One is Harry Potter while the other is D&D.  I'm sure these games have other merits, but liking the IP is a factor in their popularity.

While that is true for Hogwarts (and it is a great game for fans of Harry Potter, as the devs clearly like the world), I would disagree on D&D. In itself it is not strong. Players of D&D tend to like the system over the world and in my experience also use other systems like Pathfinder, Earthdawn or Shadowrun. And the both latter have far more interesting worlds than the generic fantasy worlds of the Forgotten Realm or Golarion (in Pathfinders case), which are designed to host every possible sort of fantasy campaign and in result lack something of their own identity. So I don't think anyone is playing BG3 for the world. The system of D&D might be more of a draw, but if you read some of the other threads, there is pushback against D&D 5 which BG3 uses and some like not Larian's implementation. So the biggest draw from the IP are the original games... from the 90s.

I think what entices players about BG3 is the amount of player choice. The game reacts on a lot of wild decisions you make. And sometimes I get interesting results for failing checks.

I didn't even linked BG3 to D&D until read this post of yours. Harry Potter is for sure a widely know IP even for non gamers, but I don't think that's the case for D&D

Hmm

Tears of the Kingdom has been an amazing experience, looking forward to SMRPG Remake and Star Ocean 2. I've also enjoyed revisiting Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life. And I'm looking forward to Baldur's Gate 3 when it releases on a platform that I have in about a month or so.

I doubt it can top 2017 for me, but it does seem like a pretty crazy year, even if TotK is the only of the really big titles I've actually played yet.

But the list of games I'm interested in is pretty long: RE4 Remake, Hogwarts, Diablo IV, FF XVI and if we include the ones that haven't released Spider-Man and Talos Principle II. I probably won't play many of them until much later tho.

I agree. Crazy good year so far, and still a lot more will come.

Fire Emblem Engage, Hogwarts, Resident Evil 4, Zelda, Street Fighter 6, FFXVI, Remnanat 2, Baldur's Gate 3 & upcoming Starfield, Spider-man 2, Alan Wake 2, Alone in the Dark and others!

I hope, we will get a fierce competition for the GOTY.

I think this has been quite a solid year for gaming too! As those of you who follow my (diminishing) posts on these forums will know, I'm mostly an indie gamer anymore. My favorite new games so far this year include, in order...

1) Misericorde: Volume One
2) A Space for the Unbound
3) Humanity
4) Pizza Tower
5) Street Fighter 6

(This is counting only brand new games, not remasters.)

Just as importantly in evaluating the merits of this year in gaming though, I can now think of a number of additional titles I'm looking forward to that are due out within the year: Thirsty Suitors, the PlayStation 5 version of Baldur's Gate 3 (which is the one I intend to buy), Rift of the NecroDancer, Revenant Hill, Hollow Knight: Silksong, and Mineko's Night Market. (I've given up on Open Roads coming out in the foreseeable future.) Oh yeah, and Super Mario Wonder, obviously.

I’ve completed 5 games released this year (Hogwarts, HFR, D4, Redfall and Lana) and out of those 5 only Planet of Lana was truly memorable. If it wasn’t for Starfield and CP77:PL (I can’t count BG3 coz it’s not releasing on my console of choice this year) I’d say this year would be one of the worst in the last decade.