Editor's Note: As you're probably aware, Baldur's Gate 3 for Xbox has been suffering with an issue in which players are losing their save files. We didn't experience this issue during our review, so we were ready to deliver an "Outstanding" 10/10 rating. The problem also appears to be on Xbox's side rather than BG3 developer Larian Studios.
However, considering the sizable number of reports we've seen from disappointed players about this over the past couple of weeks, we've decided to hold off displaying a final score until the problem has been fully addressed.
It's not often we get to review a game that's already been universally acclaimed as one of the greatest examples of the art form yet produced (check out that Metascore, baby!), an adventure that's been swamped with accolades over the past few months, including the prestigious Game of the Year prize at Geoff Keighley's annual celebration of Hollywood celebrities. That's exactly what's happening right now, though, as one of the year's biggest highlights finally magic missiles its way on to Microsoft consoles.
Yes, Baldur's Gate 3, Larian Studios' epic finest hour, has finally arrived on Xbox, and it's absolutely been worth the wait for those amongst you who've been itching to get your hands on what we can quite confidently describe as the Greatest RPG Ever Madeā¢. Yes, it really is that good. To consider there must have been some serious nerves to contend with too, taking charge of such a legendary series after a 23 year hiatus, this was something that required the expertise of a team who could balance all of the intricacies of D&D combat, a deep choice-driven narrative and world-building that could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with some of Bioware's best. That's some big shoes.
As soon as we got wind that Larian Studios was on the job, our excitement levels were automatically fully maxed out, though. This, after all, is the team behind the mighty Divinity: Original Sin and its incredible sequel (this writer's previous favourite RPG of all time), and the potential for this combination of legendary property and amazingly talented team to produce the very best Baldur's Gate yet was clear to see. Fans of the Divinity franchise will already know that this dev team are dab hands when it comes to creating complex D&D worlds that present the players with seemingly endless options, choices and tough decisions to make. These are beautifully written games, incredibly well acted, with top-notch combat and exploration that rewards you at every turn.
We're not gonna pretend to understand how they do it, but these are the sorts of games that - in a very good way - make you feel just that little bit dimmer as you play them. How can so many deep and intricate systems hang together so well? How have they thought of every action I might take? Where has all this extra player agency come from, and why are the things I'm doing not breaking this crazy game? Baldur's Gate 3 - and we can't quite believe we're saying this - makes Divinity: Original Sin 2 look...well...like the last big thing in the genre. It's a step up in every regard, and to step up from the likes of D:OS2 is quite the task.
And so here we are, in 2023, feasting on the best Baldur's Gate yet. From the moment your carefully crafted player character steps through that great big gnarly sphincter at the game's opening, replete with incredibly ornate genitals that you've spent hours designing, you can sense you're in for the ride of your life. We're not gonna get bogged down in detailing the narrative here, it's been covered a million times already and we're not gonna be responsible for spoiling anything, just know that this is best-in-class stuff right from the get-go. If getting off to an exciting start is critical to a successful game of D&D, well Baldur's Gate 3 ensures that its stakes are fully raised early doors.
Waking up aboard a Mind Flayer's Nautiloid that seems to be having some slight technical issues, you're treated to a tutorial section - in much the same vein as D:OS2's opening ship sequence - that covers basics such how to interact with objects, the ins and outs of dialogue choices and their repercussions - via a conversation with an exposed brain - and all that very important stuff. It's a neat and tidy start that serves to grip you whilst also allaying any fears newcomers may have that this game is going to be a little too confusing or tough to get into.
Fear of these things is quite normal, to be clear, and there's been a genuinely big leap here between how players are onboarded when compared to the tougher beginning of Divinity 2. There's a much smoother easing into the complexities of combat, for example, with your first skirmishes on the Nautiloid much more manageable than how the action kicked off on The Merryweather back in 2017. Once you've got your bearings and find yourself on terra-firma things get underway properly, and you'll struggle to find many games that feels so absolutely charged with potential in their opening hours as you stumble around and get to grips with a first main mission that shows you just how dramatic the effects of your choices can have on so many aspects of the Forgotten Realms.
