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

OK. Finally. I have time to actually say everything I want to say about this game - to say all the good things I love about it and not providing any feedback about how I think the game could be improved. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. The Prologue. I don't care that it's similar to DOS 2 or any other game. I can't get enough of the prologue. It's, for some reason, my favorite part of the game. I love creating characters and running around the flaming nautiloid and killing imps and such. I actually do love that I can kill Zhalk and take his sword, even if it is insane that I can do so and even if the sword winds up being OP and the only sword my fighter uses for the rest of the game from that time on. I admit it. I'm severely tempted every time to just attack Zhalk and kill him, and if I fail, reload.

2. D&D 5e. Yes. It is. There is enough 5e that the game can be called 5e. No. Don't argue. It's my opinion. You can scream it till you're blue in the face, it won't matter. It is enough 5e to be called 5e. I know I'm one of the biggest ones out here screaming for more 5e and less homebrew, but at the end of the day, it is still 5e. I love 5e because it is simpler than previous versions of D&D. I am playing Pathfinder, and though I do love that game, all the feats are just too much. Everything is just too much. D&D 5e is simpler, quicker, and easier.

3. Character Creation. I'm a junky, and compared to other D&D games, BG3's character creation is the best. Again. Don't argue. It's my opinion. Neverwinter Online is maybe second best, but I still can't make characters look as good as BG3's. Also, I LOVE that character creation is quick and simple. You CAN make a character in seconds. Literally. Or you can take your time and really carefully pick your appearance, etc. It's whatever you want it to be. I'm not going to say how I think it could improve here, because this isn't a thread for improvements. The point is, I really like it a lot. I've taken a HUGE number of my D&D 5e characters and made them in BG3, and they translate pretty darn well - most of them. I love that I can take characters I've made in tabletop and actually see them come to life in this game.

4. Replayability. I've never played a game over and over and over again like this one, and we're only in EA. NEVER. KOTOR was my favorite game before this one, and I played it exactly twice all the way through. Once being good and once evil. Loved that game, but every time I tried playing it after that, I'd get through maybe a quarter of the game - half at best - and I'd get tired of it. Not BG3. I am STILL finding out new things about it every time I play it. Granted, they keep changing things, but that's not the point. There are SO many different paths you can take and SO many options. Yeah. The fact that I can replay this thing so many times and still get a new experience, that is incredible to me.

5. Characters. I do really like the characters. I like the origins. I want them all in my party at once. (Hint hint - ahem... party of 6... ahem.) NO! I won't use this as a feedback thread. Back on track man! Back on track! Anyway, I really like all the characters. I do find myself wanting to try to help Astarion get free from Cazador and maybe even turn good. I want to help Shadowheart realize that she's been duped and Shar isn't her goddess. (Come on. You know it's true.) I want to help Lae'zel realize that her people aren't the greatest things since sliced bread (or pizza! I love pizza!). I want to help Gale be free of his devastation vortex and Wyll be free of Mizora. I want to help Karlach against Zariel, and I want to help Barcus find his friend Wulbren. Yeah, I even want to help all the Ironhand Gnomes I like that every character, even the most mundane, has a personality and a life and a backstory. THAT part really makes the world feel more alive and real. It makes it more immersive.

6. The story. Yes. I am engaged in the story. I am hooked. I REALLY want to find out what happens next - both in the personal stories of the origin characters and the main storyline. I LOVE many aspects of the story: the war between Selune and Shar and the whole Grymforge location and the City of Darkness beyond it... the Selunite Outpost story and what happened to it... Moonhaven, Elliette, the Grove... ALL of it.

7. The graphics. Amazing. When I zoom in as far as I can go, I feel like I'm really exploring a real world. Faerun comes to life.

8. Dialogue options. This goes along with replayability, but it is its own entity. I am truly happy with how many dialogue options there are. Of course there could be more. I think we'll always want more even if they added another five or six per dialogue. However, at the end of the day, there is a LOT of dialogue, and they have branches and such for each. It really is amazing. And, for the most part, I'm happy with the options I have to choose from. There are very few encounters where I think to myself, "Ugh! I really don't like any of my choices."

9. Multiplayerability. I have enjoyed playing this game with my wife - even though it has only been on the same computer. We hotseat it. Using the trick where you can set up multiplayer, we create two sessions on the same computer and both create custom characters. Then we go around together experiencing the game and deciding where we go and who we take with us. She takes 1 origin character and I take the other during combat, and we take turns in regards to who will initiate dialogues. It's been a lot of fun.

10. Fun Factor. Whether you are just wanting to be stupid and goof around, or whether you really take the game totally serious, you can do so and have a lot of fun with this game. I tend to take games like this more serious. My wife does not. Yet we both still very much enjoy it. When the Disney squirrels pick on Alfira, and now they dance and you can help them by putting lyrics to their tune, I can't help but cringe a bit but smile. I love talking to Scratch and helping him grieve for his master. I like even talking to all the characters - which is not true for all RPGs that I've played. They each have personalities. All in all, it's a blast.

There are more, but I've once again run out of time. I WANT to provide more because most of what I post just details what I think needs to be tweaked or changed in the game to make it better. I don't tell Larian enough how good I really think the game actually is. And when I'm particularly passionate about some sort of change or another, it seems almost like I hate the game. I don't. All things considered, if they didn't change anything else, I'd still love this game. Even if they didn't finish it, I certainly got my money's worth out of it, and I certainly enjoyed it tremendously. That's how much I really and genuinely do love this game.