Baldur's Gate 3

 PC
User Score
8.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 11707 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10,228 out of 11707
  2. Mixed: 333 out of 11707
  3. Negative: 1,146 out of 11707

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. InMassiveDebt
    Aug 21, 2023
    7
    Score: 7.5/10

    Larian's latest game presents a perplexing dichotomy. On one hand, the studio's talent in crafting immersive worlds and compelling narratives is evident. On the other, glaring flaws significantly detract from the overall experience. The question arises: Are the glowing reviews genuinely reflective of the game's entirety? Or are they merely the impressions of those    Score: 7.5/10

    Larian's latest game presents a perplexing dichotomy. On one hand, the studio's talent in crafting immersive worlds and compelling narratives is evident. On the other, glaring flaws significantly detract from the overall experience.

    The question arises: Are the glowing reviews genuinely reflective of the game's entirety? Or are they merely the impressions of those players boasting about being "60hrs in still in act 1"? What exactly are they doing during this time? Admiring the scenery? Lighting torches in buildings they'll never revisit?

    The ending is a stark reminder of the original "Mass Effect 3" debacle – a conclusion that left fans outraged. For this game, the praise seems misplaced. The abruptness, lack of depth, and multitude of bugs make replayability beyond Act 2 unappealing. Why replay when the payoff is so unsatisfying?

    Performance issues are hard to ignore. Even with a high-end setup, frame rates were inconsistent. Act 3, in particular, was riddled with stutters and memory leaks. This segment's lack of polish is reminiscent of the issues "Cyberpunk" faced at launch. Yet, for some reason, these problems seem to be brushed aside by many.

    The game's narrative suggests cut content, with characters built up in the earlier acts only to be reduced to mere boss fights later on. Raphael is a prime example. Minthara, introduced as the evil choice romance option, is riddled with bugs, making her more of a liability than an asset. Choosing her path means sacrificing two well-developed companions, a trade-off that feels more punishing than rewarding.

    Companion dynamics swing between two extremes: overt flirtation and outright hostility. A middle ground is sorely missing. Some companions, like Haislin, become redundant, especially when others, such as Jaheira, offer so much more.

    While certain aspects of the game, like explicit scenes, are detailed, others, like the final act and inventory UI, are lacking. The imbalance is palpable.

    Many are quick to defend Larian's dedication to the game. However, this is no longer an Early Access title; it's a full release. If these glaring issues are acceptable to some, it's a concerning reflection on the state of the gaming industry.

    BG3, despite its moments of brilliance, is overshadowed by its flaws. The journey, which started with promise, devolves into a different, less satisfying experience by the end. It's hard not to question the authenticity of the overwhelmingly positive reviews, especially when the game's latter stages are so problematic.    … Expand
  2. Firescoper
    Aug 13, 2023
    7
    I just finished my first playthrough about 5 minutes ago.

    Holy lord, I have spent many many hours of my life playing this game since its release, downloaded the minute it unlocked with my buddies. The journey has been absolutely phenomenal, the narrative superb, the roleplaying outstanding. Had many emotions throughout my first playthrough, laughs, rages (NPC Shoves), and even a few    I just finished my first playthrough about 5 minutes ago.

    Holy lord, I have spent many many hours of my life playing this game since its release, downloaded the minute it unlocked with my buddies. The journey has been absolutely phenomenal, the narrative superb, the roleplaying outstanding. Had many emotions throughout my first playthrough, laughs, rages (NPC Shoves), and even a few tears here and there. It was a great experience and I am so glad I survived till August 3rd to be able to play it, who knows what could've happened. That being said there is one glaring issue, and I mean glaring from a narrative and immersion as well as an overall fulfillment factor.

    No, I don't mean the bugs, or the poor optimization in Act 3 (even 2 sometimes), or even the fact that your companions want to get with you at a moments notice. These things can be fixed quite quickly and will most likely if I had to guess. No, the big issue is that ending.

    Oh my god man. I could look past all of the aforementioned Bs, who cares about it, I'd have even have given it a 10/10 but dude, that ending was pure heartbreak (not to mention buggy as hell, had to reload twice for the menial Shadowheart Romance ending). I don't want to sit here and explain every reason as to why it was bad, just know that whoever reads this you will eventually make it there and you will understand. Its really lame, ties up no loose ends for the most part, no character endings (and I mean truly none, other than what would be obvious like if Gale sacrificed himself, it isn't jack. Not to mention the plethora of plot holes and all of these characters met over the story who didn't get a lick of appreciation, Dame Aylin who??), incredibly rushed, and overall just a total downer on an otherwise, in my opinion, near perfect gaming experience.

    I hope, I hope hope hope, Larian Studios does what they did with Divinity 2 and release and enhanced edition to rectify this man. Like come on man, where is the big party?! Where is the send offs?! I don't even think I can restart knowing how it ends, all of that was for nothing. You could argue "What difference does some slides or a more drawn out ending make????" and if that's how you feel that's alright, but to someone like myself it was an utter disappointment and just overall sad. I can't stop reiterating it, it was so weak man.

