Baldur's Gate 3 Review (𝖌𝖍𝖔𝖘𝖙)
I've been gaming for over 34 years, ever since the NES and Super Mario Bros. brought a new era of gaming to the states. I didn't know until later that the NES had helped to revive the gaming industry after a crash.
My favorite way to play video games became computer gaming in the late 1990s, with the release of games like Baldur's Gate, Ultima Online, Diablo 2, and Counter-Strike. These games were all so different from each other, but they all offered something special. Baldur's Gate had an incredible story and game-changing actions. Ultima Online was a massively multiplayer sandbox that gave gamers the freedom to do whatever they wanted. Diablo 2 had an excellent atmosphere and fast-paced ARPG action. And Counter-Strike had fast-paced action and perfected shooting mechanics as an online shooter.
Over the years, I've played many other great games that have pushed the gaming industry forward. These include System Shock, Deus Ex, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Breath of the Wild, Final Fantasy VIII and IX, the Half-Life series, Portal, Left 4 Dead, Elden Ring, Bioshock, and The Last of Us. All games crafted perfectly and created with so much love and talent.
However, I've noticed that I've enjoyed fewer and fewer new games over time. I used to think that this was just a sign of getting older, but I realized that the problem was with the gaming industry itself. Most AAA titles now offer the same tired systems and graphics. The focus on realism has made games feel systematic & slightly lifeless as well as almost all games having some type of monetization system that just automatically makes the experience feel cheap and unmotivating. What happened to using your abilities and time to get the items that you want?
By 2023, I was basically only playing older games. They still offered a unique experience that I couldn't find in modern games. They didn't have monetized systems or focus on the realism that became so lifeless and cold. They were just well-crafted games that were made with a lot of labor and love by developers that wanted to make a great title just because they loved this industry just as much as I did.
Then I played Baldur's Gate 3. It was everything I had been looking for in a modern game. It was polished, true to the original Baldur's Gate, and free of monetization. It was a return to the old days when games were crafted to be amazing and had an experience that—once you purchase the title, once—were all available for you to explore just depending how you wanted to play the game. There are over hundreds of hours of cutscenes and it would most likely take thousands of hours and multiple play throughs to find everything this game has to offer. Each and every character feels like a completely unique being in the game, with their own voice-acted lines that they say, creating this world that feels so alive. Basically your play through will be unique to you and your character. The combat—while turn based—still feels fast and exciting and open up's possibilities for you to brainstorm new ways to eliminate your foe. Your environment plays a big part on how you solve a battle. Hope you're not standing in water while fighting a mage with a lightning spell. And unlike a lot of modern RPG's, your actions absolutely have an effect on this world and the people that live in it. Even wearing specific items can affect those around you based on their beliefs or their relationship to you. And it's all done so well that it feels like a living and breathing world.
Baldur's Gate 3 did something different in the face of an industry that at times feels stagnant and same-y. Larian made a courageous game for gamers, as gamers. Baldur's Gate 3 is truly the pinnacle of gaming and I only hope AAA studio's find this as a reminder of what games can truly be.
As of 2023, I realized that I wasn't growing out of touch with the gaming industry. The gaming industry was growing out of touch with itself. Baldur's Gate 3 is a beacon of light in a foggy and ambiguous time in gaming. The quality and care put into BG3 is what I thought most games would have strived to be in the year 2023.
If you're feeling like I do and you're tired of the gaming industry's monetization pitfalls and careless development, I highly recommend picking up Baldur's Gate 3. It's the type of game that made me fall in love with this industry all those years ago.
**edit** I should clear up that the playtime here on Steam does not reflect my overall playtime in BG3. Had an early access version on gog.com.