I tend to be careful about my purchases of games. I don’t usually purchase early access (a relatively new industry trend). It is not about the money, I have plenty of that to purchase whatever strikes my fancy. It is about the time I spend—I love rpgs and I tend to spend hundreds (or even thousands) of hours on each game (playing, modding, etc.).
I loved the old BG titles. I also enjoyed Larian’s past games (though none of them merited more than one playthrough for me). Therefore, I waited for BG3 with great anticipation! Upon release, I began reading forums, like this one, Steam, etc. in order to determine whether I wanted to invest my most precious resource—TIME—in this title. Sadly, it appears this game is not worthy of such an investment *by me*. I realize that trading under the Baldur’s Gate moniker has provide this title with early market success, but my research and player reaction vetting has lead me to conclude this is a niche game that, ultimately, is designed to appeal to a limited audience.
I realize the Steam Forums are much maligned around these parts, and they are somewhat toxic, but many of the forum participants there offer insightful commentary. A post on Steam that, for me, best sums up the issues with this game is as follows:
I know i'll get dogpiled but....
I'm super disappointed. The game plays so well , and the detail is great. the DnD combat tactics are on point. However, the companions are ruining it for me. Anyone else feel this way ? I don't want any of the companions in this game , in my party. None of them appeal to me and what I would like in my party. I know you can run without them but that sorta defeats the point of the tactical party combat.
I can't believe the low number of companion options we have and how none of them are .... eh . cool ? I just want some stereotypical DnD companions . I want a dumb brute or a drunken dwarf , or a street brigand , or a super self righteous paladin or a weird , super serious wizard . I wish I could make an entire custom party , Can I do that ? is there an option I'm missing ? I want the party tactics and none of the characters they made . that's what I want.
I just can't believe how bad these are in an otherwise amazing game.
I was just sitting there looking at my party try'n to think about who I found the least annoying to me so I could make a party I could suffer with long enough to get through the game and it hit .... I hate these characters.. this is ruining the fun for me.
I don't know i'm sure people will attack me just for not liking them but I really wish they would patch in some sort of custom party mode at least or someone could point it out to me if it is there.
As the Steam poster said, “Don’t dogpile me”… I realize folks on this forum mostly won’t care about my purchasing decisions, but I have a vague hope that Sven and/or others from Larian will take note of what appears to be a somewhat widely shared crtique of an otherwise (by most reports) good game.
Peace.
Hem
