After a years-long early access period, Baldur’s Gate 3 has finally been fully released, and fans have glowing first impressions of Larian Studios’ latest offering.
It has been a long couple of years since Baldur’s Gate 3 captured RPG fans’ imaginations, and released its early access period in 2020. Until 2023, Larian Studios has been refining the experience with a fine-toothed comb, and now that the official release is among us, the fan and critic verdict is out. First impressions do matter, and although that viral campfire Druid Werebear scene was undoubtedly a first impression, Baldur’s Gate 3 has apparently hit a home run as a well-translated TT RPG. BG3 reportedly retains its D&D identity while providing a fresh new lens to look at the world through and a brand new story for fans. Below are some glowing critic and fan first impressions.
First, we head to Steam, where out of over 84k reviews, users have been exalting the title. User Nerderek writes, “This game is the middle bite of the cheeseburger. 10/10,” which is high praise but contains no mention of gameplay. Another user, DrNut wrote an in-depth review while mentioning the loyalty the title shows to the Table Top D&D style of character creation “I pulled out my Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition Player’s Handbook and marvelled at what BG3 had enabled me to do – this is the full-blown 5E character creation.” Aside from the fan praise, critics have also joined in on giving Baldur’s Gate 3 a good score.
Metacritic currently has three reviews up, and the score averages to a stellar 95% so far on Baldur’s Gate 3. TechRadar says, “Baldur’s Gate 3 is a fine contender for one of the best video game RPGs ever made. It’s the most ambitious RPG out there, and the painstakingly accurate rendition of Dungeons & Dragons will delight fans,” although they really didn’t like the spell slot system. ZTGD followed up with a nearly perfect score at 9.5/10, saying, “The team at Larian Studios are to be commended, Baldur’s Gate 3 is nothing short of a masterpiece when it comes to RPG’s.”
It appears fans of Divinity: Original Sin 2, or just RPG fans in general, will love BG3 while also including fans of the Table Top Dungeons & Dragons experience. Larian Studios has apparently dropped a Game of the Year contender, and it will be interesting to see things heat up over the remainder of the year.