We spent around about two weeks shuffling through the opening act on our first playthrough - we really didn't want to miss anything - and it's a first act that's designed to give you the time and space to figure things out, to find a groove with the intricacies of the combat and to get a proper feel for your squad. And what a squad this is by the way, with standout performances from the entire cast; Neil Newborn, Devora Wilde, Jennifer English, Tim Downie, Amelia Tyler, Theo Solomon, Samantha Beart, Matthew Mercer and the all the rest of the gang.
Of course, Baldur's Gate 3 had been delayed on Xbox chiefly due to issues surrounding the splitscreen mode on Series S. With this component now jettisoned on that console, we've got a game that runs well - when it's not suffering from save file issues - especially in performance mode on Series X, and playing on that machine we've had none of the problems and niggles we had when playing on PC/PS5 closer to the game's original release. This one has had an extended stay in Early Access on PC, it's been patched and updated endlessly over the past few months, and you can already feel the improvements in a game that's a notably cleaner experience than it was on launch day back in August.
"Beyond the issue that we mentioned in our note at the top of the review, it's been smooth sailing for us personally during our time with Baldur's Gate 3 on Series X and, although we're no Digital Foundry, we actually felt like this version might have pipped the PS5 version for smoothness, although it's clearly very close and both versions run really well at this stage anyway. Of course the Series S will be a different experience but on the flagship console we've got a certified winner on our hands, once Larian gets that save issue sorted."
We could whittle on and on here, regale you with tales of our best adventures, closest fights, funniest moments, steamiest conversations (oh you best be ready for some heavy flirting), but let's just cut to the chase. Baldur's Gate 3 is phenomenal stuff. You will not play a better game this year, or most other years for that matter, and every award that this behemoth has hoovered up already has been thoroughly deserved. This is gaming gold, truly rarefied stuff, an epic RPG that gives you unprecedented agency, and surrounds you with NPC characters, allies and enemies, so well written and acted that they're much more than just your regular band of AI teammates. These are teammates who will notice and react and reconsider their mental position on you as you pick and choose and determine their fates, who'll call you out and challenge your wisdom as you chart a course through one of gaming's finest hours. These are teammates with whom you'll develop very special bonds.
This review is our second run with Baldur's Gate 3, and it's clarified for us just how radically different two playthroughs of this epic can be, how important your decisions are, how reactive and malleable every aspect of the combat, narrative and world-building here really is. It's magic really, and RPG fans and newcomers to the genre alike owe it to themselves to get involved. We don't get a genuine all-timer every year, but we sure as hell got one in 2023.
Conclusion
Baldur's Gate 3 is a genuine all-timer, this really is as good as RPGs get, and it's an all-timer that's arrived on Series X in fine form aside from a pesky issue with deleted saves. Returning to Baldur's Gate and successfully serving up the best entry in the series to date must have been an absolutely monumental task, but Larian Studios has managed it with style to spare. With top class combat, writing, acting and world-building hiding all of the terrifying intricacies of a refreshed D&D rulebook, letting us players just get on with the fun stuff, there really is no finer adventure to take in 2023. What an absolute belter, and a perfect way to wrap up this most problematic of years in the industry.
Comments 35
Best game ever made, hands down!
I am loving it, not the sort of thing I normally go for but it is awesome. Definitely worth a buy
It's a great game and I have enjoyed playing it but reading sentences like "Incredibly deep combat never grows old, even 100s of hours later" tell me that I do not really know what I am doing as I tend to do the same things over and over again in combat. I don't tend to mix it up... I'm always using the same things that worked last time.
Really want to try this but couldn't get on with the Divinity games for too long (not a big fan of turn based combat) and with BG3 looking similar, I'll have to pass.... At least for the foreseeable futureš
Im surprised theres no score? That aside, this is well written review that locks down what makes this an all time great.
Im finding it hard to remember any other game that deserves a 10 more than this one does, and Ive been seriously invested in the industry since it first started
Even if you dont like rpgs, see if you can try it at a friends or something. Its well worth experiencing.
I wish I had a better history with CRPG as I would jump on this pretty quickly.
I'm just too hesitant to waste $70 on something I might not enjoy.
I'll wait for a heavy discount.
I'll give a 3 until they fix the save problem.
Delaying score, and giving out 10/10 after save issue has been fixed seems like a cheat. By that account, Jedi Survivor score could have waited until 6-7th patch, or Cyberpunk 2077 until version 2.0..
It's a great game, but launch state is launch state, and should be scored accordingly for all games equally.
Delaying a score, for something that is MS fault also (it has happened in other games like starfield) is a little bit petty imo.
