3 reviews liked by CassiusMinimus


bruh i ain't even close to finished with this yet, i'm in july right now, but i can already tell this is kino
haven't enjoyed a jrpg this much since...uh, octopath 2

update: i have now finished it, this is one of the best games i've played in my entire life

Baldur's Gate 3 has plenty of issues that get handwaved away, issues that are glaringly present in some of this year's worst offending titles.
Baldur's Gate 3 has UI issues, plenty of bugs, UX issues, balance issues, some extremely long and boring fights, awful performance on its third act, and it released, by definition, unfinished, lacking a proper ending and only having its epilogue added three months later. Your party members also suck at following you, often refusing to jump, and the locked perspective and stiff camera controls made my head hurt so much I only got around it with a mod.
And while I understand that our companions are also insanely complex, taking into account that you can have any number of them, romance them, have them leave, and take different paths throughout their story, I found the pacing to be a little off sometimes; some companions get relevant content several times per act, others have one or two conversations every 30 hours. To make an unfair comparison to a linear story game, Persona 5 always managed to convince me, just like Baldur's Gate 3, that these were nearly real people I was interacting with; the difference lies in P5 presenting you with constant conversations with every single one of your companions, and even has them interact all the time with each other, which leads to the creation of a richer main cast, where you can truly feel like the game and these people exist outside of your playthrough and your interactions with them.
I also found the gravitas of its final battle, and subsequent climax, lacking.
But, BG3 is still my pick for GOTY. Its insanely well written individual characters, with their themes of abandonment, abuse, freedom and the power instilled by choosing your own destiny, as well as its insanely well constructed world, with characters that are so charismatic that make me want to be evil, makes it impossible for me to judge Baldur's Gate 3 as anything but a top-tier game and experience.
Even the third act, commonly criticized as the worst one, gave me a genuine sense of satisfaction and immersion as I wandered the insanely dense streets of Baldur's Gate and met with characters whose lives had been impacted by choices I made thirty to sixty hours ago.
I only criticize it so heavily for the same reason any one criticizes something they love: the flaws are glaring, but I love it dearly all the same; I mention those same flaws only out of admiration for everything else they have constructed with their writing team, be it in journals, lore books, conversations and dialogue trees and main storybeats and their pacing.
It may not have wowed me with its group dynamic the same way Persona 5 did, and it may not have resonated deeply with me in the same way the themes of Disco Elysium did, but it is, nevertheless, a defining example of character writing, theme communication, world building and player freedom and choice.
Baldur's Gate 3 is, in the end, the new high-water mark for cRPGs, and anyone that enjoys turn-based combat, can appreciate good cinematic presentation and loves well written companions is sure to adore the game.

It's not really a perfect game, interaction is reduced to its minimum, there is some clipping (in a visual novel ??) and the story is not the best I ever witnessed, but I loved it a lot.

The artstyle is charming and oozes with affection for the characters, it's very pretty, it looks like a modern cartoon you could see on netflix or something.

But the real meat of this game is to be found in the story. I loved the characters a lot, especially Fang who I related a lot to actually. They are passionate, and want to do the best fpr their friends despite having trouble to communicate, it's very touching. They also made me think of one of my friends who I met pretty late but surely had to go through similar stuff growing up, and they have the same estethic and kindness, idk it just feels very personnal.

Transgender representation, and just queer rep in general is rare in video games and this game is just very thoughtful and feels very real on a lot of things, the way Fang is constantly misnamed and misgendered by their parents, or the experiences they share with other trans characters, this just all feels very real.

Friendship can be a shelter, a beacon of light in the dark, and a strength so enormous even the apocalypse feels like another day when you're surrounded by those you love.

Thank you GHV, you're not perfect but you deserve your five stars