A “Dungeons and Dragons” style of game, “Baulder’s Gate 3” is a huge landmark in the genre. The turn-based game, where players alternate when playing, starts off with amazing quality cut scenes with great voice acting. To keep from spoiling too much, the intensity of the opening scene took me by surprise. Usually, in similar games, I found that the voice acting in cutscenes forced.
The computer role-playing game allows for an immense amount of freedom, unlike most games. “Baulder’s Gate 3” allows an immersive and open-world experience allowing players to mess around with the environment around them. If players looked at something and wondered if they could put objects on fire, the odds are that it is possible. Small details like that in games show the amount of time and effort the developers put into it.
Without microtransactions, players have full access to all the game features. Instead of paying for a based game and spending more money on DLC or additional content, and cosmetics; (Electronic Arts, I’m looking at you), “Baulder’s Gate 3” has none of that. Although $60 may seem like a lot for a game, removing the extra cost of DLC and levels behind a paywall makes the game more enjoyable.
The developers, Larian Studios, announced the project in 2020 and have been offering roadmaps and communicating with the public since then. These roadmaps allow players to see where the developers plan to take the game in a certain direction. Other developers like Ironmace, who developed “Dark and Darker,” had taken this advantage to share ideas and get feedback from players before final release. Getting the community involved during game development is crucial to producing a great game. It allows players to help develop a game that they want.
After heavy consideration, here are my thoughts on “Baulder’s Gate 3.” I love the idea of being able to redo the whole story and change the complete direction of the game. With the amount of content that is added into three acts, there are various amounts of side quests and stories that can keep you entertained for hours. The addition of free content makes it more enjoyable and I was surprised to find quests that I didn’t know I would enjoy doing. On launch, the multiplayer was very smooth and I had no issues running the game with friends.
However, there are some things I would like to see change about the game. The user interface is slightly confusing, but that is coming from someone who mostly plays FPS games. The game also has a limit of four people in the party and if more people could play, there would be more opportunities for players to go on off-hand adventures.
Overall, “Baulder’s Gate 3” is a fantastic game for those who enjoy computer role-playing-based games. The turn-based “Dungeons and Dragons” style game is an amazing immersive experience. With developers not including microtransactions into the game is a positive and welcoming experience. I would rate this game a solid 8.5/10.
Photo Credits: Larian Studio’s