Cover artwork I generate from the game data. I do not use publisher artwork.
Game profile
Baldur's Gate 3
A turn based D&D role playing game with enormous freedom of choice and an unusually reactive world. Almost every solution to a problem is acknowledged by the game, no matter how creative.
Affiliate link. If you buy through it, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
What kind of game this is
At its core this is RPG / Strategy, set in a fantasy world. Visually it is deliberately stylised rather than photorealistic, and the overall tone stays somewhere between light and heavy. The structure is guided rather than open, so you are moved along instead of dropped into a map. It rewards long uninterrupted stretches more than quick check-ins.
The difficulty is moderate and fair, demanding attention without punishing you for it. The narrative carries the whole thing, and the mechanics serve it. Co-op is supported, so you can bring someone along. It runs on 3 platforms. It is a full price release.
What stands out
- Enormous freedom of choice
- Turn based D&D combat
- Co-op for up to four
This fits you if
- you want to live through a story, not just play a system
- you enjoy being made to think
- you can sit down for a proper long stretch without interruptions
- the writing matters more to you than the mechanics
- you have someone to play with
Look elsewhere if
- you skip cutscenes and want to get to the gameplay
- you do not have 100 hours to give a single game
- you only ever get short bursts of play time
- you are not willing to pay full price right now
What it costs you in time
About 100 hours in total. At three evenings a week and two hours each, you will be busy for roughly 17 weeks, or 50 sessions.
How the rating ranks
Critics settled on 95 out of 100, which puts it above 98 percent of the 1206 games here and at rank 13 overall. That is top tier. Only a handful of games here score higher.
For comparison, RPG averages 82 points across the database, so this one sits 13 points above its own genre. The figure rests on 1556 collected ratings.
Released in 2023 and 3 years old. Recent enough to look and run modern, old enough to be patched and often discounted.
The facts
- Release year
- 2023
- Genres
- RPG, Strategy
- Playtime
- approx. 100 hrs.
- Difficulty
- Moderate, fair
- Story weight
- Carries the whole game
- Play with
- Solo, Co-op
- Setting
- Fantasy
- Visual style
- Stylised
- Price bracket
- Full price
- Platforms
- PC, PlayStation, Xbox
- Critic rating
- 95 / 100
Direct comparison
| Genres | Release year | Playtime | Critic rating | Price bracket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baldur's Gate 3 | 2023 | approx. 100 hrs. | 95 | Full price |
| Gloomhaven | 2019 | approx. 80 hrs. | 83 | Mid price |
| Divinity: Original Sin 2 | 2017 | approx. 70 hrs. | 91 | Mid price |
| Marvel's Midnight Suns | 2022 | approx. 45 hrs. | 86 | Mid price |
If you liked this, try these
- Gloomhaven Shared: RPG, Strategy, Fantasy
- Divinity: Original Sin 2 Shared: RPG, Strategy, Fantasy, shorter
- Marvel's Midnight Suns Shared: RPG, Strategy, Fantasy, shorter
- Wildermyth Shared: RPG, Strategy, Fantasy, shorter
- Fire Emblem Heroes Shared: RPG, Strategy, Fantasy, longer
- Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous Shared: RPG, Strategy, Fantasy