluctant to try this out during the beta stage, but realized I would still want to give the next BG title a spin even if it wasn't what I was hoping for out of the gate.

I was immediately drawn into an exciting and vibrant adventure -And wanted more, but I held off on any EA patches just so I could experience as much of the game for the first time on final release.


Having played a couple of playthroughs I can safely say that this is, by far, one of my favorite games to date. it's beautiful, dramatic, vibrant, living and constantly being shaped by the way you're playing it. With a web of world-state links that I can only imagine is pure hell behind the scenes. Bravo to Larian for achieving this!

With that said I do still feel like I'm very much dissconnected from the Baldur's Gate franchise; there's very little BG feel to the game and the world is built up very differently.

You're more on a track, but can take thousands of different left or right hand turns along the way making it a thrilling and unique experience, but you have very little agency of the pacing and after you're done in a place coming back to it feels empty and void. As if the world only lives around the main plotline. Given the story's nature I can see why this was the chosen path, but as a BG 1 and 2 player I would've liked to see it function a bit more like the previous titles personally.

With that said this is, absolutely, the best CRPG experience to date, even if it's mechanics are a bit more against my own preference (I still prefer the isometric real-time w/ pause experience similar to BG 1/2, Icewind Dale, Pillars of Eternity, Pathfinder, etc). The cutscenes are phenomenal, all actors did a splendid job, and apart from times when the camera has bugged out during cinematics the cinematogrophy and storytelling is also fantastic.

If you enjoy RPGs and you enjoy a fantasy setting you should really consider hopping into the Forgotten Realms.

What can I say that likely already hasn't been said.. Not much I reckon. As a long time fan of the BG franchise, dating back to the original release of BG1 on CD back in the late 90s I was both excited and anxious over this title's release. I'm one of those odd BG fans who prefer real-time with pause combat over full turn-based for CRPG games (I still love turn- based games like XCOM and Total War/Civ), knowing Larian was developing this following their Divinity IPs I could guess that they would very likely "just" use the same system for BG3. I was correct and was still reluctant to try this out during the beta stage, but realized I would still want to give the next BG title a spin even if it wasn't what I was hoping for out of the gate. I was immediately drawn into an exciting and vibrant adventure -And wanted more, but I held off on any EA patches just so I could experience as much of the game for the first time on final release. Having played a couple of playthroughs I can safely say that this is, by far, one of my favorite games to date. it's beautiful, dramatic, vibrant, living and constantly being shaped by the way you're playing it. With a web of world-state links that I can only imagine is pure hell behind the scenes. Bravo to Larian for achieving this! With that said I do still feel like I'm very much dissconnected from the Baldur's Gate franchise; there's very little BG feel to the game and the world is built up very differently. You're more on a track, but can take thousands of different left or right hand turns along the way making it a thrilling and unique experience, but you have very little agency of the pacing and after you're done in a place coming back to it feels empty and void. As if the world only lives around the main plotline. Given the story's nature I can see why this was the chosen path, but as a BG 1 and 2 player I would've liked to see it function a bit more like the previous titles personally. With that said this is, absolutely, the best CRPG experience to date, even if it's mechanics are a bit more against my own preference (I still prefer the isometric real-time w/ pause experience similar to BG 1/2, Icewind Dale, Pillars of Eternity, Pathfinder, etc). The cutscenes are phenomenal, all actors did a splendid job, and apart from times when the camera has bugged out during cinematics the cinematogrophy and storytelling is also fantastic. If you enjoy RPGs and you enjoy a fantasy setting you should really consider hopping into the Forgotten Realms.