Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General Reality Check - The Reviews - Its Good!

I am just going to stick to the facts. None say the game is bad. The worst reviews still recognize its potential but recommend waiting for release.
Gog.com 4.3/5 (Verified Owners)
Steam 88% Positive
GameSpot 6/10 "Reviewing Baldur's Gate 3 at this point in time is a delicate proposition. It shows a good deal of promise, yet there are plenty of warning signs it may not fulfill its potential. But predicting the future is not really the task of an Early Access review. To some extent, it is fascinating to play Baldur's Gate 3 today with the knowledge you will be able to follow its progress over the coming months--and possibly years--with a kind of academic interest in how AAA RPGs are built. You'll be able to witness first-hand how rough cuts are beaten into shape and finally polished. And for some small section of the audience, that alone will be worth the price of admission. For the rest of us, however, there's no rush. Baldur's Gate 3 isn't done yet. It's okay to wait until it is."
Collider B- "Baldur's Gate III is understandably rough around the edges, but it's hard to ignore some of the issues with the game's foundation. Still, it's chock full of content even in its early phases and can be tackled with a myriad of playstyles."
IGN 7/10 "The technical issues are understandable for Early Access, but if you want a polished and pain-free experience, I have to recommend waiting for the full release. There is enough here worth being really excited about that I feel Baldur’s Gate 3 deserves to be enjoyed with fresh eyes when it’s done, or at least much further along. You’ll find numerous moments of genuine storytelling greatness, an exciting and effective turn-based combat system, and freedom to use the abilities of the various classes in outside-the-box ways. I had fun with what's here – but if I had it to do over again, I probably would have waited."
Digital Fix 6/10 "Solid, varied gameplay and an expansive, interesting world are tainted by stiff, glitchy animations, gameplay bugs and other technical issues. With time, this could become a great game. At the moment, it's in dire need of updates before I can recommend buying it, but the potential is there."
DualSHOCKERS 7.5/10 "Coming off Divinity: Original Sin 2, it’s no surprise that Baldur’s Gate 3 already shows a ton of promise not only to build off Larian’s predecessor, but as a worthy successor to an iconic RPG series. The caveat of course is that it isn’t quite there yet, instead showing players a foundation for what’s to come through its complex but satisfying systems of exploration, combat, and player agency and immersion. In its current state, the Early Access release of Baldur’s Gate 3 is an entertaining but buggy one-shot versus a fully-polished experience. But even in that form, Baldur’s Gate 3 looks like the beginning of a grand campaign for the ages."
The Digital Fix 6/10 "Solid, varied gameplay and an expansive, interesting world are tainted by stiff, glitchy animations, gameplay bugs and other technical issues. With time, this could become a great game. At the moment, it's in dire need of updates before I can recommend buying it, but the potential is there."
CGmagonline "I can’t encourage players enough to check out Baldur’s Gate 3"
CNET "If what I've seen so far represents how Larian will bring forth Dungeons & Dragons' Faerun setting through the rest of Early Access and into the final game, I can easily imagine myself putting 200 hours into Baldur's Gate 3"
Critical Hit "While what’s on offer currently is a great deal of fun and an excellent start to the journey, it’s difficult for me to recommend it as it currently stands. If anything, the current build of Baldur’s Gate 3 is an excellent indication of what we can expect down the line, a beautiful projection of the excellence that is to follow."
Game Rant "What's most telling that this will be a great game: only about 20 hours of unpolished gameplay are available to play—and yet when those hours are over, there's an immediate desire for more. If roughly one fifth of a game with limited character creation and so many bugs can do that, then the game in question is going to be something special when finished. The only real struggle will be waiting for the next chunk of Baldur's Gate 3 to hit Early Access.
Gamers Heros "Baldur’s Gate 3 is already a fantastically good time with an intriguing story, colorful characters, and a masterfully created game world. It’s in its very early days, but this is one of the most exciting Early Access titles to hit Steam in years."
GamesBeat "I could say much more about Baldur’s Gate III, but I want to leave a great deal of it for you to discover (I will note of my favorite entities from the Realms makes an appearance). But we do get a good look at where Baldur’s Gate III is going, and I think many of you are going to want to jump onboard."
GameSpew "It was at that point that I decided to hold off on playing Baldur’s Gate 3 further for a while. I’d seen enough. I’m confident that at some point this is going to be an absolutely phenomenal game – all the ingredients are there. But with the graphics to be further improved, more content to be added, the gameplay tweaked and the player character to be given a voice, to play it any further in this Early Access state would possibly only serve to ruin it"
GamesRadar "There’s no arguing with the fact that, by playing Baldur’s Gate 3 now, you’re embarking on a journey you can’t yet finish. Yet there’s something positive in that: the limited scope is an invitation to play - really play, to muck about and test the possibilities - rather than simply push to complete yet another RPG. This one’s worth hanging around in."
PC Gamer "Baldur's Gate 3 isn't an attempt to resurrect an old series. It's something new that pushes the systems and creative mayhem from Original Sin and combines them with the rules D&D. And they're perfect together. It's very promising and seems to be heading in the right direction, but should you buy in now? There's a good 25-30 hours of adventuring to be had, full of memorable fights and characters, but you won't be seeing the game at its best. It's already fun, but it's a bit janky, save wipes are guaranteed and, more importantly, you can't yet make a gnome illusionist, so really what's the point?"
Rock Paper Shotgun "If it were not for this job, and having the self-control of four year old at a birthday party (or games journalist presented with a plate of miniburgers at a press event), I would would want to see this enticing story play out in full. Don’t feel pressured to gather your party and venture forth, but based on what I’ve seen, I think that party is in for one hell of a ride when they do."

