Really great comments @Grey_Ghost and I largely agree - the problem with bg3 is really the main plot.
I also think the comparison to PoE2 is apt. It's a fun game if you enjoy the sidequests because the main plot isn't great. I love the city, I love the handling of the lore, I enjoyed reading the books, the way Shar and Selune were represented, the temple of Illmater was spot on and even Sharess' Caress had a cat in it! Someone on the writing staff really loved Faerun and it shows. Minsc and Jaheria are great . . .
But because the main plot is a shambles the elements forcing me to focus on it come across as an annoyance - no, I don't want to rescue a captured companion I want to fight Raphael. No, I don't want to rescue Wyll's father before Mizorra can kill him I want to follow this lead on Auntie Ethel's coven.
But Grey Ghost is right about the tadpole McGuffin. When McGuffins work you just naturally forget about them. By the time we find out who tried to kill Brandon Stark we no longer care. But I always cared about finding a cure and wasn't sure why the game expected me to forget my fear of transformation and instead opt to put parasites inside my head.
I hope some of this will be addressed in an upcoming definitive edition. At present I don't really feel compelled to replay the game until the end game is fixed.
If I had a ring of three wishes (that only worked on BG3) I would wish that the definitive edition would include multiple versions of the story that could be selected when starting a new game. Let's have a Guardian version and Daisy version. Let's see how the original plot compares to the revised one.
