Baldur's Gate 3

[WanderingAries]

I didn't see a thread for this specifically, so why not.

 

I played the 2 hr demo on PS5 and coming from the less DND versions of the series (Dark Alliance?) I found the game a bit slower and a tad unnecessarily complicated. Again, that's a difference in game design for those who've played the one and are curious about this one. The CC is pretty elaborate, but is lacking a few customizations that Cyberpunk had. TBH, I think it semi-spoils part of the game's story later (didn't get that far of course) as it has you customize something about the game that you don't initially get to experience / utilize. I'm sure it'll be a good game overall, but I'm not quite ready to invest in it.

[caradoc1979]

BG3 is a fantastic game, and is put out by Larian who did the Divinity: Original Sin CRPGs. Since I enjoyed those so much, BG3 was a natural evolution. It is rather conversation-heavy at times, which can slow the game down for those who want more action (and especially in multiplayer games). After one playthrough, I found all my following ones waaaaay faster because I wasn't engaging in the fluff conversations anymore. Overall, I'd say BG3 is superior to DOS 1&2 in regards to story/choices/graphics. I think DOS 1&2 are superior in terms of challenge/combat. I've read countless posts about people enjoying BG3 and getting completely wrecked when starting DOS 😄 

[Oz The Elderly Gaymer]

They just recently pushed out another content update that appears to add even more 'Dark Urge'-related endings. Pretty impressive for a title that came out over a year ago to still be getting updates and not just bug fixes.

[caradoc1979]

9 hours ago, Oz The Elderly Gaymer said:

They just recently pushed out another content update that appears to add even more 'Dark Urge'-related endings. Pretty impressive for a title that came out over a year ago to still be getting updates and not just bug fixes.

My second playthrough was as a DURGE and it was very different. From what I gathered from their notes on Patch 7, they've added new endings for evil runs that allow for evil playthroughs that don't opt to go DURGE. This is a huge draw for me, as I'd love to do another evil playthrough but not go through the exact same way. Echo the kudos for free updates so far along from release!

[TheOtherTed]

I like it, but I get what the OP means about "slow" and "complicated."  I find it slow because of the amount of walking time required to be "rewarded" by multi-level dialogue, and complicated because it has all the crunchiness of actual D&D (punishing RNG, a bajillion spells for every spell-caster as well as half a bajillion spell-like effects for non-casters).  Regardless, I still give it about 90 minutes of my time nearly every day.

 

Not exactly a ringing recommendation, but it satisfies an itch.  On the plus side, I recently discovered that the dreaded Patch 6 that nearly killed my interest altogether has been modified by extra options for non-charisma characters.

[caradoc1979]

3 hours ago, TheOtherTed said:

Not exactly a ringing recommendation, but it satisfies an itch.  On the plus side, I recently discovered that the dreaded Patch 6 that nearly killed my interest altogether has been modified by extra options for non-charisma characters.

I must have missed this in the notes... what extra options for non-charisma characters have they added?

[TheOtherTed]

I didn't see it in the notes either - maybe it's always been there and I just ignored it - but it seems like nearly every dialogue menu in my latest playthrough has a "Detect Thoughts" option and a semi-random skill option in addition to the usual CHA-based skill options.  "Detect Thoughts" is INT-based (for some reason), and INT also helps with a lot of other common checks (History, Religion, Nature, Arcana, etc).  Since I tend to boost the INT of my rogues and rangers to 12 (or 14 if I can), that means I don't have to rely on CHA nearly as much.

 

I still save-scum like nobody's business, but that's more due to the uniform distribution of the RNG than the lack of dialogue options.

[SeraphimKensai]

BG3 was awarded the coveted Game of the Decade Award by me.