More than 20 years after the first two Baldur’s Gate from Bioware, the Larian studio had the heavy task of taking up the torch of this video game license from the Dungeons & Dragons universe.It comes as no surprise to know that the developers are absolute fans of Wizard of the Coast’s tabletop role-playing game, as well as the work of their peers, and so they have pulled out all the stops to deliver the work the as impeccable as possible in order to be worthy of this heritage.After having forged a solid experience, in particular with Divinity Original Sin 1 & 2which have been undeniable critical successes, the studio gives us a Baldur’s Gate 3 dantesque.The result of 6 years of development including 3 years of early access.
You’ve probably seen it or read it everywhere, the game is already a resounding success and even opens up some interesting debates on the state of the industry.For our part, we took the time to savor it fully even if we do not hide a furious desire to start it again at least once or twice.Note that it is also possible to play cooperatively with up to 4 players, but unfortunately we did not have the opportunity to test this feature.so here’s our verdict after 150 hours of gaming on PC.
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Testing conditions: We played on the Steam version with graphics settings at “Ultra”.Our PC configuration: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.40 GHz, 16 GB DDR4 RAM, AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT.
A good starting point for the CRPG?
In the family of role-playing gamesBaldur’s Gate 3 is positioned in the category of CRPG (for Computer Role Playing Game), a type that stands out for a greater freedom than classic RPGs. The narrative, the development of your avatar and your choices are decisive.You can explore the world however you see fit, choose to skip quests and join the bad guys side or pursue more selfish ambitions.Problems can thus be solved in different ways depending on the path or paths you take (diplomacy, intimidation, brute force, etc.).
When launching the game, expect a heart-pounding adventure filled with drastic choices which are not just lines of text and have real direct, medium-term and long-term consequences.This can be intimidating for those new to the genre, especially if you haven’t played Divinity Original Sin from Larian who have a huge influence on many aspects of the title.However, with a minimum of investment and a little patience, you can easily get into the game.
It is possible to embody one of the main characters or to create your own from A to Z (appearance, race, class, background, etc.) fairly quickly thanks to welcome simplifications such as the recommended dispersion of characteristic points.Unfamiliarity with the Dungeons & Dragons universe is also not an obstacle to enjoying the title because there is simply no need for a game master here.The combat system can be the most complex part to assimilate, but fortunately, each term of the lore or the principles related to the combat mechanics are explained in a clear way.They are highlighted in each text, and you just need to press “T” and hover your mouse over them to easily understand the context.
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Larian’s development policy should also be commended.The level of finish, although perfectible so far, commands respect for a game of this scale.The studio also takes a strict approach to the medium, which is pleasing to see. No Battle Pass, online store or other form of microtransaction is present.All content is accessible after initial purchase.However, we still regret the lack of development of DLC to extend the experience even if it is already substantial.
A sprawling narrative mastered from start to finish
Difficult to summarize the plot of Baldur’s Gate 3 to its basic pitch so much the stakes, the secondary quests, the respective stories of each companion, the different threats, the allies…, and many other script elements come into play.What will first motivate your adventure is a question of larva lodged in your brain.Your adventure begins in one of the Mind Flayer ships that are being targeted by enemies.In the midst of this chaos, you manage to pull yourself out of it and free yourself from your chains.After the ship crashes, you are free.
Unfortunately, the larva inside your skull threatens to turn you into a mind flayer at any moment.Afterwards, you meet other survivors who have undergone the same treatment.Bonded by the common cause of removing these ticking time bombs, you and your companions search for a way to heal yourselves.This journey takes you aboard 3 acts well supplied in terms of content, even if act 2 is more of a transition and is a little shorter. To give you an idea, it took us around 50 hours to go all the way around Act 1 assuming we’ve figured it all out.Act 3 brings you to the magnificent city of Baldur’s Gate which gives the game its name and which is the biggest piece to digest, but also the most intense.
Whether it’s the companions or the various quests, the writing is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished seen in an RPG.The best part is that every little adventure makes us feel like we matter and don’t feel like side goals or filler.Not only, the content is massive, but it is coherent.We find ourselves rubbing shoulders with characters from Act 1 to Act 3 involving major quests.Some quests even resolve over the three acts.The lack of benchmarks can thus be frustrating.We have sometimes searched for hours for the solution of a quest when we simply had to move forward when others fail precisely because of fruitless searches.
