Baldur’s Gate 3

Baldur™s Gate 3 is the highly acclaimed RPG video game developed and published by Larian Studios, creators of the critically praised Divinity Original Sin franchise and other games from the Divinity series.

Set in the expansive fantasy world of the Faerun and powered by the latest Fifth edition of the Wizards of the Coast™s tabletop RPG system Dungeons & Dragons, this game has managed to surpass the expectations of the worldwide media and gaming audience and provide PC gamers access to one of the best crafted and ambitious RPG games of all time.

While it follows the basic gameplay systems set in the two original Baldur™s Gate games developed by Bioware Studios more than 20 years ago, this new sequel advances every possible in-game system and raises overall production value to the maximum, giving players from all over the world access to the game that is the closest example of digital Dungeon Master that can react to an incredible variety of player™s actions, always providing them with an excellent D&D experience and fun challenges.

Featuring a masterfully crafted main campaign that lasts over 75 hours of playtime and an incredible variety of dynamic content that can™t be experienced in a single playthrough, this game represents a crowning achievement of the modern RPG genre and a shining example of an uncompromising design that very few other game development studios can infuse in their modern projects.

Features

• Faithful Digital Recreation of Dungeons & Dragons is set on a large adventure with a ruleset that boosts player freedom and promotes experimentation.
• Large and Detailed World of Faerûn“ Explore many regions of this Forgotten Realms world, culminating in the streets of its largest city Baldur™s Gate.
• Deep Character Customization“ Create a perfect Hero with the choice of 11 races, 12 classes, 46 sub-classes, a very detailed character creator, and extensive in-game itemization.
• Player Choices and Consequences“ Incredibly ambitious branching narrative that reacts to each player's choice, creating a strong feeling of a hand-crafted adventure.
• Engaging Turn-Based Combat“ Easy to learn tactical turn-based combat system rewards creativity, smart decision-making, positioning, and effective use of over 600 spells and abilities.
• Co-op Multiplayer“ Embark on an adventure with your friends, either locally with 2 2-player split screens or online with the full 4-player party.

How to Play

The game features a stunning 3D recreation of Forgotten Realms locations, enabling users to both overview their surroundings with a distant tactical isometric or top-down camera, or bring their view close to every object and character they encounter on their journey.

Narrative choices are handled with a branching system where players can pick not only the direction of each talk but also influence characters around them with advanced gameplay systems such as Persuasion, Deception, and skill checks in various techniques such as History, Arcana, Animal Handling, and many others. The game can be played with three main difficulty settings.

The player can bring with him a party of up to 4 characters, with more of them awaiting deployment in the camp that can be visited any time adventurers want to regain their lost health and replenish their magical abilities. The game heavily promotes Origin playable characters that feature their unique backstories and quests, enabling players to become invested in many storylines that are set alongside their main quest.

User Interface

Similarly to the two previous games from this award-winning franchise, Baldur™s Gate 3 follows the traditional RPG format where players control a party of powerful and resourceful characters and navigate through a vast world, solve puzzles, and engage with NPCs in a real-time way, while the combat is handled with a streamlined turn-based system that rewards tactical gameplay, smart positioning, and effective use of over 600 spells and abilities that were all faithfully adapted from the 5th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons tabletop RPG ruleset.

The user interface allows players to take full control over their in-game characters with a full inventory system for wearing a wide variety of clothing, armor, and weapon items. At all times abilities, stats, proficiencies, and spells of characters can be inspected in an extensive Character Sheet screen. The game also provides an easy way to access maps, quest journals, character level-ups, and more.

While it is primarily made to be used with a keyboard and mouse, with a large selection of icon bars and mouse-controlled features, it can also be fully enjoyed with a gamepad.

FAQ

What is Baldurs Gate 3?
It is an RPG PC video game that combines elements of immersive storytelling, character customization, and strategic turn-based combat in a vast fantasy world to deliver one of the most impressive gaming experiences found on the modern market.

Is it safe?
This game was developed and is actively maintained by a reputable studio that closely monitors any appearance of unsafe in-game content.

PC versions are distributed by two online platforms Steam and GOG, which are both responsible for delivering updates, managing cloud saves, and matchmaking with online players for real-time coop. Since the game features no restrictive on-board anti-DRM system, it can be freely modded with 3rd party content.  

Can this game be played without the knowledge of previous games from this franchise?
100% yes. Baldur™s Gate 3 for PC was built from the ground up to enable brand-new players who did not experience events from previous BG games.

Does it support gamepads?
Yes. This game even features a fully unique UI interface for gamepad users, transferring an incredible variety of keyboard and mouse controls into a very streamlined gamepad layout. 
Alternatives

Divinity: Original Sin 2 is “ A critically acclaimed RPG from Larian Studios featuring deep storytelling and turn-based combat.

Pillars of Eternity is a captivating isometric RPG from Obsidian Entertainment set in a richly detailed world with real-time pause combat.

Wasteland 3 is a squad-based RPG game from inXile Entertainment that tells a branching story in a post-apocalyptic setting.

Pricing

This is a fully-priced $60 game. It features zero additional microtransactions, subscriptions, or in-game premium items.

System Requirements

The minimum recommended PC configuration is “ Intel I5 4690 CPU, 8 GB of RAM, Nvidia GTX 970 or RX 480 GPU, 150 GB available space on SSD drive, and 64“bit Windows 10/11.

The optimum recommended PC configuration is “ Intel i7 8700K or AMD r5 3600 CPU, 16 GB of RAM, Nvidia 2060 Super or RX 5700 XT GPU, 150 GB available space on SSD drive, and 64“bit Windows 10/11.

PROS

• Immersive storytelling with a surprising amount of branching storytelling.
• Captivating world-building with appealing characters.
• Extensive character customization options.
• Engaging and tactical turn-based combat mechanics.
• Built-in support for local and online Co-op multiplayer.
• A standalone adventure that does not require knowledge of previous titles in the series.

CONS

• The steep learning curve for newcomers to the RPG genre.

Conclusion

Baldur's Gate 3 is not only a worthy successor to the critically acclaimed previous games from this series, but a landmark title that will surely be remembered as one of the crowning achievements of the RPG genre. It allows for such immersion, dynamic gameplay, tactical combat encounters, and player-driven storytelling, making it a must-play title for all PC gamers seeking top-tier entertainment that can only be experienced in a live tabletop Dungeons & Dragons environment.