Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Why this game is as good as it is

- Comparing to other similar turn based RPGs i think the combat on BG 3 is very good and well made. Since fallout 1 and 2 i havent seen any game achieving such enjoyable combat animations and those games are very old. But this game has very well detailed animations and effects and sounds on combat. For example 2 hand weapons dont look like character would be swinging toy weapons that weight 0,5kg which is big problem on most games. Realistic brutality is lacking tho, would love to see death animations where axe or sword would sink into body and character has to slowly pull it off the body. Or Fallout 2 style deaths where half the stomach gets blown away or leg or where arrow hits head and dying creature slowly falls to knees and then on his face, on fallout 1 and 2 it all worked so well because animations were slow, todays games that are doing similar brutality the animations are unrealisticly super fast which kinda ruins the realism aspect of it and makes it look like ridiculous cartoon.

- D&D leveling system is probably most interesting and makes this game so much more interesting.

- Probably best feature is the multiple possible options you can choose from when following the story and doing quests

- Possibility to play as good or evil or anything between, people today are so sick of hollywood style cliché stories where good always wins and outcomes are too easily predicted. Which makes me hope your story will have big surprises, so big that anyone who tried to achieve for example good ending of the game, might actually fail it even if he/she chose all the obvious "good" choices during the story, so that he has to try again.


All these 4 things together are making the game so replayable that it think it will be legendary game.


Edit: When playing game like this, i think very important aspect of combat is that whatever ability spell or attack it is you are using, when you point and click and action happens, it must be satisfyingly powerful; meaning visuals, sound and animation must feel powerful. When you swing heavy axe at enemy, it must look and sound like heavy axe piercing through mail armor sinking into enemy. Or when you for example miss fireball, it would be nice if the animation would throw the fireball at enemy but then it ricochets from enemy's armor or shield and visual effect would like split the fireball in 2 pieces that are flying away (similar to some tank vs tank battles on company of heroes for example) . This is something i havent seen gotten right since fallout 2. On that game when you point, click and watch how difficult enemy is annihilated completely, its what combat on this kind of games can be at best.

I like shocking and surprising moments, and they can be very impactful. But I don't want any final outcome to come as a complete surprise. Plot twists for their own sake are...not great. There should be hints and clues along the way such that, when any plot twist happens, everything you've experienced is recontextualized and it makes perfect sense why and how things would end up this way.

An ending of "Things end terribly for you because you chose Good options even though you had no way of knowing those options were leading to this outcome; sucks to suck!" would be unfulfilling and frustrating imo.

It's the only proper cRPG with a massive team and what must be an enormous budget. I can't think of an RPG since Black Isle's closure that wouldn't be made on a tight budget, aimed at nieche audience. The best one could hope for is a AAA hybrid RPG like Witcher or Mass Effect. The closest we got until now was Dragon Age series, and BG3 just seems to be doing both RPG elements and eye candy much better then those series.

It also helps that it is a stand-alone studio with no publisher oversight, doing a game they believe in. No trend chasing, just people at Larian doing what they think will be the best and most fun game to play.

What I like about the game as it is :

• The music is simply amazing.
• I actually like what they are doing with the companions. It's fun to interact with them and to learn more about them and their stories.
• I find the combat system fun.
• My friends don't really play games (even tabletop games), so being able to play a version of dnd is pretty neat. The graphics are beautiful and creating/planning new characters is fun.
• The npcs (animals included) are also very interesting and fun to interract with. This includes : Aradin, Mattis, Rolan, Auntie Ethel, Rugan, Dhourn, the depressed bear, the Redcaps pretending to be sheeps, Barcus Wroot, most goblins...and the list goes on.
• There's a lot to do without it feeling overwhelming and without it breaking immersion.

T.L.D.R It's fun and the music is great.

Here are a few of the things I think make BG3 a great game!

• Halsin!🐻😊
• Party-based game: I love having companions with banter and personal quests
• Cinematic dialogue and high-quality voice acting pull me into the game
• Interesting main and side quests: No fetch quests that waste your time
• Lots of dialogue choices including class and race options
• Lots of spells to cast

+1000

OMG how did I fail to mention daddy Halsin and the on-point voice acting???

I think that the main reason this game is as good as it is (which is not good) is that they didn't bother to make a new engine from scratch and tried to build on top of the dos engine instead. And it just works poorly for a dnd5 game.

Second reason is that they're inprinting too much of themeselves into the game instead of neutrally realizing the fine system and world that already exist. DnD and Forgotten Realms in particular have character (strong and recognizable), you don't have to bring yours to make it alive/interesting, it's already there. You just mess the things up.

Boo!!! Can't we have one positive thread without having criticisms that aren't relevant to the points being made being interjected? There are plenty of other critical threads, and I have plenty of my own criticisms of the game, but it would be lovely to have at least the odd thread where we can unabashedly share what we enjoy about the game.