The companions are nevertheless the pinnacle of this mastery of the feather in Larian.It’s frustrating not being able to take them all with us to see key scenes related to their backgrounds.Like us, you will have your preferences, but each of them has a brilliantly constructed personal story, especially since they evolve, for good or bad, depending on your choices and your intimate relationships, whether they are friendly or more if affinity.
Larian cleverly manages to surprise us with characters we didn’t think we’d get so attached to, like the she-devil Karlach.The secondary characters are not left out and some even manage to steal the show from the main enemies like the devil Raphael.Although we may regret the absence of dubbing in French, we must salute the monstrous work of acting, as much in the performance as in the variety of voices which never give the impression of having heard them elsewhere.The studio had announced 17,000 ending variations and we understand why after finishing it.Let’s not forget either the music of Borislav Salvov which greatly contributes to the charm of the whole epic.
“Baldur’s Gate 3: It’s Possible”
The replayability promises to be immense as well, as the major choices are endless..The alliances you forge can drastically change how the plot unfolds, and on our end, we even omitted an entire arc.Frequently, we wanted to restart the game to explore other avenues.We must not forget the character creation, which allows you to embody different races and classes, which will react differently depending on the situation.Likewise, your traits and perks give you multiple ways to solve problems.
What is also remarkable is the fluidity and rhythm of the progression.We never feel locked into a pre-established path that would be imposed on us.Even if you often have to search and think to achieve the desired result, it is always possible to force the passage or solve a problem without even having activated the corresponding quest, simply by exploring.The auto-save function is almost essential to avoid frustrations, but by fully immersing yourself, there are really no bad choices or errors.Going all out on “Role Play” and taking responsibility for your choices is just as rewarding.
Generally, in a video game, we are aware of the limitations that are imposed on us, since most of the time, our road is all traced and the developers make sure that we follow this road by crossing each stage of a or two possible ways. Baldur’s Gate 3 makes us feel the opposite effect by making us realize that anything is possible.Blocking a door with wooden crates to prevent the arrival of reinforcements before going on the attack, buying or stealing equipment from future opponents to weaken them, understanding that the silence spell is not only for spells and can create a dome to kill sleeping enemies without alerting the surroundings…
These are all jaw-dropping examples, with subtleties that continue to be learned until the very end of the game. If it shares a quality with the other contender for Game of the Year 2023, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, it is this exceptional creative potential.Since the release of the game, the craziest videos have been scrolling, especially in terms of the fights.
The die is cast
Combat is undoubtedly the most intimidating aspect of the game, as it can often prove difficult depending on the situation.In addition, our characters are incredibly vulnerable at the start of the adventure.Once again, autosave becomes your best ally. Larian’s turn-based system is particularly rewarding here., because it forces us to constantly think about our position, the abilities we are going to use and the appropriate equipment.Even in normal difficulty mode, the game does not give a gift if you just rush headlong into the fray.
There isn’t just one or two winning tactics.Depending on the classes of your characters and your imagination, there can be multiple approaches to achieve victory.The studio has done a great job of offering different strategies through careful level design and lots of environment interactions.It must also be said that any place can become a battlefield.
However, despite all its qualities, Baldur’s Gate 3 has some annoying flaws.First, the camera tends to behave erratically and struggles to deal with height differences depending on your party’s position.Strangely, this management is much better when playing with a controller.In 150 hours of play, we encountered relatively few serious bugs.The studio delivered a product in very good condition and well polished, but a few bugs remain, some of which required us to reload a save.Since its release, many fixes have been released and more are still expected.
The Belgian studio’s in-house engine, the Divinty Engine, has nothing to envy to the classic Unity or Unreal Engine thanks to magnificent lighting effects, varied facial expressions, splendid panoramas and detailed environments.Even if we will often have an isometric view for readability, the title could very well have been in the third person (mods already allow it).Unfortunately, there is still a lot of optimization work regarding act 3 which displays a framerate between 30 and 40 FPS when the rest of the game runs like a charm at 60 FPS.