@Cikajovazmaj I get your point, but we didn't run into the save issue when playing the game for review.
It's good, great in many aspects, but while everyone is saying they can't stop playing, I'm having to force myself to play it cause I'm trying to get to a point where i understand the 10/10 scores.
@PsBoxSwitchOwner @FraserG I feel what is worse is that "Assassin's Creed Mirage" added Denuvo drm to their game a few days after launch, after all the reviews scores and texts were completed. It was even added secretly to game as it wasn't mentioned in the patch notes. That's shady.
This temporary withholding doesn't really bother me, but I get your point.
@Scummbuddy sadly they wonāt be the first or last to do it. Itās a bad practice and outlets should change their review score if required for whatever game.
Itās a great game, but I feel like itās more fun to talk about with other people who are playing it than it is to actually play. Theres a lot of depth and novelty to it in the way the story morphs along, but, man, Iāve got to say playing co-op adds so much to this game in comparison to playing solo. Many others may disagree with this, but I do think the game is at its best when youāre playing with a group for a full day rather than playing it in bite-sized pieces. I personally feel Baldurās Gate is maybe a 9/10, 8/10 if you get harsh due to the gamebreaking bugs. It is one of those games that had critical bugs that went unnoticed by the public for the PS5 and is having a very public bug issue on Xbox. I donāt think this game should get a pass for this. How many other games that were perfectly good to great games got ripped apart for their bugs while this one gets a pass?
Isit really that good...anyone played it here who thinks it's overrated.....I will try it eventually it's just whether to plunge now or later
@Cikajovazmaj That's very hard to gauge. If launch is smooth, then yes, I totally agree. If there are underlying issues though, I have to agree with @FraserG
Look at State of Decay 2. The day one patch for that was delayed until the embargo for review lifted, whereas keys went out to reviewers ahead of that patch. The difference between the game pre and post patch was night and day, however, most reviewers didn't care or weren't diligent enough.
The end result? Unfair scores based on issues that were fixed before the public got access to it. Sometimes things are out of a devs hands, and it would be unfair to chastise them for that.
@StylesT I do believe itās overrated. Iāve not completed it, however, but Iāve sank a decent enough amount of time into it. I had some really frustrating bugs in my initial PS5 runs with it which soured me on the hype for this one. Like Persona, you sort of need to have a decent amount of time available for yourself to sink into it. Youāll either love the combat or hate it. For me, Iām keeping up with it even though I donāt particularly like the combat (but hey I hated combat in Xenoblade and I love those games). The story is good. The effect of your choices, even down to character creation, is remarkable, however, and so are the characters. There are some really unique ways to solve puzzles in the game as well. Itās a creative game in a lot of what it does and Iām happy it will influence future titles. Itās really a great game, but the hype is overblown. I think thatās the biggest issue. So many people talk about the game as the greatest game ever that itās hard not to put scrutiny on it, you know? I only personally know one person who had finished it and know many who dropped it in Act 2 to play other games, whether it was Starfield, Spider-Man, Alan Wake, Mortal Kombat, or whatever. Most people I know that ātook a break from it,ā dropped it after doing so because they couldnāt remember how to play it well enough to not start over and re-learn the game.
Itās one of those games that honestly I feel like either it really clicks with you or it doesnāt. I feel like I admire it in many ways, but it just isnāt that GOAT to me, even if it has qualities that do teeter on being there.
Not sure i agree with holding off the score until a game breaking issue is fixed. I can't remember any other game getting such a free pass. I get people enjoy the game, and it's a brilliant accomplishment by the team no doubt.
But it seems like such a cheat, just to guarantee a popular game gets a certain score. You should not have to change your review policy around 1 game, just to give it a certain score. That is just strange to me and a game should be reviewed on its current state, and not idle promises. The game still has issues on all platforms, some more minor than others, and some still there months later. No platform has been smooth, at all.
I have seen other games get deducted points for bugs on this very site, so it's certainly not consistent at all. I hope you will be extending the same courtesy to other games going forward, and not just picking and choosing.
How are customers going to get well made bug free product if everyone just skips over the issues. No wonder games release in such a poor state, they are almost given a free pass.