    Great game otherwise, Larian give it the DOS2 treatment, please god.    … Expand
  3. Lunarius
    Aug 14, 2023
    7
    Well after all the game is really good so far I´ve played it (looking forward to see if its front-loaded or not and how the mid to end content will be) but It´s realy disappointing that the Triple A releases these days no longer go the extra mile for locaiized audio. For me its a horrible descicion. but Hey maybe the fans will make a mod to solve this thing, like they have to do all theWell after all the game is really good so far I´ve played it (looking forward to see if its front-loaded or not and how the mid to end content will be) but It´s realy disappointing that the Triple A releases these days no longer go the extra mile for locaiized audio. For me its a horrible descicion. but Hey maybe the fans will make a mod to solve this thing, like they have to do all the time for seeral aspects inside of games, to make sure that the poor devs dont have to pay extra money to do it directly and clean in their own game.… Expand
  4. GrayDragonM
    Aug 15, 2023
    7
    TL;DR:
    If you're a fan of role-playing games, you might like Baldur's Gate III, but be aware, there are still bugs and annoyances.
    If you're a fan of BG and are expecting more of the same from BG III, you might be disappointed or delighted, depending on your preferences, but know that it's quite different from the previous two games in the main BG series. The combat in particular, as    TL;DR:
    If you're a fan of role-playing games, you might like Baldur's Gate III, but be aware, there are still bugs and annoyances.

    If you're a fan of BG and are expecting more of the same from BG III, you might be disappointed or delighted, depending on your preferences, but know that it's quite different from the previous two games in the main BG series.
    The combat in particular, as it's turn-based rather than real-time, and while it has rules from Dungeons & Dragons, it's very similar to Divinity: Original Sin.
    If you're a fan of D:OS, you might like what's in the game, but it does have different systems for combat.

    All in all, it's a decent but flawed game that still needs polish.

    Review:
    I played it during early access, and I'm sort of disappointed with the state of the full game.
    There are some quality improvements in some areas, including features that were requested like better sorting, stack splitting, and such, but even considering those, the issues the game still has are still enough to weigh it down.

    Customization:
    The appearance customization is a big improvement over D:OS II, and some options have been added that weren't in early access, but overall, it seems too limited for a game where you see your character's face so often.
    It's definitely not as in-depth for face customization as Bethesda's games, despite seeing your character more often in BG III than you might in a game such as The Elder Scrolls (where you hardly ever see your character's face).
    Rather than choosing the features of your face, such as nose, eyes, etc., you're restricted to choosing from a selection of faces, with customization mostly being colors (e.g. eyes, hair) and add-ons (e.g. eye makeup, tattoos, piercings).
    The piercings are a bit lacking, as even if you find ones that you like, they'll come with others that you can't remove.
    For example, you won't be able to choose between an earring and an ear piercing elsewhere, nor can you choose only one earring.

    The ability customization is pretty good, but as it's based on D&D, it's quite limiting.
    Unlike some other role-playing games, you'll be locked out of certain features, rather than being able to do most things.
    For example, the Wizard can learn spells from scrolls, but other classes cannot, and while some races have an ability giving better vision in dark areas, others don't.
    Class-wise however, there is multiclass, allowing for choosing an extra class later (albeit, only on Balanced/Normal and Tactician/Hard difficulties, and not on the Explorer/Easy difficulty), and so, it isn't much of an issue as a result.

    Story:
    The pacing is strange in some places, and some content seems to have been removed that early access had.
    For example, the tutorial area has been streamlined, and certain character customization options are no longer.

    Characters are hit-or-miss in personality, but it's good to have some oddballs to change up the pace.
    That said, character dialogue seems a bit odd at times, as characters can have out-of-place reactions for their personalities and circumstances.

    Dialogue is okay at times, and feels a bit limited at others.
    There are times when you might want your character to say something but must choose what the developers want characters to say.
    There are also times when your character will make comments on things.
    It's good to keep things lively, but it can be out-of-place for a character and be pretty bad for role-playing.

    Audio and graphics:
    The music, voices and sounds are well-done for the most.
    Graphics are pleasant enough, though there are bugs where things start stretching and such sporadically.

    Combat:
    On the Balanced/Normal difficulty, I found the combat to be quite difficult, and a bit inconsistent.
    During my first start of the game, the three enemies after the prologue caused a lot of damage to my characters, but on my second start with a different character, they were no issue.

    Difficulty aside, the interface is quite unintuitive using controllers, and still a bit clunky using keyboard/mouse.
    Also, the interface varies greatly between controller and keyboard/mouse, with the interface being very minimalist for controllers.

    Exploration:
    Movement is very sluggish, and interacting with objects is quite the task.
    Because of how object interaction is tied to movement, there will be many times where objects that would be easily able to be gotten in real life will be impossible to grab normally in the game. Characters will sometimes run around a table to grab an object they could've grabbed from the side they were on, even though they grabbed another object from that same side. The camera is also lacking in its zoom options. Modding: As of this review's writing, there is still no official modding support. There are likely going to be tools like there were for D:OS I&II, but for now, it's not bad as modders have made quite a few quality mods to improve aspects of the game.    … Expand
  5. GamerAnalytics
    Aug 17, 2023
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Baldur's Gate III is a continuation of a 20 years of work of the second game in 2000. They worked a lot in the figures and characters, many possibilities to end the game. Visually i don't like how the graphics are supposed to be.

