For this week’s media review, I will be covering Baldur’s Gate 3, a newly released RPG video game that is based in the world of Dungeons and Dragons. Although this is the third installment of the Baldur’s Gate franchise, it is not required for you to play the first or second installment to understand the storyline, as this story takes place around one hundred years after the end of the second game. Larian Studios, the producers of Baldur’s Gate 3, are also known for their production of the Divinity franchise. This is a game that has a well-known team behind it that communicates frequently with the fan base.
As of Aug. 3, 2023, the full version of Baldur’s Gate 3 has been released to Windows PC. On Sept. 6, this game was ported to PlayStation 5, and on Sept. 22, it was ported to MAC OS. Larian Studios has announced that they plan a release for Xbox as well later this year.
It needs to be said that there is nudity that can be toggled off in the settings but be warned that by default, it is on. Baldur’s Gate 3 also covers some sensitive topics and has a lot of violence, so it is rated M for a reason.
Looking deeper into the actual content, you play as either an original player character that you design, or you can play as an origin character as well. The game starts off with your character aboard the Nautilus, the flying ship controlled by the mind flayers that have captured you and held you captive. The main storyline of this game is that you have been infected with an illithid parasite, or a mind flayer parasite, and you and your party are trying to figure out how to get rid of it before you transform. As you progress through the storyline, you find that there is a cult that needs to be taken down as well.
Along the way, you can befriend and romance your companions, discover more about everyone’s backstory and explore the world that you have been placed into. With every companion you meet, there is an opportunity to complete side quests and unlock more choices and information regarding them. The main characters you come across are Lae’zel, the githyanki fighter, Shadowheart, the half-elf cleric, Astarion, the high elf rogue, Gale, the human wizard, Wyll, the human warlock and Karlach, the tiefling barbarian. Depending on who you ask to join you in your main adventuring party, the story is heavily affected. However, it may prove useful to have certain NPCs in your party to get past various obstacles.
You can also choose to play Baldur’s Gate 3 in multiplayer mode with up to three friends to complete the four-party member requirement, or you can play with one or two friends and have NPCs fill in the rest of your adventuring party’s spots. One unfortunate aspect of multiplayer mode is that there are not yet cross-platform capabilities.
For those who enjoy mods in their games, Larian has stated their enjoyment for the community of modders. There are already many mods available on Nexus for download. Some of these mods include dice skins, extra hairstyles and even gameplay expansion. Some mods that I currently have in my game are Ellian’s Hair, which gives me more options for hairstyles in character creation, “Amethyst Dice” which retextures the dice in my game and “JWL Histories and Occupations” which can alter the backstory of my custom character.
Overall, Baldur’s Gate 3 is an amazing RPG based in the world of Dungeons and Dragons. It is currently priced at $60 on Steam and $70 for PlayStation.