Now make a list for solasta lol

Maybe you should go play Solasta. I bet they have forums too. Buhbye.

Well yah its a huge success, only a miniscule fraction are mad its not a completely authentic tabletop experience.

Hey hey I'm on your side. What I meant to imply is that no one reviewed solasta, which I find very interesting and telling of our standards (in short, I think people judging bg3 much more harshly than they judge solasta, which is mostly fair, but also paint solasta as this pillar of greatness, a status this game doesn't deserve)

Slight mischaracterization of all the reviews.

More seriously,
I think most people on this forum agree that this game has potential. The question is how much work/changes need to be done to become an amazing game.
I also think most people think that the game in its current state is enjoyable. But that doesn't mean it can't be improved, and it certainly doesn't mean we shouldn't point out any flaws and attempt to provide valuable feedback.

I apologize. Solasta has some really good reviews actually and has a higher rating on steam so I thought you were being a smart ass. Before people latch on that, IMO Solasta is a much different game targeted at a niche set of gamers. For that niche, I think it's a good game. But even on steam it has <10% of the reviews that BG3 does because of the smaller target. When I get bored of BG3 between patches I will play more of Solasta, but to me there is no contest as to which is a better game.


No its not. Leave it to you to pick the worst review to make your point. Newsflash...it doesn't say the game is bad. In fact it says "It shows a good deal of promise". Try again. Take the average of the numbers. Take the overall feeling from all. There is zero mischaracterization.


Warning: Potentially inflammatory:

You can find plenty of posts where I disagree with someone yet thank them for their suggestions. I am all for constructive criticism and differences of opinion. But there is a difference between making a constructive comment and bashing the game, the developer, and the people that disagree with your comments.

In another thread, I provided evidence and links, yet people still want to perpetuate lies or twist what they said or focus on another item just to be negative.

The purpose of this thread is to be positive and shine the light of truth on these forums and the vocal minority. It's a good game. It will be better. It will never be everything you want it to be and in the end, you may not like it, but you are the minority and your opinion is no more important than anyone else.

I haven't seen a post saying that the game is bad in a while, and the "This is DOS3" Week 1 trolls have mostly vanished. Thanks for keeping it positive though?