    The game are great in fight and collecting upgrades for your journey.

    The dialogues between the characters are incredible, done in a very intuitive way.    … Expand
  6. breadnandbutter
    Aug 18, 2023
    7
    Very Fun at the start, but the poor number of possible characters make it not worth it to replay. First playtrough was nice tho
  7. elstormcaller
    Aug 21, 2023
    7
    An incredible 1st and 2nd act that falls flat on it's face in the 3rd act.

    Generally good experience, but poorly paced towards the end with a plethora of bugs and issues as the final hours get hit with the typical Larian Last Act fatigue. Loved the companions, loved the combat, loved exploring, but I hope that this game gets the Definitive Edition treatment because for as intriguing    An incredible 1st and 2nd act that falls flat on it's face in the 3rd act.

    Generally good experience, but poorly paced towards the end with a plethora of bugs and issues as the final hours get hit with the typical Larian Last Act fatigue.

    Loved the companions, loved the combat, loved exploring, but I hope that this game gets the Definitive Edition treatment because for as intriguing and compelling as the first two acts were, the last act had me rushing for the end to just get it over with.    … Expand
  8. Kumalo
    Aug 24, 2023
    7
    For all those who have never played Baldur's Gate the vote will definitely be a 10.
    For those like me who played the old titles it can only be a 7 because the game is really well done but it's a Divinity Original Sin 2 with the DnD 5 rules and nothing more, nothing less.
    where are the things peculiar to Baldur's Gate like: - 6x Member Party - Action Turn Combat without turn to turn    For all those who have never played Baldur's Gate the vote will definitely be a 10.
    For those like me who played the old titles it can only be a 7 because the game is really well done but it's a Divinity Original Sin 2 with the DnD 5 rules and nothing more, nothing less.

    where are the things peculiar to Baldur's Gate like:
    - 6x Member Party
    - Action Turn Combat without turn to turn mode
    - Formation mode where you can organize the battle
    - more isometric view (right now it's too far and not well realized)

    I would have given it an 8/9 if it had another name without mentioning Baldur's Gate that right now it's another things and other genre    … Expand
  9. Rattend
    Aug 25, 2023
    7
    It's hard to recommend the game right now with the sheer amount of bugs in act 3. The ending feels unfinished and disappointing with how little closure is given to the characters. None of the choices you make throughout the game affect the ending and I noticed several glitches and plot holes throughout the last 2 hours of the game.

    The main storyline also feels disjointed, and as much    It's hard to recommend the game right now with the sheer amount of bugs in act 3. The ending feels unfinished and disappointing with how little closure is given to the characters. None of the choices you make throughout the game affect the ending and I noticed several glitches and plot holes throughout the last 2 hours of the game.

    The main storyline also feels disjointed, and as much as I enjoyed acts 1 and 2, there is very little direction or progress in the main storyline until the end of act 2. It feels as if you will spend most of your time running around doing side content with no larger goal in mind. The companion storylines were fun to watch for the most part, however one character in particular seems to be a huge victim of cut content.

    The game is also missing basic quality of life features like easier party management, and some of the fights near the end of the game are just painfully slow as sometimes enemies will stand there for 30 seconds unmoving, and since there's no way to speed up enemy turns I just end up alt tabbing while waiting for it to be my turn again.

    Unfortunately, I started the game at a 10 and it dropped the longer the game went on.    … Expand
  10. BigLebowskiMan
    Sep 1, 2023
    7
    Only thing I like about this game is that there's no store and pop ups trying too get you to spend more money. Otherthen that, it's not my type of game and feel it's overhyped
  11. vparytskyi
    Sep 2, 2023
    7
    Fantastic experience that have been ruined by bugs and rushed release during the very last stretch of the game
  12. dedcandance
    Sep 10, 2023
    7
    Baldur's Gate has the potential to be nearly as outstanding as KOTOR, but within the context of the DnD
  13. DiogenesTheDawg
    Sep 12, 2023
    7
    Too easy on Tactician mode. I’m not well-versed in BG3’s mechanics or how Larian Studios (LS) has done things with their past games regarding combat; yet, I’m destroying it on Tactician mode. Create Water + Lightning Bolt, much? Hundreds of scrolls and potions in my inventory, much? I can’t imagine how mind-numbingly dull the lower difficulties are.

    The User Interface (UI) is clunky,    Too easy on Tactician mode. I’m not well-versed in BG3’s mechanics or how Larian Studios (LS) has done things with their past games regarding combat; yet, I’m destroying it on Tactician mode. Create Water + Lightning Bolt, much? Hundreds of scrolls and potions in my inventory, much? I can’t imagine how mind-numbingly dull the lower difficulties are.

