A great dungeon master (DM) in a role-playing adventure session knows how to get straight to the point of the story. Baldur’s Gate 3, just like its namesake city, is a highly successful game. It encompasses everything you love about role-playing games and even offers bonuses to all stats. Set in the Forgotten Realms of Dungeons and Dragons, this adventure by Belgian studio Larian utilizes the fifth edition D&D ruleset. It stays true to the original source material, providing an authentic experience in the digital realm. Even if you are unfamiliar with D&D terminology, the game handles all the calculations for you. The ruleset is comprehensive and allows for creativity, but the quality of the game ultimately depends on the dungeon master. So, what kind of DM is Larian Studios?
After customizing your own character or choosing one of the five companion characters with well-developed backgrounds and voice acting, you find yourself trapped in a Nautiloid – an airship controlled by squid-faced Mind Flayers. These creatures reproduce by incubating tadpoles in the brains of their captives, but something has gone wrong with your infection. While you gain the ability to read the thoughts of your companions, you remain unchanged. Discovering the reason behind this anomaly and uncovering the cause of the aggressive behavior of the Mind Flayers becomes the core of the story.
Baldur’s Gate 3 follows the basic structure of RPG games. You explore vast maps, engage in battles, collect loot, and progress through a main questline. Additionally, there are numerous entertaining side quests and individual storylines for each companion. Romance options are also available. Gathering magical gear and leveling up are key elements of the gameplay.
What sets Baldur’s Gate 3 apart is its extensive writing and reactivity. The game offers an impressive array of possibilities, making it feel like the game itself is sentient. The developers have created thousands of dialogue variations, contributing to the illusion of an actual DM. The game incorporates spells from D&D, such as levitation, invisibility, mind reading, and communication with animals and the dead. Larian has taken the effort to provide extra dialogue options and level design to accommodate these magical abilities. Baldur’s Gate 3 encourages players to explore creative solutions to problems, embracing the spirit of a Dungeon Master’s “OK, roll for it” mentality.
The game’s only flaw lies in its overwhelming wealth of content. The sheer size of the maps can be daunting, and even something as simple as a tavern can lead to hours of gameplay. Larian has created a game world that is visually stunning and filled with branching dialogue trees and alternate story moments. This level of depth would be impressive in a linear adventure, but to achieve it in a game world of this magnitude is truly awe-inspiring. Most importantly, Baldur’s Gate 3 never feels like a benchmark; it simply aims to provide a fun experience for every player, regardless of their play style.
In terms of being a Dungeon Master, Larian is like the DM who puts in extra hours to create thrilling diversions for their players. They are willing to let players abandon the planned path in favor of spontaneous actions and unexpected scenarios. Larian’s DM is passionate, imaginative, humorous, and sometimes a bit too mischievous. Baldur’s Gate 3 stands tall as an RPG, full of life, expansive in scope, and bursting with creativity. The game is available on PC, Mac, and PS5.