How Baldur's Gate 3 Changed Everything

DX analyzes Larian Studios' Game Of The Year sensation, Baldur's Gate 3, to uncover the reasons behind its success, and reveal why it should be the new standard for RPGs moving forward.
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Intro/Thumbnail/Title Card art by Azuma Yasuo: / azumayasuo96 & / azumaarts
Baldur's Gate 3 Lofi by Jembei: / @jembei
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00:00 - Intro
01:29 - How Games Teach Us Their Limits
03:18 - Baldur's Gate 3's Transformative Approach
03:50 - The Importance Of Failure
06:39 - The Narrative Mechanics of BG3
08:43 - BG3's Insane Scope
10:10 - You Are The Most Important Character
11:03 - BG3's Presentation and other CRPGs
12:59 - Why is BG3 special?
14:04 - Games Industry Needs Overhauling
17:05 - Outro
#baldursgate3 #larianstudios #rpg

[@DXFromYT]

The art seen in the thumbnail and title card, and the background music heard in this video past the intro and were done by artist Azuma Yasuo and musician Jembei. Check them out in the links in the description!

[@arsenkurmangali2997]

Mizora looking 💯

[@AL-lh2ht]

saying BG3 should be the new sandard is a bit tricky. The budget is in the literal hundreds of millions to make it. New standard for big budget RPG's maybe?

[@DXFromYT]

@@AL-lh2ht Sure, I'd agree with that.

[@sithlord7m]

@@arsenkurmangali2997 Would

[@stevejackson4340]

Having the CEO wear metal plate armour to official gatherings explains a lot.

[@herobrineking2514]

Having a CEO hellbent on making video games for gamers and not for monetary gain explains a lot.

[@undvined]

It's hilarious how AAA companies said "Baldur's Gate 3 can't set the new standard for games". Now everyone knows it's set the standard for a good AAA game because it is **actually** good, rather than a superficial vehicle for profit.

[@DXFromYT]

All games of this scale and budget are vehicles for profit. Developers are afraid about this being the new standard because they know their publishers will try to get this level of quality while cheaping out and giving them impossible deadlines. It's a totally legitimate fear, as they're effectively just being set up for failure. However, it's the industry that's the problem, not the developers themselves.

[@undvined]

@@DXFromYT Developers yes, I'd still argue that publishers bring most of their failures upon themselves for the very reasons you outlined though.

[@DXFromYT]

@@undvined Totally agreed. Publisher greed is rampant and unsustainable.

[@AL-lh2ht]

@@DXFromYT Yea we can't pretend BG3 didn't have hundreds of millions in dollars and six years to make.

[@San_Vito]

​Of course, but so do many other games that turn out to be mediocre or launch unfinished. ​@@AL-lh2ht

[@KitsuneHB]

16:58 "Shoudn't have wished to live in more interesting times."

[@franklydum5056]

I love how bg 3 gives you such a wide range of methods to kill members of your party.

[@Hanfgurkenhasser]

I think I lost almost half the squad in my first playthrough with my mate and it couldn't have been better or more hilarious. Wish I had recorded it - so many fuck ups and the game just shrugged and said "and on you go!" Love it. What a fucking good game.

[@vul4ak]

At least for me there are two reasons why BG3 is so huge: 1) It's a game in a genre that has been neglected in the mainstream for ages. CRPGs never went away but they became their own niche, so by learning from the years of genre development BG3 hit like a truck for those who do not keep up with the genre. Last time we've had such a highly influential CRPG was 2019's Disco Elysium and that might as well be last century in gaming terms. 2) It's an RPG first, second and third. Not a hack and slash RPG; looter-shooter RPG; adventure RPG - it's pure RPG RPG and that was sorely missing. An actual, honest to God, RPG with no tacked on "action" mechanics to make it palpable to a wider audience. You had to meet the game on its own terms and what it wants to do, thus delivering something concrete. On a nostalgic note: It reminded me of the days when mainstream gaming was a grouping of tons of different genres and you'd be popping from an RTS to a first person shooter to ... yes... a CRPG.

[@DXFromYT]

Your second point is so true. Even wider audiences seem to be very tired of RPG-lite. It was very refreshing to play an RPG that was an RPG through and through and actually required me to think about things like character builds and stats.

[@Hitoshuratdn]

​@@DXFromYTTry out Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous if you liked the character building aspects of an rpg. The amount of builds you can do compared to BG3 is funny.