    The User Interface (UI) is clunky, sometimes unresponsive, and glitchy. You get scrolls and potions up the *ss, but there’s no autostack feature? Are you kidding? I need to take a 10-minute coffee break to sort through all the crap in my inventory. I’ll select a party member’s portrait, hear a click, but it doesn’t switch over. I'll have a character selected in the merchant menu, highlight a weapon from the merchant, and then the weapon will be compared to a weapon from a different party member. Then I’ll re-highlight the same weapon and it'll compare it to my selected party member's weapon. Are you using dice rolls for the UI?

    According to Morte from Planescape: Torment (PT), tieflings are oftentimes addled or have a mean streak through them because they're a mix between a human and a fiend. Fiends are evil creatures from the Lower Planes. All of this was reflected in PT’s world. In BG3, they're just furries. And that goes for the rest of the non-human NPCs except for creatures like goblins and ogres. Different species with different alignments and behaviors is a big deal in the Forgotten Realms, and some of these species don’t like each other. How did you mess that up? You never watched Lord of The Rings? You don’t remember how dwarves and elves didn’t like each other? Tolkien’s work and the Forgotten Realms are two different things, but I’ve made my point.

    Sexually degenerate content. In BG2 and PT there's sexual/romance content, but it was done tastefully. These games relied more on innuendo and colorful language as opposed to hitting the player over the head with, "Hey, wanna go to a secluded area and f***?", after knowing them for only a day. Also, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but most of your customers are straight men. We don’t want h*mosexual NPCs badgering us for sex. It’s weird. The people who post on your forum about romancing Astarion are in the minority, just like they’re a minority in the general population. If you want more money, then you shouldn’t alienate the majority of your customers to chase the fringe.

    Too many female fighters/barbarians and too many females in leadership positions without good reason. Human women in the Forgotten Realms are no different from women in the real world, which means they’re much smaller and weaker than men. Therefore, a regiment of female soldiers in heavy armor wielding great swords looks stupid. It looks as stupid as if there were an all-children regiment of soldiers wearing heavy armor and wielding great swords. I’m not saying there shouldn’t be any because there are always exceptions; however, when I see a group of Flaming Fists it shouldn’t be 50% male and 50% female or 25%/75%, favoring females. Under normal circumstances, no sane civilization would create a 50% male and 50% female military because there’s this thing called chivalry and another thing called biology. Men by nature want to protect women, and women by nature want to be protected by men. That’s chivalry. One woman can have around 15 children in a lifetime by one or many men; the number of children a civilization can produce will only go up if the number of females goes up. That’s biology. Consequently, it makes absolutely no sense for a civilization to send women to the battlefield. Doing so weakens the military and the future of the civilization. As for leadership, in the real world most leaders are men because men have more testosterone. Testosterone makes you bigger, stronger, and more confident, which inspires others to follow. Do you think Ketheric Thule would be as cool as he is if he were a 5’2’’ female with a high-pitched voice? When I see a 5’2’’ female NPC barking out orders to 6’2’’ chads in a voice that she’s obviously trying to deepen through inflection, because she’s aware of her physical inadequacy, I cringe. Only people who have grown up sitting in front of Netflix can take this kind of thing seriously. Stop letting your Human Resource department control your artistic vision.

    Why do many of the dwarves, gnomes, and elves have the facial features of races found in human beings? They're an entirely different species. This feature makes as much sense as having a cat with an African native’s facial features or a human that looks like a duergar. This only makes sense with half-elves, tieflings, and half-orcs because they're mixed with humans who may have looked African, Asian, etc. Elves, dwarves, and gnomes aren’t humans.    … Expand
  14. Thunderthda
    Aug 12, 2023
    6
    Very good game, a solid as **** 9 in Act 1, falls off super hard to the point of insufferable to play at points from Act 2 onwards with horrible bugs ranging from extremely annoying to straight up game breaking, you can really tell that after Act 1 there was basically 0 testing.
    Typical Larian awful storytelling but still serviceable and with very cool, high points, but same as the    Very good game, a solid as **** 9 in Act 1, falls off super hard to the point of insufferable to play at points from Act 2 onwards with horrible bugs ranging from extremely annoying to straight up game breaking, you can really tell that after Act 1 there was basically 0 testing.
    Typical Larian awful storytelling but still serviceable and with very cool, high points, but same as the gameplay aspect, in Act 2 it falls off super hard but at least this does recover once you have spent a while on Act 3.
    You will enjoy the game, you will have fun with it, and at points you will also want to uninstall it because of the insufferable bugs, and I just honestly hope you don't lose a save to them.
    Update: After playing the ending of the game I can't do anything but bring the score even lower. The last "boos fight" and the entire area before it is the worst garbage you will have to suffer in the game, and the ending is release ME3 levels of atrocity.    … Expand
  15. Redman_07
    Aug 19, 2023
    6
    The game is really good and offers a lot of freedom. There are a few problems, technically. The graphics are really bad, and the lefty wing propaganda is in it too. The super diverse city is boring and no fun. I prefer interesting cultures, there is no need to seperate them through hate, you can also make it just different...so, missed oppertunity and lefty decision.
    And forcing us to    The game is really good and offers a lot of freedom. There are a few problems, technically. The graphics are really bad, and the lefty wing propaganda is in it too. The super diverse city is boring and no fun. I prefer interesting cultures, there is no need to seperate them through hate, you can also make it just different...so, missed oppertunity and lefty decision.
    And forcing us to create black females is also super sad, why not tolerate what we do?
    and the DnD5 version is just not the best for combat    … Expand
  16. lolsorhand
    Aug 14, 2023
    6
    After nearly 140 hours into the game, having finished all three acts I have to say a couple of things. Act 1 is about as long as Act 2 and Act 3 combined, with Act 2 being the shortest, yet in my opinion the strongest of the acts as you actually get to see the main antagonists. This also brings about one of my major gripes with the game which is the lack of proper setup of the main badAfter nearly 140 hours into the game, having finished all three acts I have to say a couple of things. Act 1 is about as long as Act 2 and Act 3 combined, with Act 2 being the shortest, yet in my opinion the strongest of the acts as you actually get to see the main antagonists. This also brings about one of my major gripes with the game which is the lack of proper setup of the main bad guys you are supposed to want to beat. The writing is very hit- and miss, which leads to some scenes being quite interesting and fun, and others sorely lacking. With that also comes the fact that every single companion has something very unique and rare stuck to them, without mentioning spoilers, these all in some regards really cancel each other out, making none feel very special.

