I think this may require some context first, before I put my thoughts out there as if I was extracting a tadpole from behind my eyeball. I'm no genius, I'm not exactly what one may call a hardcore video game fan, or someone who plays games all the time. I have my few games I play, and that's about it. I am also quite fond of really difficult games, that require lots of focus or else you get a sword between the shoulder blades.
Hard games aren't bad per se. You can have a lot of fun when a hard game feels rewarding.
I won't lie, writing this feels like I'm walking into someone else's party and slamming the cake with a hammer (a tiny one, maybe), or running the risk to paint myself a target on the back of my head. After all Baldur's Gate 3 is the new sacred cow of the industry. A game that's gotten lots of awards, millions of fans, years of development, and a critical response that's overwhelming to say the least.
I was ready to hop on this and agree with everyone else, because on first contact that's exactly what I got. And then Act 3 happened.
Here's the TL;DR for each act and I guess you can skip ahead to the bottom of this wall of text.
Act 1: Really good intro, perfect way to present the characters, the world, and the conflict.
Act 2: Excellent. Some of the best high fantasy I've seen in any story, told masterfully well.
Act 3: Actual torture.
Lets break it down, because I think there's some explaining to do.
Act 1.
The introduction to this game is perhaps one of the most memorable things about it. It's scary and atmospheric, it throws you off immediately and feels like you're stepping into an Alex Garland movie, with the body horror, and the off-putting feel of the whole thing. This is the best way to present you with the characters, because you're all in this situation together and from survivors you end up growing to become friends.
The starting area did drag on a little bit, but it was hanging out with Karlach, Lae'zel, Asterion, Wyll, Halsin and Gale that made the situation better.
The encounters were also pretty good, and were only enhanced by the super tight game play. I will never forget the moment I realised you can cut the spider web while the spider is on it, and cause it to take fall damage and kill it that way. Or when I split the party to attack the goblin camp and effectively make a simultaneous triple attack on all goblin leaders with some alchemist fire and a few barrels of fire wine. It was some plan made by a medieval version of the Joker.
I wasn't getting much into the story though, and I found there was too much combat, but I was really enjoying it!
Act 2.
Perhaps the best way I can describe Act 2 is by saying it's The Alamo in Silent Hill. I love Alamo situations, small group of peeps fighting against impossible odds, trying to keep going. It's a classic trope, and I find it deeply enjoyable. The environment is oppressive but not boring, interesting while staying mysterious. I made my way through those woods feeling dread while also having the time of my life.
Meeting the Three Thorms is perhaps my favorite bit of the entire game. Are you telling me I can have three boss fights entirely in conversation!? This was an absolute treat, if you excuse the pun. Their dialogue was great, and at no point did I feel railroaded or cheated. Clearing those three encounters, first try, entirely with dialogue, might've been one of the most satisfying moments I've ever had with a video game in the past decade.
On top of all of that, the big bad guy of Act 2, Ketheric, is voiced by J. K. Simmons. Come on guys, give me a break, I can only love you all so much!
This was also the act where I started using my favorite spell in the game, which is talk to animals. I loved having those conversations with the cats, learning about the cow that had outlived generations of its family, and seeing the spiders discussing political matters. What a wonderful spell.
I was then very sure why this game was getting so many awards. This much goodness cannot go un-awarded.
And then Act 3 happened.
Act 3.
Ok. Look. I'll put it this way. If it hadn't been for the characters, I would've given up on this game the moment Act 3 started. The moment your camp gets raided and you have to rush to a portal, or you become Illithid and get an instant Game Over, was an advent of things to come.
The moment I arrived to Baldur's Gate, the game fell apart to me. Combat became more persistent, battles went on forever, my spells and my attacks became less accurate, and even the smallest enemies could've taken me down with a few fortunate turns. The conversations became less interesting, and I found myself skipping several dialogue bits, because all of a sudden I stopped caring. I was hitting a sunk fallacy cost sort of situation with this game. It's way too long, and the story in itself could've ended comfy about 20 hours earlier. I didn't do that many side-quests either, as to not get sidetracked, and even with that I found myself trapped in this game's rhythm. To the point where I did something I hadn't done until that point: I pulled out a guide.