[@kingofgrim4761]

@@HitoshuratdnI can’t imagine how many builds that game must have 😅 there’s already hundreds of options in BG3

[@JeremyLevi]

@@kingofgrim4761 BG3 omits a whack of options from D&D 5E that it's based on, especially in regards to subclasses, although there's no end of mods to add in everyone's favourites if desired to varying degrees of completeness. Although I haven't played the Pathfinder video games the pen-and-paper system has a similar level of complexity to 5E so I assume the games just put a bit more focus on including the full breadth of options instead of making sure the options that are present have narrative hooks for them like BG3 has.

[@Hauke-ph5ui]

@@kingofgrim4761 Wrath of the Righteous has about 5 times as many character classes as BG3. And that doesn't even take into account that the Pathfinder 1st edition rules Usedfor the Pathfinder games offers a lot more options than D&D 5e to begin with (5e is actually a lot more streamlined when compared to older D&D editions like 3.5 which offered a heck of a lot more options than 5e). In addition to that you can aquire a lot more levels in the Pathfinder games - and that alone multiplies the potential options. When he was asked about the level cap in BG3 Swen Vincke said that at higher levels the increase in options and possible builds is not linear, it's exponential. He said that increasing the max level from 12 to 14 (only two level) would have quadrupled the complexity. So yes, Wrath of the Righteous (and also Kingmaker before) is much, MUCH more complex than BG3 when it comes to character development options.

[@BIGESTblade]

This man gets it. I've been telling everyone for the last 15 years that Bethesda's open world slop isn't the way. Now the truth is self-evident. Now that Bethesda is in the gutter, where it was always supposed to be, we can get back on track where Black Isle and old-time Bioware left.

[@SaintKines]

Fallout 3 was amazing at the time. I went into it with no knowledge of the games lore or even who the company was that made it. Blew me away and was one hell of an RPG ride. It hasn't aged the best though and neither has Bethesda.

[@BIGESTblade]

@@SaintKines Didn't blow away me. I played Fallout 2 and there is no competition there.

[@dudea3378]

​@@BIGESTbladetotally agree, fallout 3 was a copy paste borefest but the gameplay and graphics were amazing though. New Vegas is the true fallout 3 for me

[@BIGESTblade]

@@dudea3378 I mean, the writing is better, but that's pretty much where improvements end. It's real fun watching dialogue compilations on KZbin but not so much playing myself. The shooting is still awful.

[@chomskysfavefive]

This was the first game that got me thinking about my next playthrough before the first one was over. I've never started a second playthrough that deviates from sorcerer or wizard or spellsword. Im perfectly fine sticking to that box, but other games dont really convince me that playing other classes will be substantially different. When I saw what was possible just with the socreror, I knew I had to play a bard. Still getting the hang of it. Next, I'll probably see what the warlock class is like.

[@restoreleader]

Once i found what is this game capable of, i saw all the places where i missed lot of content or important story branching. I was not sure what it was, but there was something and it was clear that second playthru will be completely different - and it was. And as you said, different classes will add even more, replayability is truly amazing. Btw interesting choice, those casting classes - i still dont know how to properly use all those spells with wizard, theres just too many :)

[@nickrubin7312]

"How one game introduced me to the genre I never knew I loved" Basically "goal achieved", because according to Swen (interview to DnD channel), that was THE goal: through AAA production quality, presentation and cinematic experience, and going overboard with it, while still maintaining a cRPG experience (RPG driven by systemics and interactivity and systemics intertwining with the story and affecting the narrative) draw the new the audience that doesn't usually play this type of games for various reasons, but just didn't know that this type of game was meant for them, and maybe they liked it all along.

[@takumu781]

Bg3 is probably the best game I have ever played it’s insane how much time vanishes when you play

[@Armion2020]

So true. I have to set an alarm when my Wife and I co-op

[@S.H-c6g]

if somehow they can license other IP to make into this turnbase formula it would succeed a lot. doesn't have to be DnD related

[@RichardTisdale-yv5wq]

Play BGII, you’ll love it.

[@plaguedoctorjamespainshe6009]

It says a lot when everytime I see footage of this game I see some encounter i missed even tho i swear to The Absolute i looked every corner of each map

[@davefawcett4894]

I hope you watched the DOS2 documentary on just how close Larien Studios came to going bankrupt, but Swen believed in the game and refused to compromise or get a publisher.

