Update #3: August 15, 2023
I've now clocked around 115 hours in Baldur's Gate 3 and am sunk deep into its third act. No spoilers here, but I can say that this is where Larian's writing has really come to shine in terms of weighty roleplaying choices. In fact, the big decision you have to make before committing to a final plan of action to stop the bad guys is devilishly ingenious. The jaws of the trap already closed long before we arrived here, but there is still room for me to make bold decisions that will affect the outcome.
And, as I watched the chess game between devils and tyrants play out in my head, I felt heartbroken and liberated at the same time to realize what the only winning move might be. This is not a tale that takes for granted that you are a hero; it's one that truly stares you down and demands that you prove it, if that's really what you're made of. I'm backed into a corner with a dozen ways out, but each one would require me to compromise on what I believe in in one way or another. This elevates the tension and the storytelling to new heights.
Likewise, the sprawling city of Baldur's Gate that took so long to reach is a hub full of life and adventure, where almost every citizen has something to say about the unfolding events and my nosey exploration is consistently rewarded with new lore, new loot, and new quests. It's downright astounding how much voice acting Larian has crammed into these streets, and how good nearly all of it is. (When was the last time you played an RPG where at least one character’s performance didn’t stand out as phoned in?) There are dozens of random gossipers on street corners who sound just as enthusiastically and professionally portrayed as the main cast, and rarely sound too similar to each other. I assume many of the actors involved must be responsible for more than one of these bit parts, but I can't tell just by listening like I can in some areas of Skyrim.
That being said, I did have to lower my graphics settings a bit from the maxed-out levels I’d been playing at up to this point. Even on my RTX 3080, the city is not all that friendly to my framerate.
With so many questions finally answered and a clear idea of what I need to do to finish this fight, I'm cutting a determined path through the underworld and facing both new and old enemies. In a lot of ways, I don't want Baldur's Gate 3 to end – and that's really saying something given how much time I've already put into it. But all good things must, so you can expect my final thoughts later this week.
Update #2: August 11, 2023
I've sunk another 20-some hours into Baldur's Gate 3 since we last chatted, and I'm nearing the end of the gloomy and spooky Act 2. It's getting harder to go into specifics without spoiling major elements of the plot, but the shift in tone and visual style has been welcome and refreshing. The shadow-shrouded lands I am now adventuring through have a completely different vibe and set of challenges from even Act 1's Underdark.
What has really stuck out to me the most at this point in the adventure is the care and thoughtfulness with which the encounter designers are torturing me. I mentioned in the last update that no two combat encounters felt the same, but it's more than that. It's like each one is carefully designed to make me want to scream and throw my monitor out the window in a way I've never seen before. And I mean that in the best possible way.
If this were a tabletop D&D game, I would have to conclude that the dungeon master is a right bastard. But I still gotta hand it to him for the creativity and craftsmanship with which his sadistic bullshit is shaped. One fight will involve teleporting imp creatures who garrote my party members before carting them off to separate locations, preventing spellcasting and forcing everyone to fend for themselves. The next might be against some terrifying insectoids who leave everyone literally petrified with fear, so I have to find a way to win without being able to move. At no point have I been able to fall back on a repetitive, grinding routine. And I love that.
It also continues to amaze me how almost nothing in this enormous game feels like filler. Every random house I wander into or side quest I pick up rewards me with a memorable, unique, handcrafted experience. In a recent encounter, I was able to skip an entire boss fight by having our barbarian win a drinking contest against a powerful being. It's not just the amount of stuff there is to do in Baldur's Gate 3 that is exceptional, it's the amount of stuff that is actually worth doing. That’s set it apart from the likes of Assassin's Creed Valhalla and, dare I say, even Tears of the Kingdom. This type of love and care really is what I want to see big-budget CRPGs focus on in the future, even if they have to sacrifice quantity to make it happen.
Ascending to level 8 and picking up the druid Halsin (yes, the guy from the famous bear sex trailer) as a permanent companion have given me even more combat options, though I'm not thrilled with how druids work overall. For all the, er, hype over Halsin's bear form, it seems like it kind of sucks in combat. When he transforms he has only 10 AC and about half as many hit points as in his humanoid form. Some of the higher-level transformations, like saber-toothed tiger and owlbear, may be a lot more useful, and I might just not have gotten the hang of him yet, since he joined my party when I had already gotten used to the other characters for about 70 hours. But I was looking forward to having my bear boyfriend be my new tank, and it seems like he's just not that good at it.
I'm at an odd point in the story, still, where I've definitely had more new questions arise than I've had answered. But looming just ahead is Moonrise Towers, where I've been promised by various characters that I might finally come to a better understanding of what's going on. And judging by the ominous drums in the distance, that’s coming not a moment too soon.
Update #1: August 8, 2023
I'm now about 55 hours into Baldur's Gate 3, with the first 50 of those having taken place almost entirely within the first act – which has been considerably expanded and cleaned up from what was available in Early Access. My party is now level 7, and much like in tabletop 5th Edition D&D, hitting level 5 was a huge moment at which the combat really started to feel satisfying. Getting extra attacks for my martial characters and big area-of-effect spells like Fireball for my casters has greatly expanded the destructive tactical combos I can string together, allowing me to best even some truly terrifying boss monsters with my wits and careful planning. The first few levels were a bit of a slog, but the payoff has been worth it.
I've gotten to know my companions better as well, and yet they remain full of surprises. I'm also dating most of them at this point, and I haven't been punished for my anime protagonist harem antics yet. Also full of surprises is Baldur's Gate 3's map of the Sword Coast, which is so packed with varied and memorable side quests that I've been searching every corner of every shack and meadow. Usually, I'm at least rewarded with some loot. In some cases, I'm treated to an entire storyline that I might have missed entirely otherwise.
Dealing with a mischievous hag or making a very unlikely ally out of the last creature you would expect to be sympathetic to my plight have been among the main highlights. But there hasn't been a single one that left me bored or underwhelmed, as though it was there simply to pad out the campaign. The creativity and care with which every little side adventure is constructed is delightful. And Larian has made excellent use of the vast D&D bestiary to ensure that no two combat encounters ever feel the same.
I'm also still encountering some bugs, but the first post-launch patch seemed to fix some of the more persistent ones, like the weird lighting glitches in dialogue scenes. Some have stuck around, though: My journal’s recounting of one side quest that I resolved by knocking a person unconscious claims that I both killed and spared them, leaving them in a state of narrative superposition that you'd need to read Schrödinger to make any sense of. I also had a save become corrupted to the point that I'd crash to the desktop every time I loaded it, which lost me about 45 minutes of progress. Luckily, this has only happened once so far.