Larian Studios’ Baldur’s Gate 3 is nothing short of a triumph. It’s an extraordinary fusion of storytelling, player freedom, and tactical gameplay that redefines what a modern CRPG is. Drawing from the rich lore of Dungeons & Dragons and building upon the studio’s experience with Divinity: Original Sin II, Baldur’s Gate 3 truly is an evolution of the genre. It’s not just a game; it’s a living, breathing world where every decision matters and every encounter feels personal. This is the rare RPG that earns its place alongside timeless greats like Planescape: Torment, The Witcher 3, and Mass Effect 2. But Baldur’s Gate 3 doesn’t just echo the classics, it surpasses them in many ways.
Developer & Publisher // Larian Studios
Platforms // PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S
MSRP & Release Dates // $59.99, August 3, 2023
Reviewed On // Xbox Series X
A Tangled Web of Gods, Demons, and Deep Choices
Baldur’s Gate 3 begins with a gripping premise: you’re infected with a fatal mind flayer parasite, and the clock is ticking. From that moment on, the game plunges you into a sprawling narrative that seamlessly blends high-stakes epic fantasy with deeply personal character arcs. The writing is razor-sharp, rich with nuance, and never afraid to explore dark, philosophical themes alongside humor and humanity. What makes the story soar is the plethora of choices and consequences. Larian doesn’t just offer you binary moral choices; they allow you to craft your own adventures.
Every dialogue, every decision, every kill or sparing of life has ripple effects. You can manipulate gods, forge alliances with devils, or betray your closest companions. And because the game adapts to your playstyle, no two playthroughs are remotely alike. Characters like Shadowheart, Astarion, Karlach, and Lae’zel are among the most compelling companions in RPG history. Each is layered, flawed, and capable of growth or tragedy, depending on how you interact with them.
The relationships feel earned, whether romantic, antagonistic, or fraternal, and they evolve in ways that feel natural and reactive to the story. My favorite was Shadowheart, because as I experienced her story, I really felt like I wanted to help and save her. She was my romance in the game. Although I felt like I was able to connect with many of them and even discovered after the fact that others could have joined me if I had made different decisions. It’s crazy the number of options available in the game.
The Acts and NPCs in Baldur’s Gate 3
Each of the three acts of the game presents a distinct tonal shift and setting:
- Act 1 introduces the open-world wilderness, teeming with tension and discovery.
- Act 2 plunges you into the Shadow-Cursed Lands, where hope flickers in a constant twilight.
- Act 3 brings you into the heart of Baldur’s Gate, a sprawling city where your past decisions come to a head in truly jaw-dropping ways.
Even seemingly minor NPCs are written with care to the point that there are no throwaway characters. Questlines can evolve in radically different ways, often without you realizing the branching paths until a second playthrough. For example, Barcus Wroot (a minor character) was a random gnome. I picked an option for him accidentally, and he died. He can show up later if he didn’t die in that scenario.
You have deeply personal companion arcs, such as Astarion’s trauma, Shadowheart’s religious conflict, or Gale’s ticking magical affliction. There are rich dialogue trees that respect roleplaying, letting you embody noble heroes, ruthless villains, or chaotic enigmas. I have multiple playthroughs with friends and by myself, where I haven’t experienced the same thing I did in my first complete playthrough. Then, there are multiple endings with drastic world-state differences and deeply personal outcomes.
D&D Ruleset Meets Tactical Excellence
Baldur’s Gate 3 uses the Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition ruleset, but Larian has implemented it with finesse, adapting complex systems into something approachable without sacrificing depth. Every spell, ability, and class interaction feels meaningful, and combat is a glorious sandbox of creative solutions. Turn-based combat (in contrast to the real-time with pause of earlier BG titles) allows for immense tactical depth. Environmental manipulation, high ground, stealth, dialogue-triggered ambushes, and multi-turn setups make each battle feel like a bespoke puzzle.
You can shove enemies off cliffs, set oil slicks ablaze, teleport across battlefields, or sneak through enemy lines with an invisible rogue. One of my favorite combat moments earlier in the game happened when I cast the spell “Grease” with Gale covering the floor. Then, while goblins advanced toward me, I shot a chandelier picture, causing it to fall. Then it just so happened to hit some goblins while catching the grease on fire, damaging even more goblins. It’s the plethora of situations like this that allow for so much depth and choice.