[@omarospino8235]

i slept on BG3 and now that have played it the standard is set, the bar is raised. no wonder AAA studios felt the pressure

[@dudea3378]

I waited an extra year for them to fix bugs. I waited 24 years since playing bg2 so I figured why not wait 1 more haha. Absolutely worth it.

[@Kross415]

That Mizora on the thumbnail seems to have two big differences from the one in my game 🤔 🤣

[@fsdspdf2717]

Completed my 5th playthrough a couple of days ago. One of the best - if not the best - games I have ever played.

[@simonjameskenway6933]

Baldur's Gate 3 changed my life, i love this game and his characters so much, for me is so hard roleplaying as a evil character for that, they feel so alive..

[@takumu781]

Right?? Tried it but it made me feel so sad I couldn’t make myself keep playing haha

[@ArneBab]

@@takumu781 I played the Dark Urge through to the end (though I rejected Baal at the last moment), and when you’ve played a happy playthrough before, it’s striking how much light is lost due to following the urge. And that then really drives home, how evil these choices were - sometimes that reminder comes again days after you made them. And that’s awesome.

[@TevyaSmolka]

Baldurs gate 3 was such a great game in my opinion.

[@sososo3906]

You mean the internet's opinion

[@DXFromYT]

He likes the game, as many others do. What's the problem?

[@sososo3906]

@@DXFromYT saying "I like the game" or "good game" will not catch my attention, it's the fact that he addad words that adds nothing to the meaning of the massage that feels to me like insecurity

[@TevyaSmolka]

@@sososo3906 yeah I don’t get the problem

[@sososo3906]

@@TevyaSmolka it's not a big problem by any mean, but a lot of words with little meaning is a problem, and i will admit, I thought my criticism deserves to be send mostly because the time i indeed to define the problem

[@jimbeaux89]

I was eagerly awaiting the release of Starfield. I had preordered the premium edition, and took a week off work for it. After 70 hours of the game, I quit playing before even finishing it. Upon recommendation from my brother n law, I got BG3. 3 characters created and close to 1,000 hours later and I’m still having a blast with it. BG3 is the game that I thought Starfield was going to be. Meaningful choices and consequences, great storytelling and character development, incredible world building, deep gameplay mechanics, etc. I love BG3 so much

[@juhatalimaki6664]

I bought Starfield and kind of enjoyed it. Played 120 hours and I needed a break. Decided to take a chance on BG3 since it was so hyped. I have passed the 100 hours mark and decided that I need a brake and started Starfield again, I can easily say that BG3 ruined SF for me. In fact it has, for now at least, ruined the most games, they just feel meh...

[@firephenex69]

BG3 was a game I left on my steam library untouched for months after i was gifted it by a relative. Decided to play it one day, and was thrusted into a universe full of wonder like I'd never seen in a game before. It truly taught me how to love a game, to get involved with lore, listen to the soundtrack, seek to find every crevice to be explored within it. The dice roll mechanics in a video game is fantastic, and reawakened my love for DnD, whilst the overall mechanics awakened a love for CRPGs.

[@danoeel3909]

Other AAA titles take you on a train ride on a set track, meanwhile BG3 tosses you the key to the car and tell you to have fun

[@DivusMagus]

On my first play through I actually missed seeing Karlach before getting to the Inn where the "Paladins of Tyr" we're so I had no reason to doubt them. But then I saw a dead body of their comrade in the back room. So I cast speak with dead only to learn the truth. So I killed then all them found Karlach which was funny to let her know I was already way ahead of her. In most games Karlach being the one to kill them would be a key moment for the character. In here it is but you can also have it play out differently which is amazing.

[@ArneBab]

Have a look at Divinity Original Sin (already the first version): It already has a narrative with randomness - through you play rock-paper-scissors against NPCs (and even PCs!) to decide whether you can convince them. The change in BG3 was that it massively ramped up the production quality, used a well-known rule-system and world, and expanded on the impact of the different choices. So the concepts were there already (even in Divinity 2 Larian provided this freedom!), but they did not reach as many people. I found Divinity 2 *by chance* a few years ago, and it became one of my favorite games. So Larian has been building up for BG3 for at least 4 games: Divinity 2 gave the freedom, Dragon Commander pioneered the brutal social choices, Divinity Original Sin added the uncertainty of interaction, DOS2 built on that. And BG3 tied this all together in a production quality that enabled them to reach a mainstream audience.