    In addition to the lacking companions and failure of proper setups the romances feel very awkard and poorly crafted, which is also compounded by the fact that dialogues happen based on events that which never transpired in your playthrough. Companions react and talk to you about things that simply never played out making it quite immersion breaking for many reasons.

    Further compounding these issues is the poor optimization, especially in Act 3, and major memory leaks from saving and loading the games. There are also no consequences for killing and stealing from every NPC you meet, even your companions who are kind hearted don't bat an eyelid when you pillage through entire swathes of innocents (versus BG 1 and 2 where they would react to your deeds and interact with these choices.)

    However, on the upside the voice acting is easily 10/10, and the gameplay about a 7/10 due to major path finding issues and UI issues which at times screws over entire fights, leading to reloads. The writing on the other hand is perhaps a 5/10, with moments of splendour and moments of 'what in the....' reactions to silly and outright stupid replies, or lack of possibly replies. And with the bugs and glitches, I'd give it a fair 6/10. With that being said, my last ending game cinematic ended in every character t-posing or freezing, just like it did in the first opening 'fall' cinematic.    … Expand
  17. leaveit
    Aug 7, 2023
    6
    A competent CRPG from the post-quality age. I could write a list of glaring faults (example: no text or voice chat in multiplayer) so long that your eyes would glaze over. Other than that, the game narrowly skates by on the enjoyability of its mechanics. Not a 0/10, not a 10/10; it is truly insane to suggest either score.
  18. TsukasaHiiragi
    Aug 9, 2023
    6
    Pro's

    Excellent narrative Choices matter True to D&D No micro transactions Great itemization and build options Exploration is rewarded Moddable Con's Buggy! Some areas are unbalanced such as Moonrise Towers Can be frustrating - you've been warned here Faux difficulty aka forcing you to go against 10 - 20 enemies occasionally Limited party options Weak puzzles Camera    Pro's

    Excellent narrative
    Choices matter
    True to D&D
    No micro transactions
    Great itemization and build options
    Exploration is rewarded
    Moddable

    Con's

    Buggy!
    Some areas are unbalanced such as Moonrise Towers
    Can be frustrating - you've been warned here
    Faux difficulty aka forcing you to go against 10 - 20 enemies occasionally
    Limited party options
    Weak puzzles
    Camera angles can be a problem
    Character AI is pretty bad / whilst enemy AI is too good
    Bosses can be cheap and annoying
    Act 2 and 3 feel very rushed

    Now, looking at the cons - which outweigh the pro's here and still giving a positive review? The game's narrative and story telling is on point, many of your choices will matter and that can heavily change your outcome, some areas could be easier..or harder, you might even lose party members or gain new ones.

    Graphics are pretty good, although camera angles occasionally bug out and can cause problems. The greatest issues are all related to either serious bugs, some potentially game breaking such as corrupted save files or minor graphical glitches. Gameplay is great, with high replayability but once again, it isn't a masterpiece here as many have immediately reviewed without getting into the actual meat of the game, and later especially towards Mid - Endgame it becomes frustrating FAST with many encounters opting for numbers vs tactics, such as Moonrise Towers is notoriously difficult, not because of high level enemies? Oh nono, but simply because you'll be facing large scale battles sometimes upwards of 15+ enemies, and if they decide to attack any of your party, you can't survive against it and will cause frustration, even on the easiest difficulty it is without a doubt, souls-like difficulty level here.

    Party options are limited, the idea of playing it 'your' way is false, you still really need your tank and healer especially in difficulty encounters, no matter your level. Another issue, i've personally seen is that AC (Armor level) is broken, you could have AC 20 or even 23, trash mobs will still hit you quite easily just as having someone in cloth armor with AC 15 for example, overall does not feel true to D&D in this respect and probably done to insure some level of difficulty once again, it needs tweaking for sure, because trash mobs 5 levels lower than you, shouldn't be able to hit someone with AC 20 'that' easily, but 9/10 times they'll hit each and every time.

