I hate RPGs based on level systems and its definitely one of the things i generally don't like about D&D, BUT at the same time its a key defining element of D&D. When you step away from it you take a big chunk of the feeling D&D games have and that's just another reason BG3 fails for me as a D&D game.
To be honest I don't think FR is that great of a lore that its worth for just the names, mainly because it is that limited by D&D mechanics. So if Larian wants to do their own game, they should have stuck with DOS - where the levels are just a mechanics that meant nothing for story telling. Naturally D&D doesn't mention levels in their lore, but if you ever played a game of D&D through any iteration you get an understanding of what each monster means and who/what you are dealing with if they go up against each other. BG3 is horrible in that regard... all characters are definitely not level 1 adventurers and the world mixes all kinds of CR that you can still tackle having an huge disconnect to the skills/mechanics... it completely fails to feel like a D&D setting.
