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Mummelmann on 19 August 2023
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HoloDust said:
Mummelmann said:

I'm about 30 hours in now, level 7 and only just started Act II; this is the real deal, it's trapping me completely and refuses to let go. A tremendous achievement, and an important signal to the industry overall. I hope the genre in general gets more attention and love because of this, there are many gems to play in this space, including Larian's two previous releases.

I'm really trying to like it, but I feel I've keep fighting with it every step of a way in various ways from the beginning. I've spent last few days quite a bit of time in BG1 and 2, and eventually figured I'd rather play those games again, given how engaging they are for me, than BG3...which honestly made me kinda sad, given that I was expecting a lot from BG3.

I have moments in BG3 when I think "this is so good", and then I have moments like wiping all those goblins and wargs in that ruined town with just one level 3 rogue thinking "what kind of crap this is, that shouldn't be possible". Guess I'll be pushing on, hoping the choices are really rewarding, cause everything else feels half-baked, IMO.

There's nothing with feeling that way, I recently played through BG 1 and 2 again. Both have aged well for fans of the genre, but the UI leaves a lot to be desired for more modern audiences. I played D&D 2nd Edition (or AD&D) back in the day, so I'm familiar with the system there as well. For me, the biggest difference between the old BG games and BG 3 is the dynamic combat, combat in BG 1 and 2 is very static, owing mostly to the rule system it's based on. BG 1 and 2 are incredible classics, and well worth playing to this day, the characters and writing are strong points, more so in the sequel than the first one (the main story of Baldur's Gate is a tad "narrow" in scope compared to the sequel). They also did incredible things with side quests, which were often hopeless fare back in the day, and not the majority of game time that we see today. If you enjoy the original and sequel, I would advice you to play Icewind Dale 1 and 2 as well.

The first 3 levels in BG 3 are quite tough, I failed a lot despite having a lot of experience in the genre and with RPGs in general. Positioning is crucial, ranged attacks from high ground are a must in most fights. There are also some pretty cheesy strategies for harder groups (luring one and one away by pickpocketing and having them chase you, for instance). Overall though, I'm loving almost every minute of my playthrough. My main regret is rolling a Rogue instead of a Sorcerer for my main, but I plan on finishing it with my original build.