The positives of this game cannot be overstated. It’s an amazing, beautiful, fully realized wonder of achievement, and it’s why it has become one of the best games I’ve ever played, if not the best.
I know. I know.
I’m into a second playthrough and am still discovering all sorts of new things, which is why my Pros List aka Part I was so long. As wonderful as this game is, it’s not for everyone – as previously mentioned it’s a graphic turn-based RPG, rated M due to the depictions of violence, the coarse language and bloodshed, in addition to nudity and sexual content – and it does have a few things that could be considered “cons”.
Story
There is a lot of story. Like more than you can even begin to imagine for a video game. Baldur’s Gate is based on a legacy that goes back some 50 years, so there are years of lore and land and creatures and history, so it’s understandable that one playthrough won’t give you everything in the way of story.
While the 3 Act structure will give you an overarching story with major plot points, if you don’t explore every nook and cranny, talk to every NPC or even your companions, return to camp often, or read all the letters, books, and plaques in the world, there’s quite a bit of content you’ll miss. The completionist in me found it frustrating to fail certain checks that may have led to finding secret rooms, treasure, or encouraging certain outcomes, which could also derail me from learning more.
There’s also the extra story content based on your character. If you play with a certain background or class, you’ll get specific dialogue options that will enhance your experience. If you play as an origin character, you’ll also get more of their back story, and then there’s the Dark Urge storyline which is its own thing entirely, so you have lots of options, which leads to con #2 –
Choice
If you are easily overwhelmed by a great deal of content, the choices available to you in BG3 could be considered a con. I struggled with this during my first playthrough. I wanted to know the reaction to each choice in dialogue. If I failed a check, I would reload in the hopes the dice would roll in my favor and I would catch whatever I missed. I would swap out party members hoping one of them had a higher characteristic like intelligence or survival that would lead to a better outcome. This can stall your experience because you may find yourself bogged down by trying to see every eventuality.
I soon realized I had to forego discovering everything the first time around because I was losing a sense of urgency due to the diminishing momentum. Besides I knew I was going to play the game again.
Starting with the character creator which at first seems limited, quickly devolves into chaos with the sheer volume of options for your character. There are a dozen races and a dozen backgrounds, and after a recent update, new subclasses with new skills to choose from. There’s skin tone, eye colors (that in other games seemed irrelevant because you never see your character that close), and hairstyles that allow for highlights, so choosing how dark you want those pink streaks woven through your green braid are all possible.
Am I going to match her tattoos? Uh, yeah.
And after all that, you get to create a second character, a Guardian. You may end up with a little creation fatigue.
Will you play as a do-gooder? Or are you out for yourself? Are you religious or political? Who do you want to romance? How will you sway your companions’ fates? This is just the tip of the iceberg. While I was only overwhelmed initially because I wanted to know everything immediately, The Sis pointed out that that’s the storyteller and gamer in me. When I play a game, I want the details clearly-ish laid out for me by the end of the first run. BG3 is not your typical game. It has layers, and you have to get comfortable in the unknowing…which leads to con #3 –
Mechanics
If you’ve played video games for any length of time, some things are innate. The same cannot be said for Baldur’s Gate. There are so many things you can do, many are things you wouldn’t even think of, and while that’s amazing, there’s no guide to really tell you what’s possible. You just have to try things and see if they work. It’s not just about strategy, it’s discovering you can kind of do whatever you want. There’s both a fear and a freedom in such knowledge. The fear is that a lot of the games you’ve played previously have just laid things out for you, nice and neat. They haven’t let you be imaginative, and now you feel a bit dense when it comes to playing this game.
The freedom is exactly that…anything is possible.
I’ll share a couple bonehead discoveries I made in my second playthrough, so far. One, if you use a character with a higher persuasion skill than your own, you can get better deals with merchants. Gale, yes, Gale, the wizard gets better prices than the charming, I feel almost too persuasive Astarion, and shockingly, way better than my own character. So change out who’s leading the party, and choose to interact with merchants or other plot driven characters to see the varying results.
Two, when trying to pass a certain check, either persuasion or a knowledge of history or religion, if your character has a bonus, such as guidance, you need to not only bring up the bonus, but also select it. It will become highlighted, but I did not know this. The screen will show “add bonus”, so I would add it, but you may have more than one choice, so you need to choose – I never did. This can change a lot of the outcomes of your choices. ((face palm))
There are a couple of other things, like using the Scroll of Revivify – was not made clear how it works, so it took a few tries – or the Fly skill – couldn’t figure it out the first time around.
I’m sure I’ll discover more. I also discovered that The Sis and I did different things, so talking with another player has led to learning more about the options available, or how to use certain skills, etc.
To be clear, I don’t classify any of these as a negative, personally. In fact, it only enhances the experience knowing that each playthough may lead to new discoveries, and that’s awesome. I work with someone who has attempted multiple playthroughs but found themselves overwhelmed by the choices, or even a lack of backstory for their character, but is now using the honor mode (only one save available) and playing as origin character, Wyll, yes, that Wyll, and finally making progress.
All of the choices, all of the story content is meant to enhance your gaming experience. The freedom to do so many things allows for the imagination to run wild, and while maybe not the right game for everyone, a spectacular game nonetheless.
Have you played Baldur’s Gate 3? Did I miss any pros or cons you found particularly interesting? Let’s chat!
Happy Gaming!
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