I try to play games without the use of guides, because I like to take a moment and read what I have to do and where to go from what the game gives me. That's how I played Acts 1 and 2, and it went incredibly well, it flowed naturally. But Act 3, I was with a guide open on another monitor, hoping against hope that this quest would lead me one step closer to completion. At times it felt like the game was moving the goal post, especially towards the end where the final battle is more like four final battles combined.
I played the game on easy. I am not looking for a challenge. I am not trying to prove anything here. I just want to be told a story. By the end, I was so burnt out, I didn't care for the story, the city, the tadpoles, and the stupid Absolute. It took a lot of restrain not to sod it all and let the place burn down,
Not to say everything in Act 3 is garbage, though.
I think Asterion might have the best companion quest in the entire game. I didn't care much for him, but by the end I wanted him to be well and survive, and boy did we kick Cazador and hacked him into puddles of jelly. That felt good. That's what it comes down to, the characters. I loved these guys so much I wanted to keep going forward for them, which one might argue is pretty thematic.
The character of Orin is a very fun villain to face, that is until her boss fight happens, but otherwise she is very memorable.
But again, Act 3 went and did an Act 3. The combat became repetitive and boring. The situations so stiff and inflexible it made me feel like someone swapped games with me at some point. Long gone were the experimentation and moments of "Oooo I can do that!?".
But perhaps the worst aspect of Act 3 is the difficulty spike, and I'm going to blame the level cap, and the limitation to 4 party members. There's difficult, and then there is "Screw you, you're gonna play by my rules or go back to your Animal Crossing!". Well, I say this in the most constructive way possible but, if Baldur's Gate 3 was a Dungeon Master, I would've requested someone else DM this game. Baldur's Gate 3, when Act 3 starts, gets tired of you solving their encounters and decides to throw at you everything without letting you become stronger.
In conclusion.
If Baldur's Gate 3 was a trilogy in and on itself, I say it suffers from the second sequel syndrome. Acts 1 and 2 are excellent, but all the good feelings were gone by the end of Act 3, where you're put on a railroad of torture heading towards the end.
I can see why this game won so many awards. It must be because most of those people stopped playing after Act 2.
6/10.
Hard games aren't bad per se. You can have a lot of fun when a hard game feels rewarding.
I won't lie, writing this feels like I'm walking into someone else's party and slamming the cake with a hammer (a tiny one, maybe), or running the risk to paint myself a target on the back of my head. After all Baldur's Gate 3 is the new sacred cow of the industry. A game that's gotten lots of awards, millions of fans, years of development, and a critical response that's overwhelming to say the least.
I was ready to hop on this and agree with everyone else, because on first contact that's exactly what I got. And then Act 3 happened.
Here's the TL;DR for each act and I guess you can skip ahead to the bottom of this wall of text.
Act 1: Really good intro, perfect way to present the characters, the world, and the conflict.
Act 2: Excellent. Some of the best high fantasy I've seen in any story, told masterfully well.
Act 3: Actual torture.
Lets break it down, because I think there's some explaining to do.
Act 1.
The introduction to this game is perhaps one of the most memorable things about it. It's scary and atmospheric, it throws you off immediately and feels like you're stepping into an Alex Garland movie, with the body horror, and the off-putting feel of the whole thing. This is the best way to present you with the characters, because you're all in this situation together and from survivors you end up growing to become friends.
The starting area did drag on a little bit, but it was hanging out with Karlach, Lae'zel, Asterion, Wyll, Halsin and Gale that made the situation better.
The encounters were also pretty good, and were only enhanced by the super tight game play. I will never forget the moment I realised you can cut the spider web while the spider is on it, and cause it to take fall damage and kill it that way. Or when I split the party to attack the goblin camp and effectively make a simultaneous triple attack on all goblin leaders with some alchemist fire and a few barrels of fire wine. It was some plan made by a medieval version of the Joker.
I wasn't getting much into the story though, and I found there was too much combat, but I was really enjoying it!
Act 2.
