The more of these debates I read on this forum, the more it leads me to think about the inherent tensions in what Larian are trying to achieve with BG3.
On the one hand, it is a computer game, where our natural expectations are that our aim is to “win”, by understanding and exploiting the game mechanics as effectively as possible. On the other, it is a sandbox that allows us to, in a way, collaborate with the game developers to tell stories about the characters we create, and I don’t just mean plot and dialogue, there are also stories about how a particular fight was won, or avoided, or a treasure was stolen. Because the game is trying to function as a DM, and one that will say “yes” as far as possible to even bonkers things we want to try, it requires a level of flexibility in what it allows that means that pushing against its constraints isn’t satisfying for BG3 in the way that it is for many other games.
I still think that some of the mechanics just don’t yet work well, and there are particular weaknesses in how enemies exploit those mechanics. But given that BG3’s nature as a story-telling engine is my very favourite thing about it, I’m trying to be more accepting of areas where eliminating cheese would probably as a side effect stop other players telling the tales they want to tell.
"You may call it 'nonsense' if you like, but I've heard nonsense, compared with which that would be as sensible as a dictionary!"