[@korakys]

Unexpectedly brilliant analysis of why BG3 became so popular. And it didn't even take you an hour to say it.

[@Foxhoundcharlie]

My heart stops everytime you drop a new video🫶🏻

[@krzysiek141414]

7:40 YOU MONSTER

[@countrymonkOSB]

Seriously interesting and well-done video. Thanks for putting this up!

[@DXFromYT]

@countrymonkOSB Thanks! Glad you enjoyed!

[@Techn9cian123]

Thanks to the glowing reviews of the game, I spent 1,000 US dollars to build my first pc just to play BG3. A month later I spent another $2,000 to build an even better pc and gave my younger brother the first one and a digital deluxe edition so he could play. I finally beat the game after 150 hours, in the final run, and over 100 hours of attempts that went nowhere. orignal pc: 5600X / 6700XT second pc: 5800X3D / 7800XT I'm currently doing resist durge right now and just entered act 3. Will go full evil after patch 7 comes out.

[@Mire_Klick]

Someome posts a video of a video game. Dudechild: better comment all processors and graphic cards i ever bought ASAP 😂

[@stephanmarcouxdrums4877]

Outstanding video! New subscriber for you. You really did find a way to express perfectly the important things that no one else was able to, especially the part where you talk about the impact in our life, which is absolutely right on. Just as much as Dragon Age Origins and Game of Thrones did an immense impact on how I see wars, relationships, power, famillies, enemies, duty and love.

[@505diego]

Bro just casually showing major events in every game he’s talking about n all of act 3. Cmon

[@LarsLondian]

Great comments thanks for sharing your thoughts and opinions.

[@HTG2004]

Great Video. I had your "aha" moment aswell. Do much so thst i actualy quit and restarted the game playing how i wanted indtead of how i thought the gamd wanted md to. You pretty much explained it perfectly. And its funny since i for some reason didnt realize despite being pretty well versed in DnD.

[@AndroidGamingApps]

Amazing video, as usual. Keep em coming!

[@DXFromYT]

Thank you!

[@birthdayfruitecake8158]

As a writer and someone dealing with rigid people in my life, this was liberating to hear. Thank you.

[@stefanikaye8710]

My first playthrough I had no idea what I was doing so I killed Karlach, then realised 60+ hours later that she was a companion. I saved Barcus on my first playthrough, yet it still took me until my third to realise he has an entire questline connected to him. Every playthrough I'm finding new locations, characters, and storylines I'd missed even though I thought I'd been super thorough the previous time. This game is incredible.

[@forsaken650]

Great analysis. I too wasn't looking for a turn based CRPG. Yet, I was completely blown away by BG3. On my fourth play through and I'm still discovering new mechanics and aspects of the story. 🤓

[@Asankeket]

Yep, that's totally what makes BG3 specia - the freedom to choose different paths without compromising your goals. Meeting Balthazar in the Gauntlet of Shar, I thought this guy is set to become an enemy, better kill him now on my terms before he can start a fight on his terms. I only realized later that this lets you avoid the much more difficult fight against him in the Shadowfell.

[@635574]

Man i was disappointed how the static class skills in mass effect werent even used as combat oportunities in cutscenes. The legendary remaster changed nothing.

[@635574]

There is a rising genre where failure is required part of progress. Roguelikes.

[@Roler42]

I used to ignore games like these because for some reason the isometric camera turned me off big time, but hearing all the wonders from this game and just how great Larian is as a studio? I want to give this genre a proper go now, I even bought DOS to play it proper sometime! Amazing video, making me look forward to when I get my hands on BG3 eventually!

[@moona_ttv]

They do have camera mods if your on pc so u can play in third person and switch back and forth 🎉❤ idk if that's what u meant by the camera angle of the game in general. But the camera mod changes everything 🤗🤗

[@devo3243]

It's weird at first if you're used to playing mainly FPS, but it becomes natural feeling once you get into the game and get the hand of how movement and combat works

[@moona_ttv]

@devo3243 this is so true cuz I find myself even with the third person camera mod, still playing with the original camera mode a lot - it just works better with seeing everything around you.

[@ninety1nethagawd]

that last line was 🤌🏾

[@breaking180podcast]

Fantastic video!

[@DXFromYT]

Thanks!