Perhaps the best way I can describe Act 2 is by saying it's The Alamo in Silent Hill. I love Alamo situations, small group of peeps fighting against impossible odds, trying to keep going. It's a classic trope, and I find it deeply enjoyable. The environment is oppressive but not boring, interesting while staying mysterious. I made my way through those woods feeling dread while also having the time of my life.
Meeting the Three Thorms is perhaps my favorite bit of the entire game. Are you telling me I can have three boss fights entirely in conversation!? This was an absolute treat, if you excuse the pun. Their dialogue was great, and at no point did I feel railroaded or cheated. Clearing those three encounters, first try, entirely with dialogue, might've been one of the most satisfying moments I've ever had with a video game in the past decade.
On top of all of that, the big bad guy of Act 2, Ketheric, is voiced by J. K. Simmons. Come on guys, give me a break, I can only love you all so much!
This was also the act where I started using my favorite spell in the game, which is talk to animals. I loved having those conversations with the cats, learning about the cow that had outlived generations of its family, and seeing the spiders discussing political matters. What a wonderful spell.
I was then very sure why this game was getting so many awards. This much goodness cannot go un-awarded.
And then Act 3 happened.
Act 3.
Ok. Look. I'll put it this way. If it hadn't been for the characters, I would've given up on this game the moment Act 3 started. The moment your camp gets raided and you have to rush to a portal, or you become Illithid and get an instant Game Over, was an advent of things to come.
The moment I arrived to Baldur's Gate, the game fell apart to me. Combat became more persistent, battles went on forever, my spells and my attacks became less accurate, and even the smallest enemies could've taken me down with a few fortunate turns. The conversations became less interesting, and I found myself skipping several dialogue bits, because all of a sudden I stopped caring. I was hitting a sunk fallacy cost sort of situation with this game. It's way too long, and the story in itself could've ended comfy about 20 hours earlier. I didn't do that many side-quests either, as to not get sidetracked, and even with that I found myself trapped in this game's rhythm. To the point where I did something I hadn't done until that point: I pulled out a guide.
I try to play games without the use of guides, because I like to take a moment and read what I have to do and where to go from what the game gives me. That's how I played Acts 1 and 2, and it went incredibly well, it flowed naturally. But Act 3, I was with a guide open on another monitor, hoping against hope that this quest would lead me one step closer to completion. At times it felt like the game was moving the goal post, especially towards the end where the final battle is more like four final battles combined.
I played the game on easy. I am not looking for a challenge. I am not trying to prove anything here. I just want to be told a story. By the end, I was so burnt out, I didn't care for the story, the city, the tadpoles, and the stupid Absolute. It took a lot of restrain not to sod it all and let the place burn down,
Not to say everything in Act 3 is garbage, though.
I think Asterion might have the best companion quest in the entire game. I didn't care much for him, but by the end I wanted him to be well and survive, and boy did we kick Cazador and hacked him into puddles of jelly. That felt good. That's what it comes down to, the characters. I loved these guys so much I wanted to keep going forward for them, which one might argue is pretty thematic.
The character of Orin is a very fun villain to face, that is until her boss fight happens, but otherwise she is very memorable.
But again, Act 3 went and did an Act 3. The combat became repetitive and boring. The situations so stiff and inflexible it made me feel like someone swapped games with me at some point. Long gone were the experimentation and moments of "Oooo I can do that!?".
But perhaps the worst aspect of Act 3 is the difficulty spike, and I'm going to blame the level cap, and the limitation to 4 party members. There's difficult, and then there is "Screw you, you're gonna play by my rules or go back to your Animal Crossing!". Well, I say this in the most constructive way possible but, if Baldur's Gate 3 was a Dungeon Master, I would've requested someone else DM this game. Baldur's Gate 3, when Act 3 starts, gets tired of you solving their encounters and decides to throw at you everything without letting you become stronger.
In conclusion.
If Baldur's Gate 3 was a trilogy in and on itself, I say it suffers from the second sequel syndrome. Acts 1 and 2 are excellent, but all the good feelings were gone by the end of Act 3, where you're put on a railroad of torture heading towards the end.
I can see why this game won so many awards. It must be because most of those people stopped playing after Act 2.
6/10.
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