Baldur's Gate 3

2024-09-21
Man, I really can't believe I actually put this down back when it came out. Something about watching 100 goblins cast Sprint in a row while I continually miss every attack really wore me down. And let me tell you I am so glad I finished this up before the end of 2023. Somewhere around the end of the 2nd act everything comes together. You've got enough spells and abilities and gear so you're just slapping enemies down in fights. The numerous interwoven stories between the wide cast of characters in your party start to come together. JK Simmons is monologuing at you. And then, well, then you're in, baby. And the next 30+ hours are a blur of fun. Gah what a gem of a game.

Rating: STINKS of CHEESE / STINKS of CHEESE

2024-01-27
For a game as incredible as it is, Baldur's Gate 3 starts with its most boring foot forward. I almost bounced off because you're either spending your time slightly bored by the story or very bored by the combat. You're facing off against huge numbers of goblins while you yourself have piddly turns with a small amount of moves that do a pathetic amount of damage. But oh boy once you hit level 5 and get your second attack per turn and a handful of strong moves under your belt the game ALSO ramps up the story. I mean the end of Act 1 with Ketheric, voiced by JK Simmons (hell yeah), monologuing at you and then being replaced by his god of death Myrkul is incredible.

Really it's a game that's both a mixture of a very fun and complicated combat engine mixed with fantastic--I mean fantastic-- writing that culminates in a series of incredibly memorable moments. Whether it's Vlaakith showing she truly is a deity by killing you with the spell Wish, Raphael just being so. fucking. cool. Or Benji the circus ghoul telling someone they "STINKS OF CHEESE". Oh man that necromancer with the runes on his face and the cool otherwordly voice...I could keep going. The game is just so dense with cool shit to see. And cool people to dropkick off a cliff, killing them in one hit.

Complaints? Sure the inventory is unwieldy, the aforementioned slow pacing of the intro can be off-putting, and the final act has epic moments but isn't entirely a cohesive epic in itself. But ultimately these are nits to pick.

There's plenty I'm leaving out like how gorgeous the game world is, with a ton of different environments, the detail in just about everything you see, the music, the voice acting--oh boy the voice acting is so good. But ultimately I can't add that much original to the popular consensus. It's one of the best games I've ever played.