As much as I love this game and appreciate what it has done I cannot in good faith give it more than 3.5 stars. I wanted to write an extensive review but I figure it's easier to sort it into pros and cons.

CONS:
- biggest one of all but: The Favouritism.
For example I'm not sure why Astarion gets the most hours of content despite being the most irrelevant (plot wise) whereas Wyll gets nothing. Not even his own personal story quest like everyone else does. Also wondering why I get so many "!" conversations with Astarion (and some with Shadowheart) and virtually nothing with anyone else. They clearly put the most effort into Astarion because he is a fan favourite, but if you're going to be making a game like this with several companions and their stories you should try to give everyone similar amounts and quality of content.

- The pandering to fans every whims.
I really appreciate a gaming company that listens to fan feedback. I really do. But I don't see why you are changing characters and stories because of fans opinions. You need to have faith in your own writers to write someone even if they aren't entirely "likeable". Changing Lae'zel's dismissal line (yes, even at neutral approval), making Shadowheart nicer, changing Wyll entirely from EA with one year till release to the point where his character story is so lacking compared to everyone else (and was obviously very rushed). It's okay to have your female characters be mean, it's not okay to sideline your only black character because you don't know what to do when racist fans give their own bad faithed opinions.

- Pacing
Act 3 pacing was bad and very rushed, both Orin and Gortash are great villains but are both very demanding of your attention it's hard to fully flesh out both. However, as Dark Urge origin I enjoyed this act more as it felt a lot more personal and you got to know both of those villains a bit better.

- Writing on some of the personal quests.
I know breaking the cycle of abuse/being free from your abuser is definitely a main part of the character quests but you can't even let Wyll make the decision for himself. Gale's abuse was so obvious yet subtle in game to the point where fans reduced him to a lonely incel who fumbled Mystra. So I'm unsure if it was written in a subtle way on purpose or because Larian genuinely didn't know how to write it.

- Lack of Relationship
I find it hard to believe a lot of these characters are friends because they never show anything to indicate that. Very little cutscenes between them with the exception of Shadowheart and Lae'zel which I really enjoyed. Also lack of friendship specific scenes. Off the top of my head the only one I remember is sitting with Gale and watching the stars together (yes, this one can be romantic but there is the platonic version I liked a lot)

PROS:
- Gameplay
Really had a ton of fun doing the turn based stuff and doing different builds on characters. It never feels limiting at all and you can really get creative with it.

- Exploration
Exploration and talking to random NPC's feels rewarding and even if it's technically "unimportant" in regards to the main plot it's still fun finding little quests or conversations. Also ties in with gameplay but I like that theres a lot of different ways to get around: flying, misty step, dimension door, gaseous form, etc.

- Story (some of it)
Act 1 and Act 2 are so peak to me. Act 1 and 2 were extremely fun and I really could not put it down when I got to it. Although act 2 is much shorter that doesn't make it bad. I actually enjoyed when it slowed down a bit.

- Character Quests (some of them)
like i mentioned in cons, Wyll's character quest is nonexistent. So. However I really enjoyed Shadowheart and Lae'zel in particular. I loved seeing them make the conscious decision to turn against someone they had once devoted themselves unquestioningly to. I loved seeing their inner conflict and anger and sadness it was all really well done.

I criticize this game so heavily because I believe it could have been an easy 10/10 but it fell flat in so many areas because Larian wanted to release an unfinished game instead of delaying it but oh well. I hope this at least inspires more companies to create better RPGs. And Dragon Age Origins is still better in every way except for the obvious being: graphics, and gameplay.