EDIT: Of course, you are very welcome to start a thread about why the game is as bad as it is, and I'd promise not to post in that about how the game is great actually!

Well I think it works wonders for a DnD game and what you are saying is just a baby duck syndrome. I think the proud DnD 5e protectorate should see the benefits the Larian's approach brings to their beloved DnD game, which is a transitory playground for people who are not aware with the tabletop version. DnD is hard to comprehend for a lot of people, due to social anxieties, elaborate systemic rules, poor imagination and an enormous price tag for player/DM equipment to compensate for the lack of it (imagination). BG3 is more newcomer-friendly, which can easily then result for a new player base for the DnD tabletop, making it even more popular, accessible and easier to set up.

Can not speak for all the crowd, but quite sure a lot of them fear exactly this: people who learn DnD from BG3 and come to the tables with expectations for DnD to be like that - with broken rules and butchered lore.

And yet, I, personally, also think the game is good as it is. The injection of DnD to DoS is refreshing. Beloved features of DoS are still there. Should they position it from the start this way, do not think there would be any complaints. As of now, some little polish, a bit of tweaking - and the game is good to go!

I don't quite understand those fears. I guess you might fear it if you play with a completely random party, but it would either way be an unpredictable experience, either way a gamble. I usually play with people I know, with a DM I've met while serving in the military and a couple of his/mine friends, and we enjoy the game a lot and respect each other in their approach to the game and opinion on the rules. This is like what DM exists for, to make the experience enjoyable for everyone

So unless one is just an internet warrior with a baby duck syndrom, I can't see a logical reason to be negatively tuned towards the game in that sense. It is all feelings and stuff, imo.

Anyway, as I've been corrected in another thread - we should probably not go too off topic here, even though I myself don't see the harm in it. I agree with the OP that the game is good because it gives you a wholesome experience of playing an RPG, and DnD elements making their highlight in it are the cherry on top!

The music is pretty darn good.

I hope they held some back for final release but if not its still has a great soundtrack.

The graphics are fantastic

The maps have their limitations but some of the settings so far are very cool and imaginative.

Hopefully Larian is as supportive of mods as they were with DOS2. I look forward to tweaks and improvements that the community comes up with to address many of the flaws in the game (UI, homebrew, lighting, armor choices etc.)

Its a very good game in many respects and could be even better by final release.

I thing that explaining why this game is not so good falls under the topic "Why this game is as good as it is". Because "as it is" might mean that it's not good. But you know, not a native English speaker here.

More newcomer-frendly than what? Than a pen and paper version? Probably, you at least don't need other people to be able to play the game here. But why compare it to pen and paper, which is entirely different activity? We should compare it to other versions of BG3 - to what it could have been. Do you really think that having actual dnd rules, instead of bonus action shove for 30 ft., would somehow be less newcomer-friendly? Or having a world that would make sence insead of throwing-healing-potion-to-crate-a-healing-bath would be less new newcomer-friendly? And how exactly those weapon-based skills are newcomer-friendly? I think that they made 0 newcomer-friendish things, actually. But yes, they made quite a lot of silly and goofy (which is "fun", it seems) things. I don't think that being silly and lacking seriousness is newcomer-friendly somehow.


Well, BG3 would be even more refreshing than ingecting some dnd into DoS...

I grant that it’s not impossible to understand the title as talking about the factors driving the level of quality of the game, whatever that level is. But yes, that is not the natural interpretation for a native English speaker. Unless context suggests otherwise, there’s a clear implicature in the phrase “what makes this as good as it is” that it is good, or at least the factors that are being talked about are ones that are making it better than it would otherwise be.

Finally! A positive thread!

Things I like about the game:

1) That it is turn based. RtwP confuses the everloving crap outta me (and is why I have skipped many games I would have otherwise played)

2) The narrator. One of the reasons I never got into tabletop was that I never met a DM who could pull me into the setting. Her voice is amazing. I always pretend I am sitting with her at a table and playing when she speaks .

3) The dice rolls. It helps me understand what is happening and why…and makes me actually *want* to try tabletop again.

4) Gale 💚. His VA is outstanding and I like his dialogue. I want more sass/arguing with my sorceress tho before we bang (c’mon Larian…make it happen! I needs it!)

I have my own issues with the game (origin chars is my biggest gripe, and the way convos work with a party), but I really like those 4 things in particular.

The game does indeed make me want to try tabletop. But the … the DnD fanbase often convinces me that newbs aren’t really welcome. All good tho…I am happy to stick with single player RPGs and write bad fanfics to create fun stories! Lol

The current engine works great, regardless of whether you don't like the changes. Plus the benefits of using an existing framework with expanded features. Do you understand how much work goes into making a completely new game engine? What specifically can't this one do that's so important, 'cause I don't think any of your issues have to do with the game engine.

