Larian Studios’ latest release, Baldur’s Gate 3, has had me living in a fantasy world for days. Few games have captured me like this one has; it could be this year’s perfect escapism simulator. Baldur’s Gate 3 takes the vast world and tabletop gameplay of Dungeons & Dragons, and turns it into a near-perfect story-driven turn-based video game. Play with your friends or by yourself; each time you do, the game gives you an opportunity to see something completely different.
Although the character creator is limited when it comes to customizing most of your body, the game still gives you more than enough to work with to get your journey started. Elves, dwarves, tieflings, dragonborn, halflings, and all the other species of player creatures from the 5th Edition Player’s Handbook are here, as well as the Githyanki, who appear in various expansion materials. You also have the option to choose a premade adventurer, each with their own unique backstory. These premade “Origin Characters” make it enjoyable to come back for a replay, as they come with special events you aren’t able to see if you decide to construct your own character.
Once you’ve set off on your adventure in the Faerûn (after being flung from the helm of an interdimensional alien vessel), the first thing you’ll discover is that this game is full of lovely companions to befriend, bully, and even romance. There are opportunities throughout the game to recruit characters that you’ll recognize from the character creator, plus some familiar faces from the previous Baldur’s Gate titles. Assemble a team of four adventurers out of the ten that are available and set off to bend the story to your will.
The combat is easy to learn and fun to master. You’re encouraged to get creative in your encounters, as fights rarely take place on a flat battlefield. Sometimes, depending on pre-battle dialogue, you might find yourself with extra allies (or enemies). The epic size and scope of the combat makes you feel as if you’re really fighting alongside your fantastical allies in a grand battle: wizards shooting fire and lightning from the rafters, enraged barbarians cleaving their way through the hoard, and bards performing inappropriately timed lute solos. Gather a stockpile of explosives, or use one goblin as a weapon against another. There are so many ways to approach each fight!
So far, all of my playthroughs have run over the 100-hour mark, and each one has yielded a totally different ending depending on the major choices I made throughout the story. Whether you opt to act righteous, sweet, or despicable, the game adjusts to your decisions and serves up the consequences. Although I didn’t see everything or do every quest on my first run, the ending from that playthrough still felt complete. During replays of the game I’ve had fun using what I’ve learned from previous save files to experiment. The more you invest yourself in the story, the more you’ll get out of it. Something that seems benign can set off a whole series of events that span all three acts, so if you go looking for quests and activities, you will find them in nearly every corner of this game.
The writing really shines the most in this game. There are minor characters you encounter throughout the story that develop and grow, even though they aren’t important to the greater story. I loved getting to see characters I had previously interacted with showing up again, and being able to catch up on things that had happened to them since our last encounter. Even more satisfying are the stories of your traveling companions. These are the stories you’ll get invested in (and possibly cry over) that will give you the motivation to do occasionally unspeakable things in the name of seeing their little notification of approval popping up in the corner of your screen. They each have their own goals and moral compasses that may or may not align with your own.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is definitely a time sink, but it’s one that I’m happy to descend into. You don’t have to know Dungeons & Dragons or the previous two installments in the Baldur’s Gate series to have a great time. If you’re even mildly interested in fantasy settings and storytelling, this game is for you. It’s fun, well-paced and, at times, downright hilarious.
