Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - General BG3 appeal: context, challenge or catharsis?

I'm pretty much on the same board as @Lyelle.

I do like what they did with the companions and the fact that they don't necessarily trust us and are not immediately super happy/friendly with us. As a cautious introverted person, I find it more relatable 😅, especially in such an hostile environment. In fact, the companions are pretty much what invited me to start playing the game after seeing some snippets here and there on Youtube. I also still find the story interesting and engaging. Even NPCs seem like fully fleshed out characters.

My main "issue" with the companions is that I don't really have good reason not to accept them in my party since the party will be locked after Act 1 (the separation will be difficult). Controversial. In know 😅 Even my Oath of the Ancients paladin would want to help them and have them help me. Yes, even Astarion, Laez'el and SH. I could write paragraphs on this. Although, I won't bore you with this 😅

Sure, they are reusing tropes for most of the companions and the story. However, the usage of tropes isn't inherently a bad thing.
I think the concept of "trope" has a pejorative connotation because there are so many passionless/tasteless/soulless projects (movies, games, series...) out there using tropes to jump on trends as a cash-grab. I really don't feel like that's 100% the case here (based on EA).


But, as stated several time on this forum, I absolutely agree with the issue related to using long rests as a mean to tell the story. Not only the story of the companions, but the main story as well (the tadpoles and Raphael for instance). That's a big downside (on my opinion) to the storytelling and it seems that players aren't able to enjoy the story/companions because of it (based on what I've seen shared by players on this forum, Reddit and Youtube).

In fact, I do have one other concern : while I really enjoyed DOS2 during Act 1, I lost the motivation to play the game at the beginning of Act 2. That is how I react to big "open-world-like" map with a great number of quests spread out everywhere in a way that feels incoherent. I end up feeling overwhelmed.
I personally hope that BG3 avoid maps bigger than the ones we currently have. In fact, I'll have to disagree with OP on this. I like the level design for the most part. I easily can find an excuse for my character to explore and do side-quests because of the size of the map and the way quests are introduced. In my case, it helps with the immersion.


So, yes. The "context" has some imperfections and I do have some concerns about certain things, but I would still consider it to be one of BG3 strong suits. In my case, the story, the companions, the NPCs and the world of BG3 are things that I really like about the game and the reasons why I've spent so many hours playing it. Also, I don't find the jump/shove/other mechanics to be ridiculous. Interesting that views can differ on small things like that 😄


But, in the end, all of this in subjective. It's perfectly valid to find that some things are missing or too much. People unanimously liking a game would be a first 😄
I do have a bit of sympathy for the players that don't vibe with BG3 but liked (and even were fans of) BG1/BG2. I've been (more and less) there with the Tomb Raider games. Things change. Sometimes it's harder to accept that when we feel like we are losing something.



I understand this sentiment oh so well. Especially with the people I've seen linking things like "not thinking that D/N cycle is absolutely needed" with "licking Larian's arse".