Baldur’s Gate 3 is an RPG that was released in 2023 for PC, Playstation 5, and Xbox Series S and Series X. It is set in the world of Faerûn, and it is quite literally Dungeons and Dragons in a video game. Baldur’s Gate 3 features many, many dialogue options and almost complete play freedom to do whatever they wish. It won multiple awards:
- The Game Award for Game of the Year
- BAFTA Games Award for Best Game
- The Game Award for Best Multiplayer Game
- The Game Award for Best Performance (Neil Newbon)
- The Game Award for Best Role Playing Game
- The Game Award – Player’s Voice Award
- The GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Video Game
- The Game Award for Best Community Support
- BAFTA Games EE Players’ Choice Award
- The British Academy Video Games Award for Performer (Andrew Wincott)
- British Academy Games Award for Music (Borislav Slavov)
- BAFTA Games Award for Narrative
As you can tell by the awards, the game has an outstanding story and amazing performances by many actors, including J.K. Simmons, who you may know as J. Jonah Jameson from the early 2000s Spider-Man movies, Terence Fletcher from Whiplash, or Omni-Man from the Invincible television series on Prime Video.
The game stays true to its Dungeons and Dragons roots. In the game you have to go through probably hundreds of different checks, whether in dialogue or out in the world, where you will need to roll a twenty sided die. If the number you roll is higher or lower than the number the check has, you will either succeed or fail. If you roll a twenty, the highest number you can roll without your added bonuses from proficiencies, you will instantly succeed no matter what with “critical success.” If you fall on the other end of the spectrum and you roll a one, you will be met with “critical failure.”
All of the damage you deal is rolled off screen, so you never actually see another die (at least as far as I know). I am only halfway through the game, but far enough to have an opinion on certain aspects and provide valuable detail to anyone looking to buy the game for themselves. I mentioned no story aspects because I don’t want to ruin it for anyone.