I mean, yes? Picking the worst review was intentional, with the "More seriously" line I wrote after it (which you don't quote) was meant to convey this was more of a joke point.

The average of the numerical reviews is around a 7, which is good. Not great, but not bad. Enjoyable, but with definite room for improvement as the game is developed to full release. As both you and I (and the review I quoted) agree on.


Again, we both say that the game is good and will get better but obviously won't be perfect for everyone. There's been a lot of effort put into the game by Larian and its exciting that we're getting another BG game.

However, between the two of us, one of us has spent much more effort bashing people that have disagreed with their comments, so you don't really have the high horse for "respecting differences of opinion."

Says the guy who came into my thread and accused me of mischaracterization...yeah yer a saint.

You know what, that's fair. I was being needlessly antagonistic, and although I also tried to engage this post in good faith with my comments on most people's thoughts on the game, that doesn't make up for the former comment.

Then I suggest we both try to be a little less antagonistic. I think we probably agree on way more than we disagree on and we both like the game and want to see it better so why are we sniping each other?

Now hugs and handshakes all around, and we can all go out for pizza!

Sometimes the harshest critics are those who do see the most potential imo... sometimes...

Nice to see all the reviews together though thx and that most seem to fit my own feel for the game...

Will admit i didnt do much research into what the "EA" access would entail and simply jumped in based on BG 1-2... was a little meh finding out it would be a year(no biggie though) but a little more so the more i read people who seem to think 2 yrs...

Approaching 200 hrs in im starting to realize i was wise not to cancel my DDO subscription quite yet though...

+1

This game was only what, forty bucks? Sixty? I don't know, it was the price of lunch. If it were terrible I would forget about it as quickly as my last meal. It is the fact that is has real possibility -and still in development- that I bother contributing my thoughts and perspectives at all.

I have obviously been eating in the wrong places! I get your point though. I have paid a lot more for a lot worse.

That is precisely it. So have I. I have spent a potentially embarrassing amount on games over the years which I have played for a couple hours each and never touched again. I would like to see something made which is superior, which will inspire people toward even greater efforts in the future. Like with sports. I think the earliest superbowl we have footage off is like number 3 right? Green Bay? Brutal, punishing physicality, there is a lot to appreciate, but compare either championship team with those 20 years later and all of them would blow them out of the water. . .Except maybe the Bills, the Browns and the Colts. Gaming should show even greater disparity considering all the technical ability and developments in physics and rendering which have taken place since them. Imagine if Half Life Alyx were the minimum standard of acceptability instead of the gold standard. It is the hallmark of our species we are always pushing our boundaries, finding new horizons, and redefining excellence.

Personally, I think it is the apologists who are willing to settle for mediocrity who do our shared hobby the greatest disservice, the only exception being the most toxic of trolls.

+1

I don't think many people think the game is actually bad, there is so much good work in it, all the visuals, animations, level building, the story seems promising... But I think many of us agree in that if it stays like this it will end up being disappointing and those ratings will be going down. After all the ratings are given with the promise or hope that some things will be fixed or reworked.

If this game only gets patches for bugs, stability and content without revamping some of the gameplay mechanics that the community has been requesting (like party management and size, combat features, inventory, camping, cantrips, scrolls, useless loot, lack of NPC reactions, and so many other things that we have been talking about in these forums) then the game will probably fail. Also is BG3 we are talking about, the expectations are higher because no one expects some other mediocre RPG, we are waiting for a game changer.

From what people learned from DOS 2 EA then it is very likely that they stick to their original plan and only add those ideas they already had in mind since day 1 and nothing more.

That right there is why I get baited into inflammatory comments and get messaged by the Mods. That comment implies so much self-important BS on top of the fact that it probably sold as much or more in EA than was expected for the whole thing so it's all icing from here. It already CAN'T fail. Read the reviews. All they have to do is fix the bugs, stability, and add more content and it will be more of an amazing success than it already is. And all you "well they have to ..." people can go get bent. Its one thing to suggest improvements, but to say it has to...or it will fail...LOLOLOLOL.