Outside of combat, the game is filled with puzzles, exploration, dialogue skill checks, and roleplaying opportunities. Larian’s famed “if you think you can do it, you probably can” philosophy is completely true! Leading to players who find unexpected, sometimes absurd solutions to problems. Want to use Mage Hand to drop a crate on a boss’s head? Go for it. Want to talk a lich into becoming your friend? Good luck, but it’s possible.
In Combat and Out of Combat
As I mentioned above, based on Dungeons & Dragons 5E, Baldur’s Gate 3 allows for things like this in combat:
- Verticality allows ranged classes to gain advantages from high ground.
- Use of objects and spells to manipulate the battlefield. (Grease + Firebolt = Inferno).
- Creative freedom with environmental effects.
- Non-lethal combat, stealth takedowns, and even dialogue-based battle avoidance.
Outside of combat, nearly every interaction is skill- or stat-based:
- Passives like Arcana, Religion, Persuasion, Intimidation, Insight, etc., influence dialogue and exploration.
- Dungeon crawling and exploration reward players who pay attention to small environmental cues.
- The fully visualized dice rolls are tense and dramatic, often allowing rerolls or enhancements via class abilities or magical items.
Multiplayer (co-op) and solo play offer vastly different experiences, encouraging replay with different builds or moral alignments. At launch, there were 12 classes and 46 subclasses with multiclassing support. Being that it’s been a little over a year and a half since launch, more have been added.
The respec feature allows experimentation without penalty, especially good for newer players. There is balanced and well-paced leveling, with meaningful power progression. One more thing of note: every build and playstyle—min/maxers and roleplayers alike—feel viable. I’ve previously talked about different builds leading up to this review.
A Gorgeous, Gritty Forgotten Realms
Larian’s presentation of the Forgotten Realms is jaw-dropping. From the sun-dappled wilderness of the Emerald Grove to the gothic horror of the Shadow-Cursed Lands to the massive, sprawling urban tapestry of Baldur’s Gate itself, the art direction is immaculate. Environments feel hand-crafted and packed with lore-rich detail, secrets, and visual storytelling. As someone who has played many D&D campaigns, Forgotten Realms is my favorite setting and Larion shows it off to perfection. In my main playthrough, I based my character on Jarlaxle Baenre. So, if you are a Forgotten Realms fan, you know exactly who he is.
Character models are expressive and detailed, especially during close-up dialogues. Cinematic camera angles enhance immersion and storytelling without compromising interactivity. The spell effects, lighting, and animations all feel weighty and satisfying, contributing to a deeply immersive atmosphere. I remember I made a choice, and the disdain on Lae’zel’s face thoroughly allowed me to know I made her mad in that instance.
Even party camp scenes are beautifully framed, often feeling like intimate vignettes rather than filler. To me, the environmental storytelling rivals titles like The Last of Us and Elden Ring. There were incredible spell animations, especially high-level spells like “Meteor Swarm” or “Mass Polymorph.”
A World That Reacts
If there’s a single hallmark of Baldur’s Gate 3, it’s freedom. You can create nearly any kind of character you want, from a charming Bard to a half-orc Barbarian. You can be a paragon of good, a trickster, or a malevolent force carving a path through Faerûn. For fun, I have been trying to work out a half-orc Thief, and it’s hilarious. The game encourages experimentation with multiple branching paths, secret areas, faction reputations, alternate outcomes for every companion, and even alternate endings for nearly every major character and plotline.
Your decisions aren’t just cosmetic, they actually reshape the world. Even after 100+ hours, I find myself asking “what if?” and eagerly jumping back in to explore new outcomes. Post-launch support has included new endings, mechanics, and quality-of-life updates—no predatory monetization, no microtransactions.
There are plenty of reasons you could play the game indefinitely. There are multiple origin characters, and custom characters offer radically different perspectives. You get to experience plenty of hidden quests, alternate zones, missed companions, and major story deviations, depending on your choices. A single decision, like helping or killing a key NPC, could change the availability of entire questlines or cities. Each companion’s story has multiple possible endings, tied to your actions throughout the game. Playing as the Dark Urge origin unlocks an entirely different, disturbing narrative path. It can be very, very gory!