Just my opinion, others may disagree
@somnambulance Thanks for the insight ...I will probably hold off for the time being then as I have to many games still to play to dedicate myself to it
@Sakai They mentioned that they didn't encounter the problem, and acknowledged that the issue was on Xbox's end and not the publisher. So there must be another reason it's withheld.
@Kaloudz some of that I do agree with, and as usual I don't think developers are to blame (being one myself). Almost always it's the management and stakeholders that are to blame for day one patches, year one overhaul, etc.. and I do think that should be punished and called out for what it is. Companies selling a box with a game coming later should feel the sting, unless we want that to continue being a standard practice.
Except in case of a minor indie team, you are never looking out for the developer by buying their product unconditionally. It's just normalizing the faulty behavior for the management.
@FraserG You could be the first outlet to introduce the Re-review; seperate to your launch day review. A kind of final review - 3-6 full months after the original review.
Kinda weird, but I think that modern games call for it tbh.
I have just over 100 hours so far and the only issue I have come across was one glitched face in a cut scene (which according to the patch notes from yesterday's patch has now been fixed.)
In the time I have played I have laughed a lot, been shocked and have been thoroughly enthralled by the story with all the interactions that entails.
I have enjoyed trying to think outside the box with the combat system too. Sure you can just steam in and hit bad guys with swords if you want but there is so much more.
Doing things like throwing bottles of oil at candles so resulting fire causes nearby barrels to explode. Shooting out ropes to drop heavy objects and many other things you can do. Then there is a magic system that has a whole bunch of stuff too.
Using magic winds to blow bad guys off high places (or you can just push them off by hand if you prefer) will never get old.
There is so much stuffed in here that it's a little overwhelming at times but it's always been fun for me.
I can understand why some folks might not click with this game and it's not going to be for everyone. There is a lot of dialogue plus a lot of the stuff that happens is very much dependent on dice rolls (in true D&D style.). Some might find that frustrating if you get a run of bad luck.
However if this one grabs you it grabs you hard and doesn't let go. I am very much looking forward to continuing my own journey over the holiday period.
@NeutronBomb sounds like a good idea, though (without bashing this website), they don't review that many games as it is, so doubt they'd have the resources to track every released and reviewed game in this way. Even massive games like Jedi Survivor don't have reviews.
it's a v good idea though
I am definitely not the audience for this, but it's audience sure seems to be enthusiastic about it.
Just as they held off the Xbox version, PureXbox is giving them a taste of their own medicine with their withholding the score.
@taternuggets I think you answered your own question ā youāre not experimenting. There are so many options to tackle combat. Itās natural to continue doing whatās working, but try different things; youād be surprised by how you can accomplish certain things.
It's hard to ignore the overwhelming positive feedback this game is getting. But I've traditionally never got into this style of game so it will probably wait untill a sale comes along.
...and at the same time one of the most overrated games of all time. To me this game is the definition of low buget and effort that are a thing of the past. I mean come on, in a fair world a turn based game with isometric perspective would have never won the GOTY prize.
Get the violin ready: Well, With it being Xmas, I can't afford Baldurs gate 3 (and don't receive Xmas gifts š„¹), so I'm playing Divinity oS2 instead from my backlog.
It's outstanding, have to say.
First lost 23 hours and then 47 hours to the save issue, so im done with this game.
Happy people love this game. The turn based is just not for me. What am I missing? I love 3rd person rpgs. Can someone explain the mechanics of this game? Elden Ring is my favorite game of all time and no one will change my mind!!!!!!
@Cikajovazmaj Totally agree with that buddy. Especially the middle men being called out for the issues they cause on both sides of the water.
23 hours lost.
And you're going to give this game a 10 despite a history of scoring other games down for similar issues.
This won't be a popular comment.
When I throw a dice and don't get the desired result, I feel compelled to reload. I was never into D&D. What's the protocol here? Am I playing it wrong? I feel like I spend more time reloading than basically anything else.
I love Tactics Ogre, Triangle Strategy, FF Tactics, Fire Emblem etc
There is something about the rhythm of battle in this that just isn't fun. It's almost like there is too much choice. It's quite daunting. That's on me though.
The character work and voice acting is really good. Battle wise, it just feels like a chore to play. I was very wary about all the perfect reviews. Wish I'd trusted my gut.
Oh well, the Phase Spider Matriarch was a little fun. Got the achievement for kiling her eggs! Perhaps I'd feel different without this save issue. Hope everyone is enjoying t!
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