Baldur’s Gate 3 is kicking my butt. I’m not used to games like this, let alone ones that grant me access to countless different characters and abilities to consider, alongside challenging combat encounters and environmental hazards that test my mettle from the very beginning.
Presumably breezy battles with mindflayer spawn and hordes of pesky goblins have seen me loading previous saves and losing chunks of progress because I failed to consider all the variables presented to me. Larian Studios has created a ruthless and unpredictable experience which perfectly mimics the delightful spontaneity of tabletop D&D, right down to the characters you encounter or treasures you discover. It all feels natural, but also daunting.
This was because, like a foolish plebeian, I decided to play on the standard difficulty. I don’t know my Tieflings from my Githyanki, and here I was marching into Baldur’s Gate 3 as if the default settings weren’t going to tear me a new one. They did, and it took me several hours to finally admit defeat. After losing a lengthy encounter with a swamp hag and her army of dastardly blood-spewing orcs, I threw in the towel and switched to narrative difficulty.
Larian claims that this mode puts storytelling first and foremost, while battles still provide a thrilling selection of encounters with enough nuance to keep newcomers like me engaged. It’s right on the money, and I can’t see myself going back until I’ve properly learned all the ropes. Having never played the developer’s previous games like Divinity: Original Sin 2 or even any other games in the genre with such a dense selection of mechanics and ideas, I’m happy with this approach where I can enjoy myself and not be overwhelmed by frustration simply because I don’t understand a tabletop ruleset I’ve never properly engaged with before.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is a fickle bastard in the best possible way, and I can see hardcore fans eating up the myriad of dice rolls that emerge when walking across the map or deciding to interact with the smallest of objects. I touched a plate of food dangling off a cliff and the damn thing poisoned me. I don’t know why, and similar obstacles like puddles of mud or spiderwebs that slow your movement speed added a layer of strategy I could recognise, although I wasn't quite ready to factor it into my moment-to-moment adventuring.
I’m having a hard enough time figuring out which moves to use and how to heal my party after two trolls we stumbled across almost wiped us off the face of the Earth. So I’ll take it one step at a time in a difficulty setting that takes my inexperience into account and knows that I’m here for the stories and characters more than the desire to bang my head against a wall because a horde of bandits keep stopping me from progressing past the first dungeon.
This is also a game you’re destined to take your time with as you progress through multiple playthroughs with different characters and ambitions. Chances are you will come across so many places and faces previously undiscovered, even after hundreds of hours, and there’s the possibility that I’ll become a better player and jump into harder difficulties later on when I’m ready to face the music. For now though, I’m content with taking things at my own pace, even if it means I’m a casual or failing to appreciate the depth Larian has put into everything.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is on course to attract thousands of new players who have perhaps never touched Dungeons & Dragons before, and will need someone to hold their hand as they try and navigate the treacherous lands before them. I’m not a novice in that sense, but I’m also not afraid to admit that I’d rather opt for a less punishing journey that welcomes my curiosity with open arms, rather than slapping me across the face because I failed to roll a D20 to stop my entire party from being wiped. It accommodates all different perspectives, and that rules.