Flawless Performance
I played Baldur’s Gate 3 on Xbox Series X, curious to see how it would perform. Especially with all the early chatter about co-op limitations due to the Series S, to put the game through its paces. I’d save my progress, head into a busy area like the city of Baldur’s Gate, and start randomly attacking NPCs. The goal was to trigger as much chaos as possible and see if the game would lag or struggle under the load. Surprisingly, it never did. No matter how many characters jumped into combat, the game ran smoothly without any skips or slowdowns.
Audio and Voice Acting Have Top-Tier Production Values
Baldur’s Gate 3 boasts full voice acting for every character in the game. That is a staggering achievement, considering the size of the script. You have to think that every dialogue choice or any action can affect something someone will do or say. Performances across the board are phenomenal, with particular praise for Neil Newbon’s portrayal of Astarion, a performance that earned him the 2023 Game Awards’ Best Performance. Astarion is one of my top three voices in the game.
The soundtrack is equally impressive, composed by Borislav Slavov (Divinity: Original Sin II). The music adapts dynamically to the moment—soaring during battles, subtle in conversation, and haunting in mystery. It enhances the emotional gravity of every scene. The sound design, too, is impeccable. From the growl of owlbears to the sizzle of fireballs, everything contributes to immersion. Winds whistle through ruined temples, ethereal whispers echo in cursed dungeons, and battles crackle with arcane fury.
Full orchestral combat music dynamically shifts with player actions. The dialogue pacing feels natural, aided by impeccable writing and editing. Then, as I mentioned, the companion voice lines adapt to the story context with no repetition fatigue.
I used Performance Mode, which boosts the frame rate to 60 FPS. While some players have pointed out a drop in resolution with this mode, I honestly couldn’t tell the difference. The only real hiccup I noticed was during startup because loading cloud saves took longer than I’m used to. That might just be my spotty internet, though.
Inclusion With Room for Growth
Larian has made real strides in making Baldur’s Gate 3 accessible, though some features are still evolving. Some of the strengths at launch and post-launch were:
- Customizable UI scaling and readable fonts.
- Colorblind modes for common visual impairments.
- Controller support with streamlined radial menus.
- Optional automated skill checks to reduce input fatigue.
- Subtitles with speaker tags and sound effect descriptions.
- Visual indicators for character selection, turn order, and area of effect spells.
Areas for improvement at launch were:
- No full screen reader support for visually impaired users.
- Limited key remapping options on the console.
- Some button combinations and menus on the controller could feel difficult for users with motor impairments.
- No dedicated high-contrast mode or text-to-speech for journal entries.
Larian acknowledged this feedback and has made post-launch updates addressing some of these issues. The mod support can help people tremendously in the accessibility department. The post-launch updates demonstrate Larian Studios’ commitment to making Baldur’s Gate 3 more inclusive and user-friendly for a diverse player base.
Final Verdict – A Legendary Achievement
Baldur’s Gate 3 is a towering achievement in game design and storytelling. It’s a once-in-a-generation RPG that sets a new standard for the genre. Larian Studios has delivered a game that is ambitious, heartfelt, complex, and rewarding at every level. Whether you’re a diehard D&D fan like me or a newcomer to CRPGs, Baldur’s Gate 3 offers an unforgettable journey. Trust me, it’s one that you’ll carry with you long after the credits roll.
In a gaming landscape often filled with live-service monotony, cash grabs, and rushed releases, Baldur’s Gate 3 is a beacon of what’s possible when artistry, time, and love for the medium take center stage. It’s a testament to what happens when passionate developers are given the time, resources, and creative freedom to bring their vision to life.
In a word? Masterpiece.
Final Score: 10/10
Note – The Digital Deluxe Version was played for this review.
Pros:
- Deep, branching storylines with real consequences.
- Immersive, well-written dialogue and choices.
- Complex, evolving companion relationships.
- Creative, tactical turn-based combat system.
- Dozens of viable playstyles, builds, and solutions.
- High freedom in exploration, stealth, and dialogue encounters.
- Dice-based mechanics feel impactful and dramatic.
- Gorgeous, hand-crafted environments with rich detail.
- Dynamic, emotionally resonant orchestral soundtrack.
Cons:
- The controller interface is slightly less refined than the PC version.
- Still some accessibility limitations.
- Incomplete key remapping on consoles.
- For new people, some fights and encounters can feel overly punishing without specific knowledge or builds.
