I immediately became intrigued by this game the moment I learned that it was set in the Dungeons and Dragons universe. While I figured I would enjoy it, I could not have predicted the metaphorical chokehold that Baldur’s Gate III currently has over me.
The plot of Baldur’s Gate III follows the player character in their adventure to remove a Mindflayer parasite from their brain, meeting various charming companions along the way, and uncovering the mysterious cult that has wreaked havoc upon the coast. It borrows the world and gameplay mechanics from the tabletop RPG, Dungeon’s, and Dragons, in which attacks and conversation outcomes are based on the role of a twenty-sided dice. The standard dice-rolling leads to some vastly different outcomes for scenarios depending on if the roll is a failure or success.
This game excels in immersion, with the player’s choice of class, race, and spells affecting the dialogue choices presented. My main playthrough stars a tiefling, or half-devil, warlock and the amount of intractability from that choice was a massive surprise. One of the first areas the player encounters is a grove filled with tiefling refugees from a city that had been pulled into one of the Nine Hells. The original residents have become distasteful to these tieflings, and thus associate any player who chooses to be one with the refugees, even though the character is explicitly not a refugee themself. However, the fantasy race with the most different interactions is that of the Drow, also called “under-elves,” who will be treated with disdain by various NPCs but will be respected by the mysterious cult that the player must investigate. The same goes for classes, which can affect if the player will be more knowledgeable about certain scenarios. It truly makes you feel like a resident of Faerûn (the world of Baldur’s Gate).
Another point of interest is the combat and stat system. D&D can be intimidating to inexperienced players, especially considering the surprising amount of math that it involves. But Baldur’s Gate III has excellent tutorials, which are easy to understand. They could also be a way for newcomers to learn the rules of D&D as well. The translation of mechanics is not one to one, but it has all the basics correct – the standard player has movement, action, and bonus action in one round of the turn-based combat. It is also insanely fun, regardless of the connection to its tabletop roots. Combat supports up to four characters, so it truly is a team effort to win any fight that the game presents you. Baldur’s Gate III is also multiplayer, with up to four players able to join up and adventure across the game’s beautiful world. So, you could either settle for the amusing NPC companions preprogrammed into the game or strategize vocally with real-life people.
The game is fun, beautiful, charming, and extremely addictive, and frankly, the only reason I would not recommend it is if you have other things to focus on. Believe me when I say this game is hard to step away from.
