MeinMMO author Dariusz Müller enjoys Baldur’s Gate 3 because the role-playing game has really good controller support.
Larian Studios has made a really strong release with Baldur’s Gate 3. The player numbers on Steam skyrocketed, the reviews overflowed with praise, and players celebrated a game that finally focuses on quality instead of a greedy in-game shop.
Little surprising, I also wanted to jump on the hype train and experience what the gaming world is celebrating. But already in the first second when I could control my character myself, I was annoyed. “Oh come on,” I thought, “Seriously?”.
I hadn’t gone into detail about Baldur’s Gate 3 and its controls before and was horrified to find out that I control my character with the mouse – not with WASD.
Some of you might be rolling your eyes now, but I find this really terrible. This is a control scheme that I find awful across all genres in really any game. It doesn’t matter whether RPG, strategy game, MOBA, or “hack ’n’ slash” titles like Diablo 4 – I need WASD or a controller.
The rescue is coming and it has two sticks
In Diablo, to my surprise, I found that I have a lot more fun when using a gamepad. So I also reached for my Xbox controller, which I even use on the Nintendo Switch in Baldur’s Gate 3.
At first, I had doubts whether the controller support could really be well implemented. After all, Baldur’s Gate 3 has many functions that cannot possibly fit all on the controller. How often have developers simply tried to cram the “mouse and keyboard” controls onto the limited buttons of a gamepad and failed miserably?
Luckily, Larian Studios chose a different path and actually created a completely unique control scheme. Much is resolved via selection wheels – I press a button, a wheel opens, and I select what I’m looking for.
And the best part is: with the controller, I truly control my character and feel like I am in a role-playing game from BioWare. The two sticks are used traditionally for moving the character and the camera, allowing me to experience Baldur’s Gate 3 much more immersively than if I were just clicking around with the mouse in the far zoomed-out isometric perspective.
Try it with comfort
Another big plus is the convenience that comes with the controller support. Here, I must wholeheartedly agree with GameStar video editor Christian Fritz Schneider (via YouTube).
I like to experience an RPG on the couch or – if I’m at my desk – then in a comfortable position. I can already torture my back while working or when trying hard in tactical shooters like Valorant.
Since the controller support in Baldur’s Gate 3 is really fun, it’s worth experiencing the role-playing game on the TV and relaxing on the sofa. This should please console players in particular.
Moreover, this also means that Baldur’s Gate 3 feels good on the Steam Deck since we cannot rely on mouse and keyboard here either. An extensive report on BG3 on the Steam Deck has been written for you by MeinMMO editor Benedikt Schlotmann:
I played Baldur’s Gate 3 on the Steam Deck – Is it worth it?
