Every now and then something come along that change's things. Star Wars changed sci-fi, Lord of the Rings changed fantasy, Elvis changed music. Baldurs Gate 3 just changed things for games. I've been playing video games since the Atari 2600 and there aren't many that have had an impact like BG3.
The game play is phenomenal, I have never seen a game as intricate as this, the level of detail is truly awe inspiring. If you are stuck on a boss and you read a dozen different guides, you can find a dozen different but completely valid ways to beat that boss. You are encouraged to think outside the box and use every single trick and tool at your disposal to create almost any tactic or strategy you can think of. At the end of a corridor there is a room full of enemies, far too many for your team of 4 to deal with. Have your team stand at one end of the corridor, create a large puddle the length of the corridor (either by pouring it from bottles of water in your inventory or using spells to create the water) separate your character, attack one of those enemies and then run back down the corridor through the water, the large group of enemies will chase you. Once your character is clear of the water, cast an ice spell on it. The water will freeze and the enemies chasing you will slip over, bunching up. Cast a large fireball to hurt all of those enemies and melt the ice, then cast a lightning bolt on the water, it electrocutes everyone stood in the puddle. The number of options you have for each and every step of the encounter are vast.
The story line is great, epic, engaging, intricately crafted and effected by you, your choices have permanent repercussions that will follow you for the rest of the game, your mistakes will haunt you, your victories elate you. I've lost count of the number of occasions where a choice of mine has led to a result that feels like a kick in the guts or just left me grinning at the screen for far too long. And this is only magnified by a brilliant cast, the actors playing your companions smashed it out of the park! The voice work and motion capture performances are top rate, and not just the companions, the villains as well - JK Simmons and Jason Isaacs bring the calibre you'd expect. The actress playing Orin the Red - wow! And Raphael, I love to hate that guy! Even the minor NPC's are unique, they aren't just 'City Guard' they have a unique name, appearance, and notably, a unique voice actor and script. There are hundreds of unique NPC's walking around each of the three acts in this game, often for nothing more than world building.
And it's a beautiful world, its huge, its intricate, it looks amazing, and it sounds amazing too, if this were a movie the Oscar for best soundtrack would be a sure thing. Again, the number of times you just stop and drink in the sounds are abundant. Borislav Slavov - Hollywood needs to realise he's the next John Williams. Even at the character creation screen, just stop what you're doing and listen to 'Down by the River' playing in the background. That's just one of dozens of masterful compositions in this game! Also, on the subject of sounds - the Narrator: lord that voice! I could listen to her read a shopping list.
Is BG3 perfect? No. In a game this massive there are going to be bugs but they are minor and largely ignorable, I'm more annoyed that the likes of Alfira or Zevlor can't join the party. More importantly, there are no microtransactions or stupid DLC's. This is a complete game that has been years in the making and it shows. It oozes class. Anyone making a game right now will play this and I suspect the vast majority of them will realise they need to go back to the drawing board. Things just changed for them.
