Baldur's Gate III - GBAtemp First Impressions
Now, before we get into the nitty gritty, let’s make sure one thing’s absolutely clear out the gate; this is not my full and comprehensive review of Baldur’s Gate 3. This is a game that I’ve been following well since its early development, and tracked on a near religious level from day one of the early access period. While I may not have as many hours logged as some other fanatics, this is a game I’ve found myself enamored with for quite some time, and thus I want to give it the review it deserves. As such, my goal is to have the full review done sometime in early September; partially to give myself more time to dig into this beast of a game, but also so that I can test out the PS5 version (which may or may not be the reason I finally bought a the console, but don’t tell my wife that) on performance and cross-compatibility play, to make it as full of a review as possible. As such, what you’re about to read are my initial thoughts after spending launch weekend playing the game, and some of the immediate changes I noticed from the early access versions. With that out of the way, let’s dive in.
Upon starting up the full version of the game for the first time, I was immediately struck by just how beautiful the game was looking; for a game that I already thought looked pretty good during the early access period, the additional levels of graphical polish that are apparent from even the first cutscene just immediately made me excited for what’s to come. In 4K, this game is beyond stunning, and at its weakest moments looks just as good as any other game currently out. And at its best, it’s a striking visual feast for the eyes. Even in 1080p, the game's just as gorgeous, and often had me double checking if I dropped my settings or not with just how good the "lower" quality looked. These graphical enhancements are especially noticeable in another new addition to the game, that being updated and new cutscenes and cinematics that weren't available in the early access period. The cinematics do wonders in terms of getting you introduced to the companion characters, their personality quirks, and their general abilities, requiring a lot less trial and error on learning the characters whether you’re brand new to the game, or you’ve been playing since the initial launch. There’s also some shakeups to the characters personal stories, so some of the goals and plotlines that were important to specific characters during early access may not necessarily be the same in this full game; which I definitely count as a positive, offering another layer of replayability and new content for those who’ve already spent an amount of time in the game pre-launch.
When it came time to create my first full version character, that’s when the full gravity of how much Larian added to this game from early access. Immediately I was presented with all of the new character options, from the teased option to play as one of the five primary party members that I’ve gotten to know over the early access period, take on the role of an NPC-turned-party option, or take on one of the two custom character opportunities. The former two options lock you in on your class, race, backstory and stats, both of the custom options (Dark Urge and Custom) allow you to change your race from the default Dragonborn, pick your class, and distribute your stats as you see fit. There’s also the wholly new Monk class to give a whirl, for those looking for even more new toys to play with. Even for companions who some of you’ve likely played to death by now, the added subclass options give you a new spin on these characters that can shake up how you make use of them. Beyond this, there’s plenty of new companion options for those who get far enough into the game to find them. Beyond character class options, there’s also the aforementioned newly added Dragonborn race and all of the customization options that come with it, as well as new options for scaring, body type, gender identity, and genitals across all characters. While I wouldn’t say that these updates were necessarily unexpected, or even going above and beyond what was expected, I think it’s a perfect way to show at a glance just how far this game’s come since the early access launch, and a prime example of one of the many ways Baldur’s Gate 3 will offer ample opportunities for replayability.
On the gameplay front, there isn’t a ton here to be talked about; at its core, this is still the same game that was playable from the early access period. The exploration is still done primarily in point-and-click style for the overworld, conversations with characters are still done via dialogue trees with the occasional skill/ability check via virtual d20 dice to determine the outcome, and combat is still turn-based with plenty of environmental strategy involved. One major update Larian brought to the full version is controller support, for those who don't like mouse and keyboard or just want to play on the Steam Deck - which, combined with the upcoming PS5 release, makes this a sensible update to add. I think one of the better things that came out of the early access updates were the major upgrades to the UI, and further clarity on what abilities can be utilized when, as well as the effects of using your environment in combat. All of the UI upgrades from the early access period are here, and even include a few more options for determining your success probability at a glance to help get combat moving just a bit quicker. This was already one of the stronger points in the early access release, so to see Larian both maintain and upgrade all of the progress here just thrills me.
Ultimately, while I still feel that I’m far too early in my full Baldur’s Gate 3 experience, it’s already easy to tell that this is the game I was waiting for back in 2020. Larian Studios succeeded in creating a game that not only managed to generate tremendous hype, but has so far shown only signs of living up to it. The UI, gameplay, and cinematic changes alone showcase just how far this game has come, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to finally be on this adventure.
