Originally published at: Baldur’s Gate 3 – A Comprehensive First Look – Alphagamer
At first, Baldur’s Gate 3 seemed like just another entry in a genre, one that would be at the end of my backlog of unplayed games. However, with Baldur’s Gate 3 winning the Game of the Year 2023 award and the amount of positive feedback this game received , including an Overwhelmingly Positive score on Steam with over 460,000 reviews, it was moved to the front of my backlog. Little did I know that within the first 2 hours, my skepticism would crumble due to the unexpected brilliance of this game. It turns out, sometimes the most enchanting adventures come when you least expect them.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is following the events from the Baldur’s Gate series and is based on Dungeons & Dragons. It is an isometric RPG, having a top down view, with turn based-combat. The level of detail is very high, this already becomes clear at the character creation screen. The game has deep story telling and the player decision making through quests and NPC conversations has significant impact on the direction of the story.
As mentioned earlier, the level of detail of this game is off the scale. You can absolutely lose yourself just creating your character. The game mechanics breath the same depth, the detail around items, gear and attacks/spells is very deep. However, what is interesting, it doesn’t feel overwhelming, at least not to a point it demotivates. The opening story is immersive and the tutorial is giving the right information without fully controlling every step of the way.
The game mechanics and the items feel really good. I am only 2 hours in the game but the amount of options and detail is already really high. I assume, expect and imagine the level of items you can find throughout the game is going to be crazy as well how you can level up your character and the associated skills and spells. More on this when I have more hours into the game 🙂
Lastly, the graphics. I must admit initially I was not drawn to the game due to the marketing materials. I thought the guy on the banner looked like Will Poulter, the guy who plays Adam Warlock in Guardians of the Galaxy 3. Don’t get me wrong, I like the actor and I am a big fan of Guardians of the Galaxy (I think it is the best Marvel film series), I just wasn’t drawn to the graphics. But getting into the game and the story this changes quickly, the astonishing cutscenes and the deep story help a lot with that. Below you see a screenshot I took during a cut-scene, I know it is a bit of a weird screenshot but I wanted to share it nonetheless due to the level of detail in the image. Check out the skin of the character, can you actually see the context and texture of his skin!
I also really like the Dungeons & Dragons (D & D) elements that come back in the game. The 20 sides dice roles is really a cool element to the game play. D & D gained huge popularity over the recent period due to series like Stranger Things and The Big Bang Theory 🙂
I am only 2 hours into the game but it for sure awakened the urge to keep playing. I want to know what is happening to my character and if she will get to the others and get the parasite out of her brain (don’t ask). I also want to further explore and experience the combat system and mechanics. I am a big fan of turn-based combat, stemming from 1 of my all time favorite RPG’s: Final Fantasy 7.
I will likely write more posts about this game as I will work my way through the story. I am also considering to record or stream my gameplay footage, soon more on this, stay tuned.
Baldur’s Gate 3 also supports Steam Deck, according to Steam. The possibility to play a high standard game on a portable device is a huge pro, I will put this to the test soon as well and I will share my findings about this too.
Did you play or are you playing Baldur’s Gate 3 please do share your experience. I am curious to hear what you like/didn’t like. I am also curious how mutli-player is working, please do share your throughs or let me know if you are open for a multi-player game 🙂