MeinMMO Editor Leya Jankowski has now played over 200 hours Baldur’s Gate 3 and feels like she’s still finishing the tutorial.
Actually, I should have played Starfield and Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty long ago. Actually. My plan was simple:
With the early release of Baldur’s Gate 3, I had exactly one month to complete it and then focus on the other big game releases. One month should definitely be enough.
But Baldur’s Gate 3 has firmly held me in its claws since its release in August. For more than 12 weeks, I have been playing nothing but the massive RPG from Larian Studios. The worst part is that after over 200 hours, I am still far from finished!
Most people around me have completed the third and final act in about 80 hours. I am currently in the third act and estimate that I will need another 20 hours to finish Baldur’s Gate 3.
I am slow, look at everything, yet miss half of it
How can it be that it takes me so long for a playthrough?
First, I must admit that I am generally a slow player and usually exceed the average playtime. However, it has never been as extreme as with Baldur’s Gate 3.
But Baldur’s Gate 3 tempts me to explore every corner, talk to as many NPCs as possible, and read all notes and books. As a druid, I must, of course, also talk to every animal that crosses my path. They also have the weirdest dialogues.
I am rewarded every time I go on a discovery journey. For almost every small quest, there is a cutscene, and sometimes the best stories are hidden in seemingly insignificant tasks. For those in the know, I only say: carrier pigeons and Gale’s cat.
Actually, it’s totally crazy to be so obsessed with wanting to see everything. Because every decision you make in the game leads to certain things never being seen.
I also repeatedly manage to completely overlook things, as I have to keep realizing in conversations with others.
In the first act, I only left death and devastation. This way, a large part of the game will remain forever hidden.
I desperately wanted to kill an evil witch for which my level was still too low. This led me to sleep a lot to replenish my life – I even unlocked a trophy as a sleeping queen – and thus the story continued partially without me.
I destroyed a druid grove, there was a genocide of tieflings, I slaughtered a few goblins in the hope of achieving something here and saving an important druid. However, he was already dead.
Well… this led to three potential companions dying, and one did not want to join me anymore because of my atrocities. I will not see their stories.
But none of this has discouraged me from continuing to explore every corner of the game. I want to make my current story as complete as possible.
There won’t be anything like Baldur’s Gate 3 for a long time
I could go on and on about why I am generally very slow in RPGs.
I haven’t even talked about things like staring at the screen forever when I think about which move I want to make in turn-based combat. Just for all my plans to backfire and I have to adapt again. I have spent several days in the same battle without making progress in the story.
And you know what?
These 200 hours still feel like a damn tutorial!
Because right now, I am torn between finally catching up on the games that have been on my list for a long time right after Baldur’s Gate 3. At the same time, I am considering starting the next run in the RPG because I want to see all the other possibilities.
Moreover, I have every single moment in mind of how I could do it better this time. As if this XXL run is only the preparation for the next one. I am currently playing my run as a Dark Urge, which is the perfect experience for me to experience this game. Experiencing this quest line is quite something!
The last RPG that I was so obsessed with that I wanted to play it over and over again was Skyrim. That was 12 years ago.
I fear that the big releases of recent times are likely to disappoint me. So I will probably focus on a smaller indie game again, like Cocoon, a puzzle-adventure where worlds exist in a sphere that you carry on your back.
I know it will take a long time before a game triggers this level of escapism and immersion for me again.
How are the other tavs in Baldur’s Gate 3? Are you still playing and how many hours do you have under your belt now?
I just hope that something like this doesn’t happen to me: “I deserved the mockery” Player continues 100 hours after bug, loses save, ruins the ending of Baldur’s Gate 3
