Baldur’s Gate 3 is good. For MeinMMO-Dämon, the RPG is even so good that all other games are now unplayable.
I’m not telling anyone anything new when I say that Baldur’s Gate 3 is not just good, but absurdly great. The game from Larian Studios has taken Steam by storm, already secured a place in the top 10 games with the most concurrent players, and broken 700,000 players simultaneously.
I also dove into the game world last weekend with a friend. I transformed our group into cats multiple times, “accidentally” pushed someone off a cliff, had an eye gouged out, and threw goblin children at other goblin children to stop them both.
In short: I had a damn good time.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is too good for €60
Baldur’s Gate 3 is the first game in my life that gives me the impression: I completely tricked the developers when I bought the game for €60. The game has sold itself at a fraction of its value as a full-price title.
Probably even double or triple the price would still be a reason for me to nod thoughtfully and say, “Yes, that is appropriate. It’s worth the money.”
Of course, not everyone will see it that way – but that’s what I think about the game. It captivated me so much that for the first time since school, I thought: “Should I just call in sick this week so I can keep playing?”
Haha, boss, that was of course just a joke.
CRPGs are finally in the mainstream
Pencil & paper in general and Dungeons & Dragons in particular have long lived a niche existence. While everyone knew this “one nerdy friend who plays pencil & paper games,” it never really caught on in the mainstream. Sure, there were the Pathfinder games or even the “predecessor” Divinity: Original Sin 2. But in direct comparison, those were rather smaller games.
In recent years, that has changed with series like “Stranger Things” or the movie Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and Baldur’s Gate 3 and other CRPGs have benefited from it.
I can only hope that now more developers turn to this genre and try to create something as grand. Because Baldur’s Gate 3 impressively shows how many people can be excited about “pencil & paper computer games.” The potential is huge, and so is the opportunity to create countless profitable games – regardless of the franchise.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is perfection – and everything else fades
But that also brings us to a problem. Baldur’s Gate 3 has set the bar high. So high that other studios will not be able to reach or replicate it in the coming years. If games of nearly comparable quality require a similar development time and Baldur’s Gate 3 indeed leads to a rethink among some developers, it will take six years before we can dream again of experiencing something like this.
When I look at the other big games I’ve been playing regularly lately – Final Fantasy XVI, World of Warcraft, Dead by Daylight, or Back 4 Blood – I wonder: Why can’t you be that good?
- How is it possible that Baldur’s Gate has voiced all dialogues with countless different variables?
- How is it possible that I can solve quests not in a maximum of two ways, but in three, four, or five?
- How is it possible that Baldur’s Gate 3 has the first open world where I truly feel it benefits the game and does not degenerate into a silly “collect all marked things on the map” mini-game?
I could go on indefinitely. With every aspect of Baldur’s Gate 3, I ask myself how such quality or quantity is possible.
I’m addicted to this experience. But that makes all other games that I actually love seem less complete in retrospect and simply worse objectively and subjectively.
Baldur’s Gate 3 has made me pay the price of perfection. That’s a taste I won’t be getting rid of so quickly.
The game is definitely both a blessing and a curse. And when I eventually finish Baldur’s Gate 3 – and especially multiple times – it will take some readjustment to be able to engage with other games again.
Baldur’s Gate 3 has set the bar for really good games very high. And I don’t know if I can ever accept the “bullshit” we encounter in so many other games.
Why our author Schuhmann only liked Baldur’s Gate 3 after the third attempt, you can read here.
