By Isabela Placencia and Isabelle "Izzy" Goike
In the summer of 2023, Larian Studios released Baldur’s Gate 3, a strategy-based role-playing game that uses Dungeons and Dragons mechanics and lore to create a unique player experience.
Baldur’s Gate 3 takes the player on a narrative-driven campaign with quests, characters and events. Typically, campaigns are designed by a storyteller, otherwise known as the Dungeon Master. In Baldur’s Gate 3, the Dungeon Master is Larian Studios.
Larian Studios’ campaign begins with a mind flayer inserting a tadpole into the player’s head in a failed mind control attempt. After escaping, a weakened player encounters other characters with the same problem. Then, the player and their party discover only they can resist the tadpole’s mind control. Those who cannot resist join the “Absolute” cult, leaving it up to the player’s party to figure out why.
True to the D&D formula, the player’s choices will influence the story’s outcome, including the characters and environments. For Shield Media players, the amount of control they have is BG3’s best strength.
Gabriel James Saxinger, a mass communication junior and podcast editor, said BG3 is “game-changing” as players control events through dialogue and combat choices. Sometimes, players can decide if combat takes place or not if they can pass a charisma check.
Besides charisma, other stats will affect a player’s game-play options: strength, dexterity, constitution, intelligence and wisdom. Players pick these stats while creating a character sheet- another D&D game mechanic. Character sheets also include class, race, gender and background. These will influence skill proficiencies, available spells and how characters treat the player.
Players also have the option to play as an origin character, a pre-made character with history within the world, resulting in a unique storyline the player dictates. Like other turn-based games, players can switch between characters to use their strengths in specific scenarios.
Another strength of BG3 is the diverse characters with which the player can form platonic or romantic relationships.
Eli Hulinger, a mass communication sophomore and visual team staff member, said his favorite character is Shadowheart, a half-elf cleric, because he “likes her story and how she redeems herself.” As a cleric, Shadowheart draws power from Shar, the goddess of darkness. In D&D, the Gods rule over different domains of life, with Shar’s being grief and pain.
Consequently, Shar worshippers undergo traumatizing pilgrimages. In Shadowheart’s case, her pilgrimage required induced amnesia to ensure secrecy. The player can help Shadowheart find herself and stand against Shar. Shadowheart will remain a Shar follower if players want her to.
Some weaknesses of BG3 are the length and difficulty. Paul Tassi, a Forbes senior contributor, said Larian indicated that a single playthrough can last between 75-100 hours. Even then players wouldn’t have seen everything. The players’ choices result in branching storylines for the main, side and character plots. Sometimes, players can be locked out of certain choices; it all depends on their race, class and origin status.
The turn-base style and difficulty contribute to the length. During combat, players must wait their turn to play with limited moves: one action and a bonus action. Hulinger said he finds himself “reloading over and over” during fights and once spent two days on one.
In short, BG3 is recommended for people who enjoy fantasy games with rich stories and characters that can be manipulated through choices. However, BG3 is not for people with busy schedules.
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