    Overall, Baldurs Gate 3 is a great game but it does require some balancing and mods maybe the solution for that, some upgrades such as animation skipping or increasing enemy turn speed on large encounters is absolutely necessary because they can take way too long. ACt 2 and 3 are significantly more rushed and have considerably more bugs, this is part of the problem as all the reviews are just for act 1 without really getting into the meat of the game, once Larian fixes many of these issues then I'd increase my rating, but out of the gate its clear it was released too early from EA to capitalize on Diablo 4's failure.    … Expand
  19. Averum
    Aug 21, 2023
    6
    Everyone has been to eager to come here and praise this game before getting through it entirely. The first act is a master quality product. However, as you move through the game and into the next two acts the shine wears off. There is an abundance of cut content. Entire zones that are left out. Companion characters with incomplete story and much more. Here is a list of cut content. AsEveryone has been to eager to come here and praise this game before getting through it entirely. The first act is a master quality product. However, as you move through the game and into the next two acts the shine wears off. There is an abundance of cut content. Entire zones that are left out. Companion characters with incomplete story and much more. Here is a list of cut content. As always, the critics didn't get far enough to give a proper evaluation.

    Act 1 - 9/10
    Act 2 - 7/10
    Act 3 - 5/10

    There is insufficient space for me to list all of the cut content, but I will post a few of them.

    1) The Upper City - The most obvious one. Swen himself talked about the "Affluent Upper City" just 2 weeks before launch and described as it being fully explorable and yet it's very noticeably absent from the final game.

    2) Shar Worship - In EA the player was able to select Shar as a diety which game with it's own unique dialogue trees, especially when interacting with Shadowheart as a fellow Shar worshiper. Despite the fact that voice lines were datamined indicating this had functions well into Act 2, it was cut when the game launched.

    3) Karlach's Ending - Datamined content shows that not only did Karlach have a full ending where her infernal engine was fixed and that she survived, but that most of it was fully voiced and complete. However it required triggers from the Upper City portion of Baldur's Gate and when that was cut, so was Karlach's Act 3 storyline. What we have behind have been confirmed to be Karlach's "fail state" endings which were meant to only play if the player neglected her quest chain.

    4) Minthara's Story - Minthara was meant to have a much deeper story, including a pregnancy. These were likely cut due to Minthara being a late stage addition to our roster but dialogue lines remain in the games files that show that not only did Minthara have a lot more content for herself but your other companions had a lot more to say about it.

    5) Halsin's Story - Another late addition to the roster, Halsin was originally intended to have a great deal more endgame content involving the Druid circle, but this appears to have been cut more early on than some of the other items thus far.

    6) Raphael the Merchant - Originally Raphael was meant to be a fully viable option to remove your tadpole, in fact the "Soul Coin" items that you collect in game where originally meant to be a powerful alternative currency accepted only by Raphael in exchange for possibly retrieving your soul as well as a long list of incredibly powerful artifacts from the House of Hope that would be sold by Raphael himself.

    7) Avernus - An entire area of the game. Avernus was meant to be fully explorable and of similar size to the Underdark Area of Act 1. It would be a source not only for Soul Coins but other rare materials, highly difficult fights, and special content for Karlach.

    8) Tav the Dark Urge - A lot of people were both surprised and excited to see the addition of The Dark Urge origin as the Bhaalspawn/Evil option that was missing from EA. As it turns out, Tav was originally the Dark Urge and they were all one origin. Tav was meant to be Bhaalspawn and separating the two seems to be what caused the narrative divide between the Dead Three storyline and the Mindflayer plot.

    9) Omeluum's Ring - In the EA version of the game this ring would block your Tadpole entirely. It could not grow, it could not grow stronger, and you could not use Illithid powers. In the launch version this ring prevents you from being charmed despite Omeluum still stating that it blocked the influence of the Elder Brain/Absolute.

    10) Bhaal and Orin versus the Creche - An entire Act 2 battle was cut in which Bhaal's forces, led by Orin, attacked the Githyanki creche which led to a fight where you either sided with one or the other or had a massive 3-way fight on your hands.

    11) Orin and the Dragon - Orin was meant to corrupt a Githyank red dragon, leading to a boss fight against a Slayer-formesque Dragon.

    12) The Hag Coven in Act 2 and 3 - You may notice that accepting Auntie Ethels help in the first Act can lead to a negative effect when fighting Hags. You may also notice that despite Auntie Ethel having letters from other Hags in her basement, she is the only one you encounter. Originally there was meant to be a full three act story involving the Hag coven including the mysterious "M" who seems to have been their leader.