[@druidlololol]

It's frankly absurd how replayable BG3 is. A total masterpiece!

[@CuteGallifreyian]

There will never be a game (BG3) like it ever again and that's okay.

[@just_southloc]

Banger as Always Choom

[@DXFromYT]

Thanks bro

[@TimvanderLeeuw]

BG3 teaches you to live with consequences of failed dice rolls, by giving you options after that failure instead of making that random outcome an actual failure that punishes you. Once you figure that out, it becomes easier to accept those rolls of the dice instead of constant save scumming.

[@VideojugadorIrritado]

If you put dedication and magic, who knows if you become the next game of the year. Love and freedom of choice, thats is what you need.

[@patrickjenkins5452]

Everything in this video is spot on and accurate. In my personal opinion. What makes this game truky special is that it cam be an entirely unique and special experience to any person who plays it. The amount of branching choices makes this more of a once in a lifetime set of experiences than a game. Ive echoed rhis in another video and it bears reoeatong here. Ive played 9 playthroughs, and i would have been more than willing to spend another 70 bucks on each of those playthroughs, so because each playthrough is such a unique and special experience. Games like this dont get made anymore, and we should praise development teams who have the courage to break the mold, and deliver on such awesome gaming experiences.

[@yokoyakamori6589]

Anytime I watch your videos about the games you discuss, I almost always want to try the game out for myself. BG3 looks like it can be a lot of fun, even if I have never played this sort of genre before.

[@DXFromYT]

You should give it a go if you're interested! Was my first CRPG too and I'm so glad I tried it. It can be overwhelming at first and very different but you'll get the hang of it.

[@yokoyakamori6589]

@@DXFromYT Lucky for me, it's on sale on Steam...Gonna give it a go then.

[@DXFromYT]

Let me know if you like it!

[@yokoyakamori6589]

@@DXFromYT There's a lot to take in, but it seems pretty promising to me so far.

[@DXFromYT]

Awesome! What class/race did you go?

[@kalebphillips9281]

As I've always said, put out a quality product and the money will flow naturally. BG3 is a game for gamers by a company that respects their customers. And they released what is considered by the industry as one of the greatest games ever made. If more companies used this philosophy, we could have another golden age of gaming.

[@guardian-X]

Great video, i haven't thought of the more tightly integrated story and gameplay parts but its true. Also if someone dies in a combat or you just kill someone it will change the story. I played Starfield after bg3 and I was disappointed when my weapon shot right through the invulnerable npc at the start. I guess its much easier for developers to just make her invulnerable to damage, instead of making the game handle this a more fun way.

[@diggleking]

I really feel that BG3 just showed what actual freedom of choice is, and other companies hated that because it requires more work. Besides that there wasn't anything special.

[@Kamn_exe]

I haven’t played a game like this since KOTOR 1/2. I hope the devs remaking KOTOR learn from BG3.

[@FanOWater]

I'm glad the game found you. I hope you enjoy DOS1 and 2 since they are the closest you'll come to it. BG3 has sold over 15 million copies according to Larian. Cheers

[@TrizollinTehWorld]

I bought it at release but I just started actually playing it the last week and a half and I'm 40 hours in on chapter 2. It's been so amazing and I definitely understand why it received so many awards. Radom; but I had a dream last night that I was transported to the world of baldurs gate and I was picking herbs and flowers to make potions lol it was so random but that's how much of a hold the game has over me.

[@thefish4296]

You should really play Disco Elysium if you haven't already. It really leans into the aspect of failure you discuss in the beginning of the video, and (in my opinion) does an even better job of making failure a rewarding and interesting outcome than BG3. Failing a dice roll in DE is often more entertaining than succeeding and can even progress the story further. The game doesn't have the AAA presentation, total freedom, or sheer amount of content that BG3 has but it makes up for that with incredibly strong writing and beautifully stylized art.

[@Eliblack.]

my second best ever played game. And after one year i m still playing.

[@DDXofficial]

congrats on selling me on a game that's not a first-person shooter. great video as always brother!

[@DivinityOfBLaze]

Yeah layoffs hamper studios a lot. Hell, they do the same for anything software related. I work at a company and we keep having the issue of new devs coming in, taking months to familiarize with the codebase, get laid off, get new devs because it turns out we dont have enough people, they take months to familiarize with the codebase... except it gets worse because people who built certain things got laid off or left, and theres no documentation so it just becomes worse. I bet my ass this is even worse in gamedev hence the insane development times. And why both Larian and FromSoftware can pump out games.

