Baldurs Gate 3!

[Jackie.Hikaru]

Hey fellow fantasy nerds, now that I know there is a whole herd of you on here, I gotta ask, have any of you played Baldur's Gate 3??

I am absolutely falling in love with the characters and the writing... It's such an enchanting game.

Take for example this wonderful gem of a line that a wizard speaks after setting you on an absolutely heart wrenching quest:

"Like moons make swell and wane the nescient seas, so too the sky-strewn gods ordain the tidal fates of mortal days. And yet – a notion born in lonely hours – come ebb, come flow, come all that is beyond the breadth of our dominion: be a moon unto yourself. Even the waves of fate can break upon the shores of will."

Well done to the writers of Baldur's gate 3. I'm in love

 

[Jackie.Hikaru]

And yes. I paused the game so I can write that line down.

 

[SouthernCrossfire]

Not yet but I'm looking forward to it eventually. Having played Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance years ago, I finally picked up a copy of BG1 & 2 a few months ago and am currently about 1/2 way through Baldur's Gate 1. However, I've put it all on standby for a while as I work my way through Hogwarts Legacy (currently at 90% on main quest and 75% overall). Please let us know how you like BG3 as you get further into it and whether your initial thoughts are confirmed.

 

[Stacnash]

Kevin VanOrd left GameSpot many moons ago and was heavily involved in the writing for BG3.

Gamespot was never quite the same when he left.

 

[Euphony]

"Don’t touch me - I’m super important."

Ahh...memories.

Sooooooouper important.

 

[lovecraft68]

I haven't played a video game since Halo 2 live and that was only because we had tournaments at the comic store and I learned how to play in case we had an odd number of kids and someone needed a partner.

 

[Jackie.Hikaru]

Ahh...memories.

Sooooooouper important.

BG 3 is my first dungeons and dragons based game, though I do have many fond memories of point and click adventures. Return to Zork (my first ever PC game), Torrin's Passage, and King's (and Queen's) Quest series. BG 3 really does bring that magic back.

 

[NoTalentHack]

I own a copy, and I am trying very hard to not play it, because I always feel guilty playing games these days when I could be writing. But I will. I'll put time aside to play it and have my big ol' bear druid maul the shit out of some mind flayers.

 

[NoTalentHack]

BG 3 is my first dungeons and dragons based game, though I do have many fond memories of point and click adventures. Return to Zork (my first ever PC game), Torrin's Passage, and King's (and Queen's) Quest series. BG 3 really does bring that magic back.

If you end up really loving this, I highly recommend Pathfinder: Kingmaker and Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous. They're both in sort of knockoff D&D systems, so they might feel familiar, and they've got great worldbuilding.

 

[Euphony]

I on a copy, and I am trying very hard to not play it, because I always feel guilty playing games these days when I could be writing. But I will. I'll put time aside to play it and have my big ol' bear druid maul the shit out of some mind flayers.

I have it on good authority your muse thinks all work and no (video game) play makes Hack a dull boy.

Court they demand. Court we must.

 

[SouthernCrossfire]

I played AD&D in college and grad school and ran my own campaign for several years. There was not time after that so I loved discovering Menzoberranzan, Curse of Strahd, and several other DOS-based D&D games in the late 90s or so before finding BG Dark Alliance on GameCube. Those were all a lot of fun in the D&D tradition. I found Elder Scrolls: Oblivion (very good) and ES: Skyrim (excellent) to be similar but different but a lot of fun in more recent years. The graphics on Skyrim are much better than the older games too.

 

[Altissimus]

I would, but... Starfield.

 

[AchtungNight]

D&D has long been an inspiration to me. I played and DMed in grade school and college. I too highly recommend any game based on the system, especially the Gold Box and Pathfinder titles, also the original Final Fantasy game.

 

[bumpercars]

I would, but... Starfield.

Sounds like you need two monitors.

 

[Altissimus]

Sounds like you need two monitors.

What kinda amateur do you take me for? Of course I have two monitors!

 

[onehitwanda]

@Jackie.O.Hikaru check out Pillars of Eternity 1 and 2 on steam. It's a story done by the original Baldurs Gate devs and... well, bits of the story are really really captivating.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Pillars of Eternity 2 is a bit more up-to-date with graphics than part 1 and there is also a new mod of play that allows turn-based play rather than real-time, which makes it comparable to another successful turn-based rpg Divinity, Original Sin (2). I intend to check Baldurs Gate 3 out definitely

 

[onehitwanda]

Skyrim owns my soul these days

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Skyrim owns my soul these days

Decent story and open world, although I don't like the hack and slash type of gameplay. I liked Dragon Age trilogy kind of gameplay far more. But when it comes to story and amazing characters, there is no equal to Mass Effect trilogy. It is like a player driven A+ tier movie with great performances all over. It is an absolute must for everyone except for those who loathe Space Operas. Plenty of woman to woman romance options too

 

[onehitwanda]

Decent story and open world, although I don't like the hack and slash type of gameplay. I liked Dragon Age trilogy kind of gameplay far more. But when it comes to story and amazing characters, there is no equal to Mass Effect trilogy. It is like a player driven A+ tier movie with great performances all over. It is an absolute must for everyone except for those who loathe Space Operas. Plenty of woman to woman romance options too

The Wildcat combat system radically changes Skyrim for the better.

But i'm really just in it for the landscapes, the Aurorae, Akatosh, dungeon crawling and watching Serana's bum

 

[AwkwardlySet]

The Wildcat combat system radically changes Skyrim for the better.

But i'm really just in it for the landscapes, the Aurorae, Akatosh, dungeon crawling and watching Serana's bum

I played the game when it was first released, before that mod was out, I guess. Still, Mass Effect trilogy is beyond comparison when it comes to story and characters, in my opinion, and the landscapes of dozens upon dozens of planets you get to visit are simply breathtaking. Music was also excellent (The Stranger Things intro is a rip-off of one of the Mass Effect 1 in-game tracks.) Plenty of gorgeous characters too I wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone who likes RPGs.

 

[burgwad]

I was all-in the second I heard Larian was making Baldur's Gate III. Early Access, day one, sixty bucks confidently invested. As I write this, BG3's aggregate review score on MetaCritic has surpassed both Elden Ring and Zelda Tears Of The Kingdom. I am terrible at this amazing game, but I am enjoying the learning curve, and I heartily recommend it to anyone who has ever wanted to play a RPG where you could, in theory, get transformed into a cheese wheel partway through and still somehow beat the rest of the game. BGIII is weird, "scary" huge, and special.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Is there a Minsc romance option? I've been waiting SO long for that.

 

[Michael682]

Oh I’ve been thinking about it but still involved with Diablo. So many games so little time.

 

[RejectReality]

Eventually. Heard too much good about it not to. May need to upgrade the ol' PC to handle it though. Haven't looked at the specs, but this old box is getting long in the tooth.