There are plenty of great fantasy RPG games to entertain yourself with. No matter what draws you to the genre, there are a few mainstays to look to. The Diablo series and Baldur's Gate series have both been staples of the RPG community for some time now, and both have a respectable following of fans.
With the fourth installment in the Diablo series and the third for Baldur's Gate now out, it can be hard to choose which of these games to sink time into. Thankfully, here is a cumulative list of what both Baldur's Gate 3 and Diablo 4 excel at.
7 Graphics - Tie
Graphics may not be the biggest thing in the minds of many players, but good graphics do make a difference. Both games offer a top-down perspective of the world around you, focused on your character. This makes graphics a little interesting to consider. Diablo 4 has a more pulled back camera and the graphics are a bit more simplified. However, the cinematics is where the graphics of the game really shine. They're stunning to see, and you'll want to watch them over and over again.
Baldur's Gate 3 has a closer camera angle, and you get a lot more detail from your minute-to-minute gameplay, which works well to be able to see what's going on for the gameplay mechanics. The cinematics feel good, but they aren't as sharp as Diablo 4's. Altogether, it's a pretty fair match, so don't let graphics sway you one way or another.
6 Storyline - Diablo 4
What calls you on your adventure in each of these games is a heroic quest, to be sure, but one has a bit more enthusiasm than the other. Baldur's Gate 3 has a classic D&D plot to keep you entertained no-matter your character. Cults, Illithids, and family woes; it has it all. But, it feels slightly less epic to that of Diablo 4's and you'll often find yourself sidetracked with other quests and romances.
DIablo 4's main storyline is pretty grand. A demonic incursion, a war, and the sanctity of the entire world resting on your shoulders. It's hard to go wrong with that. Each moment and boss fight in the game feels like the entirety of Diablo is leveled against you, and it should. Both stories are compelling, but Diablo 4's really takes the cake.
5 Content - Baldur's Gate 3
There is a sort of schism when it comes to how people make games right now, and each of these games takes a rather stark side. Diablo 4 takes the side that a lot of current-generation developers have taken. Microtransctions, seasonal-based content, and an ending to the storyline that will actually take place in a later paid DLC. You really get the feeling that the game is there to make money — it's pervasive.
Baldur's Gate 3 stands on the opposite side of that gap. No microtransactions, plus a full story, and a long one at that. It feels a lot like the 'old days' of gaming where you really get what you pay for. Since both games sit at, or right around, the same price, the choice content-wise is easily Baldur's Gate 3.
4 Gameplay - Baldur's Gate 3
A game can be as long as it wants to be, but there's no point in diving into days worth of gameplay if the whole thing is a slog. Both games are a delight. Their respective gameplay are quite different, but that's a good thing. Diablo 4 has stuck with what has made the series a go-to for fantasy RPGs. It knows what it's here to do, and it revels in it. Especially in boss battles — that's where the game really shines.
Diablo 4 is far from a bad game to sink some hours into, but Baldur's Gate 3 just feels like something special. There are a lot of times when you'll approach a problem that you can solve in a way that another player could never dream of doing thanks to some ingenuity and your character's specialized skills. There are a lot of 'wow' moments that you can only find in this game.
3 Replayability - Baldur's Gate 3
Being able to replay a game you've recently beaten is a big consideration when choosing what game to buy. Both games offer a good amount of replayability thanks to character customization and class archetypes. Each character you create will fill unique to one another, whether fighting mind flayers or demons. It really comes down to a numbers game when seeing which one allows for more playthroughs.
Diablo 4 comes in at five playable classes with the base game and plenty of ways to specialize them from there. The thing is, Baldur's Gate 3 offers up 12 playable classes, 46 subclasses, 11 races, and 31 subraces. The amount of different characters you can make in this game alone is absurd.
2 RPG Elements - Diablo 4
RPGs have been a staple genre of the hobby for nearly as long as video games have been around, and it's easy to see why. Baldur's Gate 3 leans heavily on D&D and in doing so it can feel kind of alien to those who aren't big fans of the tabletop game. It does still have many RPG elements, fantasy RPG elements especially, but the dice-rolling mechanic and such may get old for some.
Diablo has been doing fantasy RPGs for a long while now, and it's been honed down to a science. Diablo 4 is as synonymous with the genre as any game can be. If you're a long time fan of the genre, and that's what you want to stick with, then this is the game that is here for you.
1 Winner - Baldur's Gate 3
One of these two games stands above the other. While Baldur's Gate 3 doesn't take it by storm, it still comes out as being the better game of the two. You can tell at any level of the game that it was made by a staff that really wanted to entertain the players.
While Diablo 4 is far from a bad game — in fact it's still well worth your time — it just can't keep up with the content and adventure that Baldur's Gate gives you from the ground up. Whether you've played the previous games or not, Baldur's Gate 3 is the game to grab if you have the choice.