The thing with video games is not every game is meant for everyone. But when a true masterpiece comes along, you simply can’t help but appreciate it.
And after sinking over 120 hours into Baldur’s Gate 3, it might just be one of the top games of the decade. Published by Larian Studios in August 2023, Baldur’s Gate 3 took the world by storm.
It singlehandedly raised the standards of modern role-playing games, and caused immense discourse across social media.
In 2023 alone, the game was nominated for 21 awards and won 15, while going up against the likes of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and Alan Wake 2.
But like movies, video games can’t solely be judged based off of accolades. So what is Baldur’s Gate 3 like for the average gamer? And why does it shine so bright in the modern dark ages of gaming?
In short, the game itself is a masterpiece. From its sound design, voice acting, visuals, gameplay – it’s all stunning. Without spoiling the story, the game takes place in the fictional land of Faerun where you can explore, fight monsters, or use charisma to get out of sticky situations.
Though there is a main story, there is an abundance of freedom available to the player. There is a variety of races you can play as, ranging from dwarves, to elves, to even a scaly dragonborn. You can play as a raging barbarian, a stealthy rogue, or a scholarly wizard – or even all three!
Along the way you’ll meet different non-player characters (NPCs), some of which you can invite to your party, build relationships with, and have them fight alongside you. They all come with their own backstories and quests, leading to an outstanding amount of side content, meaning you can play through the game multiple times and still miss things.
As a licensed game from Wizards of the Coast’s Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition (D&D), it is played top-down with turn-based combat. It also uses most of the same rules. Despite the core target audience being D&D players, you don’t need to be a pro to enjoy Baldur’s Gate 3.
So what was Larian Studios’ secret? In short, they gave gamers precisely what they wanted. They gave players an outlet for them to do whatever they wanted in a fantasy setting without any insane limitations. In other words, the game accomplishes what it sets out to do exceptionally well.
It feels like the developers genuinely care for the product. Of course, revenue is a top priority, but considering the intellectual property the game is built off – Larian knew that they had to make something special the moment they took on the task. They’ve clearly put people who care at the forefront, and as a result have created something magnificent.
In modern gaming, it’s not unreasonable to argue that a lot of recent titles leave a lot to be desired.
While it took Larian six years to finally release the game, and it does come at a high price of almost $90, the end result is undoubtedly worth the wait and investment.
The same cannot be said for other modern gaming industry giants. This isn’t to say that recent titles have been good or bad objectively, but my expectations haven’t quite been met by some of the largest and renowned publishing studios in the world.
Despite the company’s billion dollar net worth, I struggle to call Blizzard Entertainment’s (Blizzard) Diablo 4 a bang for your buck.
Not only will the base game set you back almost $110, the deluxe and ultimate edition cost $139.95 and $154.95 respectively. On top of this, once you’ve bought the game, there’s paid microtransactions for cosmetic items. These obviously won’t give you a boost in power or otherwise put you ahead of other players – though this doesn’t make FOMO any less of a problem.
To make matters worse, Blizzard even released a $150 physical collectors edition, which I think would be awesome, if it came with the game.
What’s really conflicting is that the game itself isn’t even particularly bad, but I feel that it leaves a lot to be desired, especially since its predecessors did so well.
Things like forcing players to waste inventory space on gems along with weapon and armour drops just feels awful, and it sometimes feels like you just don’t get stronger, despite levelling up and finding better gear.
Full disclosure, I do not have a second of playtime on Bethesda Softworks’ Starfield, and frankly, I don’t think I’m missing out on much.
While there’s surely people who enjoy Starfield, I’d much rather spend my time exploring the lands of Skyrim, Bethesda’s legendary game from 2011. While the Starfield is set in the infinite void of space, it doesn’t come off as particularly new or exciting, and it shows.
2.5 million copies sold doesn’t sound bad, till you find out that Bethesda is worth $3 billion dollars, and that Baldur’s Gate 3 has almost triple the sales, despite Larian being worth a fraction of Bethesda.
Some of the gameplay elements just sound downright frustrating, like having to walk almost 5 real time minutes from objective to objective with nothing to do on the way. Things get even worse when you see an interesting location on a planet and you try to fast-travel to it. Instead of putting you at that location, it will load you into a completely different looking area.
Again, I’m not arguing which game is better or worse. I’m pointing out how the gaming industry goliaths aren’t putting in the effort that their fans deserve. It’s worth noting that Diablo 4 and Starfield aren’t the only offenders, but are some of the biggest examples of a drop in standards.
This is what sets Baldur’s Gate 3 apart in this day and age. There are no microtransactions, no shortcuts in quality or content, and there is always something to do in-game – Larian Studios put in the work and it really paid off.
Baldur’s Gate 3 will always serve as a reminder that it takes a lot more than a huge team of people and money to make something special. Of course there will be new genre-defining releases – but Baldur’s Gate 3 will no doubt be remembered for shining bright in a dark time of gaming.
Photos by Hamish Newman