I'm going to blatantly ignore a few posts to get back at the main story, and whether or not that is required; much in response to MalacPok above, and some earlier posts.
BG3, as it predecessors were designed to bring the D&D experience to a computer game. And even though I'm in no way impressed with the main story of this game it is *still* better than any of the stories we've ever played at the table. I mean, I don't know about you - but we usually just talk to some regent, go and find an evil cult/necromancer/monster/enclave and deal with that - to return for fame and treasure. It's not to say good stories aren't told within that frame, but that's the gist of it.
'Alduin, the world eater has returned. Dragons are roaming the sky. You must stop this evil.' - Good enough for me, really.
And the Baldur's Gate series has always done the same thing. There's a main plot that isn't complicated in the slightest - there's a big bad at the end, and regardless of how you get there, you'll always end up fighting that dude. In all of these games, it's much more about the journey than it is the conclusion. And it that, I think Larian succeeded with BG3 with flying colors. Playing the game - exploring and affecting the world around you is a *lot* of fun in this game.
Progressing through the actual main story is a bit of a drag here, though. And that is that there is no really good villain. The Three Villains have a lot of potential, but they all get a little introduction but by the time you meet them, you're already well on your way to deposing them. All the while the Emperor gets a *lot* of attention constantly, where he actually isn't really important in the grand scheme of things.
