I decided to finally play through the series before Avowed is released, and with this being a gamepass addition I was excited for the chance. With that said, this games combat turned me off so much I almost put the game down for good. I didn't mind real time with pause in DA:O (in fact it's a top 10 game to me) but in this game it just made combat so unenjoyable, at least early on. Having a party of 6 to control and with such depth into the unique classes and little explanation of the games combat, it quickly gets overwhelming and I just wasn't having enough fun to want to learn the complexities. When it was time to level up I found myself struggling to properly know how to best build my character and companions. During combat there is far too much going on, and I just was not invested in the various classes to care to research how to effectively play the 6 different characters I was expected to control.

Now while I normally play games on normal/hard difficulties, I decided to lower this games difficulty down to Story-mode, as I still wanted to experience the lore and worldbuilding of the game. This was the best decision I think I could have made. I was able to use just a few guides online to help with leveling up all my characters, and just enable their AI presets to have them auto-control during combat. Even if they weren't making full use of all their abilities, I didn't struggle with combat encounters. I could give them armor/weapon upgrades as I found them in the world and really just manage their inventories while I breezed through the game exploring and questing.

The story is where this game really shines, and I found myself pretty invested in not just the main story but also many of the side quests. Going into each new area exploring and gathering up all the side quests was a lot of fun. Unfortunately the game isn't even close to being fully voice-acted, so it will often get a bit wordy. However you can skip a lot of the unnecessary dialogue and still have a good understanding of what is going on.

The companions overall were kinda meh to me, I really only cared for Aloth and Zahua. But they were a decent enough group overall even if they don't hold a candle to the best the genre has to offer.

The White March DLC that was included in this edition is a must, as it is very well written, has much more voice acting, and has some of the coolest maps in the entire game. I have seen many even prefer it to the main questline.

Another thing to note is carry weight is not in the game and you can loot grouped up enemies at the same time with 1 click. Its actually kinda nice because you just get so much loot its insane especially in some of the bigger dungeons and in the DLC. Most of it was junk to sell, but plenty of unique upgrades will be found in the major areas. They give you your own hold early on called Caed Nua which is really cool, and I loved selling all my junk and then investing in rebuilding it. I was able to fully upgrade Caed Nua and still have well over 100k by the time I was ready to start Act 4, however I did explore every map the game had to offer.

Overall the game really shines with its story, quests, and exploration. That is what has made an impression on me and why I am leaving the game with fond memories and excitement for the Deadfire Archipelago. I recommend giving it a try if this is a genre you enjoy, even if you want to play it on story mode like I did.

It's a game I wish I loved more.

I've played through about 30 hours and completed the Freestar Collective, UC Vanguard, and a fair bit of the Constellation questlines. Sadly though the memorable quests are few and far between, the writing is subpar and the characters themselves are forgettable outside of how ridiculous so many of them look and behave. The writing is cringeworthy for many dialog options, the persuasion system often breaks immersion, and companion romance is half-assed. The companions as a whole are forgettable, and often annoying. Even though it is supposed to be Bethesda's biggest game, it certainly feels the smallest and least immersive to me. Desire for exploration is at an all time low for a BG game despite all the planets. The UI is annoying, fast traveling system is awkward, and loading screens are abundant. Character creation was laughably bad, but most of the characters in the world are hideous as well so you get used to it. The starborn powers are mediocre and just feel like a cheap dragonborn copycat. Stealth is poorly designed, lockpicking minigame gets old fast.. The list could go on, there's just so many flaws.

The game isn't bad though, you can really feel what it should be while playing. Graphics are of course beautiful at times, but even that can vary. I did enjoy some of the quests in the game, especially the UC Vanguard ones, but the factions in the game just don't compare to the likes of Elder Scrolls or Fallout ones. Some interesting and surprising side quests pop up from time to time. Gunplay is pretty decent. I thought many of the perks seemed interesting and rewarding. The ship building and ship combat are pretty good as well. I also think the Bethesda charm is still present, even if it feels outdated, it still hits a soft spot for the more nostalgic BGS fans.

I think this would have been a game of the year contender in 2014. But overall it's a disappointment for me in 2023. It's just not a next-gen experience, and falls flat on so much of what was promised. Since I am such a fan of old Bethesda, I do eventually want to finish this game, but I just lost interest for now. Bethesda apparently will continue to support the game for years to come, so I'm hoping for some improvements to the game and some interesting and well written DLC's in the future. I'm sure the modding community will also do the game a ton of favors for a future playthrough. I do think this is a step in the right direction for Bethesda given their past 10 years, but it does worry me about Elder Scrolls 6. When comparing BGS to the rest of the industry, it just gets me wondering if they are even capable of making a worthy next-gen successor to Skyrim. I mean to think this came out around the time as Baldur's Gate 3, it just really shows how much higher the bar could be from a company that used to be genre defining. Hopefully Xbox can get them going in the right direction for future titles.

I'll put it in the backlog for a year and see how im feeling then. I just have others games I'd rather play right now.

This game really was a mixed bag for me. The first game became a top 5 game for me after just one playthrough, so I was excited to play this game although I had heard it isn't as beloved by RPG fans. I had a great time during the playthrough but consider most the major criticisms of the game as valid. The game is clearly rushed, the maps are not interesting to explore and are reused often. Even the maps and accessible regions themselves are often dull. The story is good and it keeps you engaged but it doesn't feel nearly as important of a conquest as the first game, although the ending sets up my interest for the next game nicely I suppose. Overall this game fell well below expectations especially coming out the same year as Skyrim. On the other hand I still enjoyed every minute of the game, and it is short enough to not overstay its welcome. I cared enough to go through all the side quests, and found the storytelling interesting. The game really shines with it's companions, which might even be a slight improvement on its predecessor. I rocked a mage Hawke with Anders, Isabella, and Verric. I loved fighting with this team and it made combat pretty fun, even if its repetitive. Overall, this game is not nearly as good as it should have been on multiple fronts...but for fans such as myself it is worth playing and fun enough to hit a weak spot. 7/10