A very solid, polished and confident 7/10. The main mechanic is a great success — chaining kills with Deer never stopped being fun, and my brain loved the dopamine hit of seeing the death icon followed by the bravado glow and sound effect. Had to rely too often on the very generous auto saves to fix apparently harmless mistakes that ended with half of my party wiped out in the next turn (thanks to sometimes unclear enemy ricochet but also pure carelessness from my part). Could've switched to Normal instead of Hard but I honestly liked the stakes, and the missions seemed fair. The story is very thin but what it lacks in emotion and depth it has on spectacle and flair.

After my first playthrough I can safely say this is one of my favorite games of all time. It isn't surprising that it is but I was surprised at how much it exceeded my expectations.

Some context. Since the announcement of Baldur's Gate 3 in 2019, I've played Divinity: Original Sin 1 & 2 (2 twice, solo and co-op), Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 plus their expansions, Pillars of Eternity 1 & 2, Solasta: Crown of the Magister plus expansions, Wasteland 3, Planescape Torment, and more. These games represent the best the cRPG genre can offer, from the cinematic moments of Wasteland 3 to the thought-provoking world of Planescape, from the systemic interactions of DOS2 to the cozy-yet-epic journey of the original BG. Baldur's Gate 3 brings the best of each game into a package that feels the culmination of the genre and the studio that is Larian. It's an achievement, but also so damn fun to play.

Baldur's Gate 3 has deep and charismatic characters that I thought only BioWare could write, an incredibly presented world that rivals the best moments of The Witcher 3 or Cyberpunk 2077, a systemic, strategic and satisfying combat that is probably the most fun you can make 5e (not the most accurate, we have Solasta for that), and a scope that surprised me time and time again during my over 130-hour adventure.

I really hope it's not true, and that Larian (or someone else) will surprise me, but it's hard to imagine a better cRPG than this. Let's enjoy it.

Starts kinda rough but then it hooked me! I think they tried to make a game very approachable and the tutorial is a big part of that— but for me it became too handholdy and I enjoyed the game way more once I was juggling multiple tasks, could explore freely and had all of my tools. Still, that happens fairly quickly so it’s not that big of a deal.

Played the game in Spanish and it was very refreshing to read the dialogue written in a very authentic voice and all the references to the geographic zone it’s inspired by.

Despite loving the first game, I found this one to be sort of a chore to get through. The cases get too crazy and supernatural, and they’re worse for it — not because they aren’t grounded or realistic, but because they lack a certain logic or thread to follow, and in an adventure game with puzzles that’s essential for me to be engaged. There are longer cases where you’re left to wonder kinda aimlessly and way more moonlogic than in the first one. The bonus cases are also very hit or miss, which was a disappointment compared to the mostly excellent from the first game.

I admit if I hadn’t played that one first I’d have dropped ‘Fumble in the Dark’ or at least given it a 5.

Arguably the most beautiful isometric-ish games ever. The lighting is stunning, the maps are filled with details, animations and interesting objects and characters. I wanted to take screenshots of every single location. Even a dark cave looks interesting thanks to the dynamic lighting (Xoti’s lantern is a great showcase for that).

Deadfire is also a big step up in terms of the overworld map. I quite liked the stronghold mechanics of the first game but the fantasy of having your own ship and crew and just explore a whole region is undeniable.

In terms of story, the main quest is clearly an afterthought compared to the factions and side quests the game offers. It’s also different in mood and tone, and whichever you prefer depends on the type of player you are.

So, overall, a great sequel that looks amazing, and trades moodiness and a very complex main quest for freedom and exploration. A mustplay for CRPG fans, for sure.

I’ve beat Divinity: Original Sin 2 twice before playing this game, and that has definitely influenced my experience — but not in the way I expected. I thought I was going to be frustrated by the lack of certain improvements found in the sequel or overall less interested in the world after spending 200 hours in it in the last few years. But it was actually the opposite. Having the benefit of playing the Enhanced Edition many years after the original release date, I found DOS1 to be surprisingly polished and friendly. Almost everything I loved from the sequel was here, albeit different. I even preferred some aspects here, like combat, which is less complex but also less chaotic and more immediate (the armor system of the sequel is a choice). The story also benefited from the narrower focus. It doesn’t have huge twists but it’s intriguing and engaging, with memorable characters and a neat Homestead you can come back to after lengthy quests for a bit of a breather.
Overall, I found DOS1 an essential play for DOS2 fans — not because it’s necessary to understand or enjoy the sequel (it’s actually the opposite), but because it’s just as good. Play it before, after, it doesn’t matter — but play it!

I'm probably especially bad at this because of my admittedly bad spatial intelligence but I missed some glaring features that would've made the gameplay more tolerable, mainly a way to see the trajectory/arc of your previous swing to adjust a new one and the ability to undo your last move, probably limited to one or two times per level. Without these, I had to switch to story mode and it let me enjoy the atmosphere and, especially, the radio - an amazing idea greatly executed, with top notch sound design and music.