And what do you mean they should be "neutral"? They can't make their own game too much like... their own game? What good studio makes games with nothing of their own style in it? Why would they hire an RPG company known for their particular style to make a generic no-frills DnD game?

People here legit act like they stole the rights to use DnD or something. Like if you called up WotC they'd be like "They're making WHAT game? We had no idea!"


The obsession with complaining about shoves is actually brain rot. If you asked someone what was important for a proper game of DnD, how far down the list would strict adherence to shove mechanics be? The verticality in this actually makes shoving useful and interesting. You might think they should be toned down, but it's more fun and engaging than shoving ever has been. I've been genuinely impressed by how useful verticality is when in most games it's mostly cosmetic.


To add to this here's some stuff they added that I really like

1. Improvised weapons, throwing enemies, mobility - This is a big improvement over DoS2 which only had point to point teleports/movement abilities. The battlefield more engaging with the ability to affect the world and enemies around you. Being able to throw improvised weapons really feels like a scrappy fight where you use everything around to your advantage.

2. Weapon Skills - The weapon skills make each one have more of a reason to exist. At least early on, you won't just choose the highest dice value. Even later on you might even keep a worse weapon with a good ability in your back pocket for special occasions.

3. Toggle turn based mode - A great new way to tackle puzzles and traps. As well as move with precision and start fights in a coordinated manner.

4. Multiplayer - It's pretty rare to get co-op multiplayer story driven RPG games especially one this expansive. It usually isn't something that interests me personally, but if they the ability to create custom scenarios I can definitely see myself trying it out.

Any time someone picks on another for not liking the shove mechanics, it just grates on me. It is 100% a legit frustration when you are playing a game and you have some enemy baby goblin shove your tank 30+ feet away from an edge off a cliff. Lae'zel is full health, and she dies because 7 HP, +0 Athletics goblin rolled an 18 while Lae'zel rolled a 2, so he somehow shoved her a ridiculous distance and she dropped 100 feet to the ground... Or into lava by a duergar after shoving her more than 60 feet in one case I had.

Can you legit say that it is even remotely feasible in any way to shove a wrestler or highly trained soldier... Or anyone... Maybe more than 10 feet? Shoot! Even 10 seems HIGHLY unlikely.

And throw is also too OP currently. There's even an old saying "I trust him as far as I can throw him" which perfectly sums up throwing enemies. You really shouldn't be able to throw a person very far. I don't care if you're Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime, throwing a fully grown 200 lb anything is HARD. 5 feet, maybe 10 at most should be the range, and for goblins maybe 15 at most. And there is no way in heck a person should be able to throw a cat across a chasm some 300 feet and have it not die when it splats onto the ground on the far side in a spider lair.

Yes. It's fantasy, but there needs to be some semblance of reality to it for it to maintain credibility. Also, more importantly, it's incredibly frustrating when you are trying to be strategic and you die because of some insane over the top mechanic. I literally did a barbarian playthrough to the harpy fight only shoving and throwing... SOLO with no companions. That's INSANE. I'm killing intellect devourers at level 1 by picking them up or shoving them off ships and into one another... SOLO. Intellect Devourers! It should take an entire party of 4 at least, at level 2, to even stand a chance against such a monster.

That, my friend, is broken.

Ahem. Now... Sorry folks. I know this post is meant to be more positive, but I really can't help it when someone PICKS on someone else for not liking shove. I'll post my positives later. It's a long list.

Isn't it what you were trying to do in your initial post? The second part of it?
This is by no chance a 'no you' comment - I just started to communicate withing the boundaries you've set, is all.

I agree with lots of the things others have enjoyed about the game, but my top five I think are:

• No (few?) generic NPCs or enemies, almost everyone has a name and a character making every encounter and fight meaningful.
• A number of well-written, well-acted and well-animated characters, including some compellingly awful baddies (Ethel and Sazza are two of my faves) and companions I mainly want to get to know better.
• Lots of foreshadowing of stories I want to find out more about quite aside from the main tadpole plot: Moonhaven and the Sharrans, the heretic Selunites and the shattered sanctum, the hags, Lorroakan (I have a terrible foreboding about Rolan), the dead three and Jergal, the companions, and so on.
• The ability of the game to recognise and respond to your individual main character (though still hope this will be developed much further)
• The fun echoes of what I have always assumed the PnP experience must be like (though I understand if people who actually play PnP don’t find the illusion nearly good enough!)

That was a hard pick, and there’s loads more stuff I like but I’ll stop there.

Except for another appeal to keep discussion of what’s wrong with the game in other appropriate threads, unless it’s specifically in response to something someone else has called out as a positive.

And I’m with GM4Him in thinking being dismissive or insulting about anyones’s criticisms of the game should have no place here either, quite apart from it being just begging for this thread to be derailed into further discussion of those criticisms.