    13) Epilogues - Full epilogue cutscenes have been datamined that varied greatly depending on your choices. These were the "17K ending variations" that Larian told us about, yet they are completely absent in the final game leading only to a fade to black scene at the end of the game.    … Expand
  20. Ogbek
    Aug 21, 2023
    6
    I want to like it. The opening was terrific. In some ways, it's great. But...
    1) Way too hard.
    2) It pretty clearly cheats on dice rolls. 3) The dialog options are often designed to funnel you into a partiular outcome (e.g., a fight -- or walking away with your tail between your legs). It has a very manipulate "DM-ing" style that I dislike. 4) The map/camera combination is all kinds of    I want to like it. The opening was terrific. In some ways, it's great. But...
    1) Way too hard.
    2) It pretty clearly cheats on dice rolls.
    3) The dialog options are often designed to funnel you into a partiular outcome (e.g., a fight -- or walking away with your tail between your legs). It has a very manipulate "DM-ing" style that I dislike.
    4) The map/camera combination is all kinds of horrible. At times, it is very hard to figure out the map. You cannot really look up in some situations.
    5) The map is too dense.
    6) It feels more like "Divinity Original Sin" than D&D, to me.

    I may yet change my mind and like it. But I find it hard to play for more than an hour or two at a time -- I get irritated. Not a good sign.    … Expand
  21. mutexin
    Aug 11, 2023
    6
    Not a bad game, but worse than the previous D:OS2. And by no means it's Baldur's Gate. It's D:OS3. BTW always ignore 10 and 0 reviews by the bots/shills.
  22. wakara
    Aug 17, 2023
    6
    Everyone writes about the pros and praises, after playing the game for a couple of hours. I went through the game completely and I will say everything honestly.
    1) At the end the game is full of bugs, scripts break, quests break. This is a scam.
    2) The characters are lustful bisexual animals. 3) Party management and inventory is disgusting. 4) Level platforming is disgusting. 5) Solid    Everyone writes about the pros and praises, after playing the game for a couple of hours. I went through the game completely and I will say everything honestly.
    1) At the end the game is full of bugs, scripts break, quests break. This is a scam.
    2) The characters are lustful bisexual animals.
    3) Party management and inventory is disgusting.
    4) Level platforming is disgusting.
    5) Solid guts as a design level.
    6) The most casual character progression in total, 12 levels, no prestige classes, **** multiclasses.
    7) Loot is all **** the game goes almost with starting equipment. Everything that belongs on the game gives a bust.
    Well, and a bunch of annoying little things. Like a bunch of traps on which you already clog and run through them to the breach, because you start to get angry when you shoot each trap through a cube.    … Expand
  23. Kanek
    Aug 16, 2023
    6
    Great graphics, the best I have seen in a game like this , landscape and characters design are good but what killed it for me is the amount of talking in this game , I know rpg games have a lot of talking but this game takes it to another level but after some time it makes me feel tired, sometimes I don’t even care what the characters are saying anymore, I just want to skip everyGreat graphics, the best I have seen in a game like this , landscape and characters design are good but what killed it for me is the amount of talking in this game , I know rpg games have a lot of talking but this game takes it to another level but after some time it makes me feel tired, sometimes I don’t even care what the characters are saying anymore, I just want to skip every conversation….… Expand
  24. l3anyan
    Aug 9, 2023
    6
    I really don't get all the 10/10's. Did this game reinvent the wheel? No. It's okay but it's nothing extremely groundbreaking, I do understand I was not a huge Divinity fan - and this game feels like another Divinity game. It's all there. But I suppose if you are a pen and paper D&D nerd your head will explode as now its D&D meshed with Divinity. I respect Larian but come on... Do youI really don't get all the 10/10's. Did this game reinvent the wheel? No. It's okay but it's nothing extremely groundbreaking, I do understand I was not a huge Divinity fan - and this game feels like another Divinity game. It's all there. But I suppose if you are a pen and paper D&D nerd your head will explode as now its D&D meshed with Divinity. I respect Larian but come on... Do you really have to add beastiality to a video game? Isn't it enough that you can join the idiot woke crusade in the D&D world (why it has any place there is beyond me). Everyone made such a big deal about 'spending hours in character creation' - then I got the game and just wondered to myself what the hell everyone is smoking - must be that fluoride in the water; you pick on of five or six faces, add hair, add facial hair, makeup, scar (all pre-made options), and then... Get ready... You pick your genitals... If you want a penis you have three choices, vagina is two. How anyone sat in the character creation for an hour, or two or three, is insanity. Maybe people got excited because you can have a female, sorry, non-binary with a full beard. Or perhaps it was the amazing addition of vitiligo. People then rave about the visuals; it looks like the same old engine used back in 2017... Oh wait, it is that engine with a few tweaks. It gets the job done, but seriously, it's not setting any bars in that department. Voice acting is on par with DOS2. And the gameplay is on par with DOS2. Then you have the people freaking out that BG3 is now, get this, the highest rated game of 2023. I guess I was in another dimension because it's been pretty bleak in regards to interesting games being released. Good for Larian but be realistic. If Hollywood puts out nothing but the same trivial crap like Marvel and another Liam Neeson clone of Taken, and someone releases something that was highly anticipated and it scores high on release, it's kind of a win by default out the gate. I get that I am in the minority, and massively so, but I just don't have Larian's bit dripping out of my mouth that I failed to swallow and I don't drink the Kool-Aid.… Expand
  25. Xemnuz
    Aug 19, 2023
    6
    People giving this 10/10 are out of their minds when it comes to objectivity, not even a voice acting protagonist in a slow game like this is absurd. Most overhyped game I have heard of in a while.

