What the OP wrote really resonated with me, I couldn't have put it better myself. I imagine nostalgia plays a part when looking back at those seminal prequel games but nevertheless they have stood the test of time (I had a blast replaying BG1 this summer-it's flawed but oh how it draws you into its world). The BG3 map feels devoid of life and totally craps on immersion with its theme park feel and endless 'corridors' of exploration...I don't recall a single open expanse one could traverse.
BG3 suffers for being something of a hybrid game; not quite D&D, not quite DOS. The original games were far more measured, immersive and there was a patience involved in levelling up but the rewards felt far more tangible for it. Perhaps Larian worried that gamers these days would have the patience for such a game? I see posts here talking about not wanting to fight trash mobs but the alternative is seemingly to throw every crazy encounter you can possibly imagine at the party? Where is the sense of scale, or achievement, when you level up regularly in no time and are facing every exotic monster possible, all in Act 1. I shudder to think what later Acts will be like in BG3.
Criticisms of the intro of BG2, while valid, also have to consider the party started at a much higher level. I concur it's a bit strange and a pain in the arse to get it out of the way but it has never bothered me in the same manner as BG3's explosive intro.
The thing that gets me perhaps the most is that I just don't care about any of the companions in BG3, I don't care what or who The Absolute is...it's a convoluted mess of a storyline full of plot holes. I had a vested interest in many of the companions in previous games; some felt relatable and others were detestable but for the most part they felt believable. I stopped playing BG3 a year ago because I just felt empty forcing myself to try and enjoy the game.
Everything is too special, fantastical and exceptional in BG3 and hence, nothing really is. There's no foreplay, it's all f**king. It's like Larian took a classic car and rather than refine it, they turned it into some brash muscle car.
