I don’t play a ton of video games. But sometimes a theme comes along with video games that makes me really interested. Baldur’s Gate 3 with it’s Dungeons and Dragons theme is one of those games. Not just because it’s Dungeons and Dragons, but because Baldur’s Gate 3 has a story to go with it and open world exploration, but not too open world. Let’s talk about what Baldur’s Gate 3 does and why it may or may not be for you.

What Is Baldur’s Gate 3

So, normally when I write about board games, this is the section on how to play the game. I’m going to touch on that some for Baldur’s Gate 3 here, but also, what is the game in general?

Baldur’s Gate is a role playing game on the computer. You make your character and take them through adventures having dialogs with the NPCs both in your adventuring party and outside of it, to explore the world and to try and solve the problem that you’ve been faced with. You also face off against enemies in combat.

As you progress through the game you also progress through levels for your character and party members. So you gain more hit points, improve stats, and unlock more spells. All of this is taken directly from Dungeons and Dragons as to how you progress.

And that is the majority of the game. It’s about dialog, combat, and exploring the world. All the while working through the story that of the game.

Is The Story Good?

Let’s start then by talking about the story. Baldur’s Gate 3’s story is engaging from the get go. The game drops you into the story and you just need to start running with it. I like the set piece that you start in, which is in the trailers, of the hells.

And it teaches you while still expecting you to play the game at the start of the story. If you fail to do some things that will impact your game going forward from the get go. It might not be the biggest things, but you might miss out on a whole character if you aren’t careful, which is pretty impressive to start a game.

The story continues to grow from there. I like how it progresses not at that quick a pace, so it gives time for side quests. But it progresses in ways that makes you think about the story before. You need to remember who the characters are and where you’ve met them before. Because, it will matter as characters come back again in the story.

How Does Combat Work?

I think that combat is the area that trips most people up. Cut scenes with dialog and picking options. That all is normal. But the combat in Baldur’s Gate 3 is Dungeons and Dragons combat. You get an initiative, you pick from a lengthy set of spells or you need to consider your combat moves otherwise. And you do that for your whole party. And the monsters work in that way as well.

I know from what I’ve heard that some people don’t like this style of combat as well. And it is not going to be for everyone because it is different. That said, I like it. I like it because I don’t need to be quick on the buttons. When I play a game like Dragon Age, I set them casting some spell or using some shot, and I just keep on eye on cooldowns for when I can do it again. Or I need to try and spam moves or button mash. But here, I take my time to figure out what I want to do and I do that.

Now, as you gain more spells, it might become overwhelming for the player in the game. And it helps that I know what the spells or moves are from Dungeons and Dragons. So I sit down and I see “Fireball” I know what it is going to do. If you are new to Baldur’s Gate 3 and to Dungeons and Dragons it is going to be a different experience for you.

Final Thoughts on Baldur’s Gate 3

Why isn’t there more, you might ask. Surely there are more elements of the game to breakdown. There kind of are, and there kind of aren’t. So much of the rest of the game I’d consider to be traditional in what you are doing. If I’m playing a game or have played fantasy role playing games, or even something like Horizon Zero Dawn, you know what to do in these sorts of games.

The big question is, does the game grab you with the story? And is the combat something that works for you. I think some people will love the combat. I think other people, it is going to be too slow or too overwhelming with everything. And because of that, there is going to be a learning curve that some people won’t want to do.

For me, I love what the game does. I love leveling up my characters and seeing everything that can happen in the story. And I like the check system, maybe the other thing I could have written about. But the classic Dungeons and Dragons D20 system brought over to a video game, and it works well.

Have you played Baldur’s Gate 3, do you enjoy it. And is it worth getting and playing the older Baldur’s Gate games?

Send an Email
Message me on X at @TheScando
Visit us on Facebook here
Support us on Patreon here