    If you compare this to a now very old game Dragon Age Inquisition which is the closest game that comes to mind, they trade blows in some things, but I find the 9 year old DAI overall much    People giving this 10/10 are out of their minds when it comes to objectivity, not even a voice acting protagonist in a slow game like this is absurd. Most overhyped game I have heard of in a while.

    If you compare this to a now very old game Dragon Age Inquisition which is the closest game that comes to mind, they trade blows in some things, but I find the 9 year old DAI overall much better than this after 30 hours of gameplay. Closest 2. would be Greedfall which too is better in most ways.
    I tried this first like a year ago, didn't like it at all. Tried upon release again now and it's pretty much the same, although I've come a bit further.

    The game is extremely slow going, your character is appearing to jog while walking slow. It has quite good voice acting and characters at times but lacks depth so far, but thats early to say.
    The graphics are near identical to DAI, if you could slap DLSS on DAI they could be in the same world. The customization is ok, but lack of nose, mouth, eyebrows, face shapes and so forth is unacceptable, some will say that it would be impossible with cinematics etc, well even a game like Immortal Fenyx and Greedfall has that, DAI too has that, with voice acting on top of your fully customized character making the experience complete, while here your character just looks at a person appearing to be mute or slow.

    The combat is pretty awful so far, if you win you win, if you loose you reload the game, if you have to throw a dice, you either win and go forth, you loose you reload the game. It's not a fun way to play. Many of the dialogue options are not possible to get to if you ask/say the wrong thing first, usually they allow in most games to go by all of the dialogue options so you dont have to reload, but here it's very limited.

    I do want to play some more and perhaps it grows on me, but how people praise this game is just not objective. There is absolutely no smoothness to it, it's just so rough, everything from camera to movement and combat, it's like if it came out in 2008 it would be decent, but it's 2023, it can't be this unpolished today.

    So far it's perhaps 6.5/10, going to either 6 if not improving or possibly a 7 if it really picks up.    … Expand
  26. Xalmo43
    Aug 16, 2023
    6
    Most people giving reviews to this game have never actually played it all the way through or are paid advertisers. This game spent more on marketing then it did for development and the heavy astroturfing of sites like this shows. How is it so highly rated? Most have just come along and gave it a 10/10 due to hype, similar to how they did Elden Ring before getting past the first zone TheMost people giving reviews to this game have never actually played it all the way through or are paid advertisers. This game spent more on marketing then it did for development and the heavy astroturfing of sites like this shows. How is it so highly rated? Most have just come along and gave it a 10/10 due to hype, similar to how they did Elden Ring before getting past the first zone The game suffers hard in the 3rd act which is where it falls apart and the devs knew 75% of the playerbase would never reach it. Games like this and Diablo 4 are great reasons to pirate before you buy it or wait for it to go on sale for $10 once the patch's fixed it.… Expand
  27. sirdiddymus
    Aug 11, 2023
    6
    Loved alot of the game except the combat & just some of the absolute ridiculousness of it where it got pantomime silly.
  28. sulo
    Aug 28, 2023
    6
    bon jeu mai il n'est pas en français. Quelque bug dans le jeu et un cameras pas terrible!
  29. metacoffee
    Aug 20, 2023
    6
    i never played a turn based rpg, but it was very complicated to understand what to do in certain situation.
  30. NIKJOJO
    Aug 7, 2023
    6
    rpg elemnets are amazing, but the moment to moment gameplay is boring af. sad I can't play it
Page:

Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best PC Game of 2023
2
#2 Most Discussed PC Game of 2023

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
96

Universal acclaim - based on 112 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 111 out of 112
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 112
  3. Negative: 0 out of 112
  1. Cubed3
    Mar 25, 2024
    90
    With a vast world to explore with varied stories and secrets to discover, Baldur's Gate 3 definitely shines. The cast is largely appealing and voice acting is top notch all-around, even if the storytelling and line delivery is varied in its pace. Character progression is somewhat weak in the opening levels but has a strong foundation for a great buildcraft experience, even if it lacks some on the fly experimentation seen in Larian's past efforts. Despite some performance woes in the later parts of the game and controller hangups, this is a journey worth taking for fans of Dungeons & Dragons or those new to the role playing field.
    Read full review
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 22, 2024
    100
    Larian Studios, the creators of the latest installment, have gone to great lengths to make sure they didn't disgrace any of the franchise's building blocks. The love and care is evident in Baldur's Gate 3, though needless to pretend, there aren't a few bricks crumbling here and there in this monument. It's far from a perfect title, but on the whole Baldur's Gate 3 is a brilliant computer RPG that is undoubtedly not to be overlooked. [Issue#329]
  3. RPGamer
    Dec 7, 2023
    100
    Baldur’s Gate III is a title that many would not have thought possible just a few years ago. The game serves to further Larian Studios’s already strong reputation, and the studio deserves massive credit for refusing to panic, taking its time to get things right, and continuing to offer improvements even after launch at an impressive rate. Hopefully, it is able to reap the richly deserved rewards for doing so.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »