Baldur’s Gate is a beloved RPG sub-franchise of Dungeons and Dragons and the news of a third video game excited many, The game has now released in Early Access, and we were provided a key to take a look at the game. As the game is in Early Access still, many things will change and more will no doubt be added. This is therefore not a review, but a look at what we have at first. Baldur’s Gate III has a nice character creation menu, although parts are still unavailable as of yet. I spent some time creating my Player Character and going through all options available to me. The game itself is rather gorgeous and my mid range PC handled everything perfectly. The character models are all well done and I must commend Larian Studios for the work done to make the game look this good.
As for the actual game itself, I found this to be more faithful to Dungeons and Dragons than many other games, by virtue of the narrator acting less like a narrator and more like a traditional Dungeon Master. Aspects such as perception checks for example are handled far better here and the game handles many of the Dungeons and Dragons mechanics in well thought out ways. Combat has shifted now and uses more turn based combat rather than the previous games which used real time fighting. You can also apply turn based actions to the entire game to make things more like a traditional game of Dungeons and Dragons, which is a neat touch as well. Although many have had issues with the change, I do like the change and feel it works well.
From what I’ve played, Baldur’s Gate III manages to bring the series forward in a big way. This is not an easy game and you need to handle each interaction carefully. You will die a lot, and Larian has even put out a map of areas where deaths are common. There are also moral choices you must make and I like that there is a lot of room to replay the game with new scenarios. Now what I would like to see done for the future, I would like to see a more fleshed out character creation menu with more customization options, and as much as I liked the combat, I do feel it needs to be polished a bit more as there are times were it does not work well. The entire game being turn based is also not fully developed and I feel a lot more can be done here to create a more immersive game.
Baldur’s Gate III also needs more refinement to character movement and some animations, but I do feel the game has a lot of potential. For an Early Access release, I am overall impressed with the game. I do feel there is a great basis to build on as well. I have high hopes for Baldur’s Gate III in the future and cannot wait for more updates.
I am planning more of these impressions pieces over time, to continue giving my thoughts on the game. Look for them soon.