What makes a game a masterpiece? I’ve been giving this question some thought over the last few months, and Balder’s Gate 3 has been my litmus test to help me answer that question.
Before anything else, let me warn you that Balder’s Gate is a long damn game. Much, much longer than you think. Like, I thought I was wrapping the game up after 40 hours, only to find I was just finishing Act 1, long. And it is filled to the brim with content.
The gameplay side of the game is a little janky, but very deep. You might have seen clips of people pushing an enemy off a ledge or stealing a potion with some clever tricks before an enemy can use it, but that is only scratching the surface. It starts slow, but as you gain levels and unlock abilities, it really picks up, and the options for how to deal with an encounter explode. This stuff is all incredible and worth playing over to see how you can do things differently. Janky, but deep.
The story has its ups and downs. I wasn’t very familiar with the D&D setting before the game, so the giant brains and dimension travel was a surprise. I didn’t feel that worked well in the fantasy setting, but that’s more of a me problem. The flat story beats and one dimensional villains, however, I think weigh down some of the better companion and side quest writing. I had some real up and downs in the story. I am definitely a little down on it compared to others.
The length of the game was a detriment to me. Although it was incredible how events and characters tied to each other, even dozens of hours into the game, there were great lengths that felt more like work than fun.
I really enjoyed my time with Balder’s Gate 3. It is a deep, deep game that rewards smart players with out of the box mechanics. It has some great characters and some terrible villains, and not in the good way. The writing is great, but still feels like it’s missing something.
I don’t think Balder’s Gate 3 is a masterpiece. It’s a Hall of Very Good game. It’s something I would recommend to many, especially fans of the genre. When it’s good, oh baby it’s good, and when it’s bad, well, I could go weeks without thinking about it.
Seriously, it’s a great game. Could use a few more dragons and a few less dungeons though.
Before anything else, let me warn you that Balder’s Gate is a long damn game. Much, much longer than you think. Like, I thought I was wrapping the game up after 40 hours, only to find I was just finishing Act 1, long. And it is filled to the brim with content.
The gameplay side of the game is a little janky, but very deep. You might have seen clips of people pushing an enemy off a ledge or stealing a potion with some clever tricks before an enemy can use it, but that is only scratching the surface. It starts slow, but as you gain levels and unlock abilities, it really picks up, and the options for how to deal with an encounter explode. This stuff is all incredible and worth playing over to see how you can do things differently. Janky, but deep.
The story has its ups and downs. I wasn’t very familiar with the D&D setting before the game, so the giant brains and dimension travel was a surprise. I didn’t feel that worked well in the fantasy setting, but that’s more of a me problem. The flat story beats and one dimensional villains, however, I think weigh down some of the better companion and side quest writing. I had some real up and downs in the story. I am definitely a little down on it compared to others.
The length of the game was a detriment to me. Although it was incredible how events and characters tied to each other, even dozens of hours into the game, there were great lengths that felt more like work than fun.
I really enjoyed my time with Balder’s Gate 3. It is a deep, deep game that rewards smart players with out of the box mechanics. It has some great characters and some terrible villains, and not in the good way. The writing is great, but still feels like it’s missing something.
I don’t think Balder’s Gate 3 is a masterpiece. It’s a Hall of Very Good game. It’s something I would recommend to many, especially fans of the genre. When it’s good, oh baby it’s good, and when it’s bad, well, I could go weeks without thinking about it.
Seriously, it’s a great game. Could use a few more dragons and a few less dungeons though.