Baldur’s Gate 3: First Impressions

Despite the overwhelmingly positive praise I’d seen lavished upon Baldur’s Gate 3 since its release out of early access, I was somewhat wary of picking it up. I’ve not played Baldur’s Gate 1 or 2 – although I certainly wouldn’t say you’d need to in order to enjoy this sequel – and I’m not very familiar with Dungeons & Dragons in terms of lore, systems or mechanics. I also – and this isn’t an absolute (no pun intended) – don’t tend to enjoy turn based combat or combat that features dice rolls.

So I was wary, but ultimately I decided I couldn’t not give the game a shot. And after playing BG3 for more than twenty hours I thought I’d share my initial impressions. And I must say, I’m actually quite surprised by what I like the most about the game and by what I’m not quite so enamoured with. Because those things are practically the opposite of what I expected.

I thought the aspect of BG3 I’d probably find the hardest to like would be the aforementioned combat but it’s easily my favourite part of the game. I do still find the DnD dice roll mechanics to be somewhat frustrating at times, but what won me over in the end was the fact that the system has so many options and so much variety.

I love combat systems that give me a lot of options and let me be creative and BG3 does a great job of both. This is a game where I’m happy to reload a fight several times to try different tactics to see what works best. I was worried that some longer fights – there was one where I was fighting 15 enemies at once – might drag on and get dull. But these are actually quite tense even on the default ‘balanced’ difficulty as you utilise your varied range of skills in clever and fun ways to succeed.

Admittedly, it takes a little time to click as you’re very limited in terms of skills and actions at the beginning of the game. But once you level up once or twice, the game really opens up and continues to open up with so many new ways to play, to approach combat and to build your character classes. I’m genuinely surprised by how much I’ve come to enjoy it – despite the occasionally annoying MISS MISS MISS streak.

The game gets off to a strong start despite the limited skills – at least in terms of narrative. For a player unfamiliar with DnD, I don’t think BG3 does the greatest job of explaining certain systems or mechanics. I initially wanted to play as a Wizard but was somewhat confused when being asked to pick spells in which the descriptions didn’t explain what various DnD terms – like ‘Advantage’ – meant practically in combat.

There are tool tip ‘trees’ you can follow that eventually give you some kind of answer, but that answer isn’t always clear. And I’m going to criticise BG3 for that – because I shouldn’t have to keep dropping out to search Google to understand what something means. And annoyingly, it often turns out that the answer is quite short and simple and could be easily presented as such, yet the game seems intent on obfuscating key information to an unnecessary degree.

I’m also not entirely convinced by the ‘rest’ system of ‘short’ and ‘long’ rests which yes – I get it’s a DnD thing – but I don’t think it necessarily translates well into gameplay. It’s something you’ll have to get used to – particularly early on when your skills are more limited, because you’ll need to rechange them after nearly every fight.

What works in a tabletop game doesn’t necessarily translate well into a video game and I’d rather see such systems tweaked to better accommodate the medium. If it were up to me I’d just remove the ‘short’ rest option entirely and have an automatic short rest ‘effect’ apply after every fight – including recharging spell slots. That would keep up the momentum and stop forcing you to go back to camp every time you run out of charges.

I’m also less than impressed by the current weapon and armour options I’ve discovered. Despite really enjoying the combat, I’m struggling to find gear that’s not only decent in terms of stats or abilities, but also cosmetics. In short, a lot of gear I’ve found looks like ass and doesn’t match visually at all. My character looks like a complete tool. I’m assuming (and hoping) I’ll get access to a lot more variety of gear as I progress.

The story, so far, has been intriguing. I’m enjoying it. And I’m impressed by how many ways there appear to be to approach and complete various quests. It’s hard to say for sure without a replay, but there does seem to be multiple ways to go about and complete the same objectives.

What I thought would be my favourite part of BG3 prior to playing was the companions but it turns out the opposite is true. I hate to say it, but I’m already kind of tired of some of the companions. I like Lae’zel the most because she’s the only one I don’t find dull, insufferable or whiny.

Gale seemed cool at first, but now keeps wanting to get me alone to show me his ‘magic trick’ and has a hump when I refuse. Shadowheart is rather bland and also whiny but maybe she’ll get better. There’s also a vampire elf who I found kind of irritating and some other guy whose name I can’t even remember because he’s so boring.

Now, to be fair, these are my first impressions and maybe these characters will grow on me over time. But the fact that I’m already skipping through some of their dialogue because I just don’t give a shit isn’t the greatest sign. I’m also disappointed by how little input or voice they have during key moments of the game. They just stand behind you like they don’t even exist regardless of what decisions you take.

Once again – first impressions – maybe this will change. But right now, all you get is a message that they ‘approve’ or ‘disapprove’. Why don’t they actually say something? They’ll sometimes have a comment to make after the fact, but it feels a little late and pointless by then. So yeah, I’m really not sold on the companions right now or how they’re integrated into the game.

Visually, BG3 looks very nice in terms of environments, but character models are a little rough – as are character animations. They can be very stiff and awkward. Facial expressions are also pretty bad at times. BG3 feels kind of dated on this front, but I can live with it. I’ve also already hit quite a few annoying bugs. None of these have been major issues and nearly all were fixed with a reload – but it’s worth pointing out.

Overall, I’m enjoying my time with BG3 but the game certainly has its flaws and shortcomings. I’m curious to see how it progresses and how my opinions might change on the aspects I’m not quite so enamoured with. I’ve still got a long way to go.