[@JimbobG.A.D]

Hello for your Discord DX

[@adamtr1026]

I'd have liked a mode that was no dice and inspirations just added +2, suddenly you have to play the character the way you built them, no save scumming anymore, you just experience the story of the character you made

[@azzarudders]

the main issue with the dice roll system comes when you come to a pivotal point in a characters story who you are very invested in, and the only way to get the option you've been aiming for the entire play through you have to get a natural 20 e. (spoilers vv) with shadowheart, i was choosing all of the "redemption options", all of the anti sharran stuff, and yet when you get to the important decision on whether she gives in or rejects shar, it was a natural 20 required, and so i had to sit there for 30 minutes save scumming to get the pay off that my entire game had been building to

[@kinsan89]

I have bought this game 4 times: once on release, once for my friend so he can play it, once for my girlfriend so we could co-op (she has now played the game more than I, and I have 553 hours), and once when I ordered the physical copy for PS5. And I do not regret a single one of those

[@wildfiremicro6877]

BG3 has so much freedom it can actually be overwhelming

[@perfectenrager]

94 views now, 100k views 1 week later.

[@DXFromYT]

🤞

[@JamesStewart-hk8fc]

how do we get the pics in your intro they’re awesome

[@DXFromYT]

You can check out my Discord or my Patreon, they're on both.

[@adrichibi]

I still yearn to play BG3 after playing some more ARPGs and JRPGs (Final Fantasy XVI, Persona 3 Reload, currently on Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance) and having played a little bit of D&D in person with friends a few years back. Hopefully the physical edition rollout will do well enough. P.S. I still enjoy your 2077 video and keep wondering if you'd ever do an addendum on 2.0/Phantom Liberty? Your writing and video design is already top notch from the 2077 video and going back and PL's narrative is something that I still think about from time to time.

[@Smoses_senpai]

since i didn't see any footage of it, have you played Pillars of Eternity? It's along side Pathfinder, Divinity and Baldurs gate one of my favorite crpgs.

[@candeladelacancan]

Masterpiece.

[@gilded_lady]

Honestly the number of people (like myself) who have poured hundreds of hours and multiple replays into this is so telling of how refreshing this game is!

[@IneffableChild]

After playing the game in multiple runs, it's amazing that you can still find new things to do, many other variations that you haven't even expected, so I think a lot of us won't be able to say that our boots have seen everything 😉 Honestly though, I freaking love this game. BG3 was what pushed me to finally give DND a try, and now I found new friends because of our campaign 😁

[@squashedhobbit6049]

Ok fine i will Start my third play through

[@DXFromYT]

Haha

[@peleq86]

Truly a game of a kind, this. I bought it initially "for the meme" which I'm not going to bother explaining because it's very stupid humour and it was only between me and 1 other friend. I played it for maybe 2h, didn't like it all that much, put the game down and forgot all about it. Then I randomly remembered it when 1.0 released and... I'm in love with this fucking game! I have never once in my life played a D&D game before, so this easily was the best introduction I could have ever wished for. Bah! I don't even like turn based combat games. I tear up just thinking about the music in BG3 and all the beautiful, sad and FUCKING EPIC moments I had. I have never enjoyed the company of in-game followers as much before. I'm 400h into the game as of right now, starting up new playthroughs, trying different builds and classes all the time, and I STILL continue to find new content and stuff I have missed. I still get surprised by some creative ways to do things in this game, like covering a heavy box with grease to make it easier to move if it was too heavy. Why? Well, because you can lol Usually I stray away from magic in games, but here I use all kinds of it all the time, and eldritch blast still makes me cream every single time I use it. It still blows my mind that I paid for the game once and... Heh, got the WHOLE game, instead of having small, stupid instalments spoon fed to me with a little price tag attached. I have never cared about GOTY awards, but I was pumped to see Larian win in nearly all the bloody categories xd Baldur's Gate 3 is for me a game that I would wait for the sale to go away so I can buy it at full price instead, and I'm happy to have lived to see a game like this come out, especially in days like this, with all those games coming out the way they do. Bless these absolute fucking legends.

[@Martin-di9pp]

I watched the video mainly because I wanted to hear how you justified the title, how BG3 actually changed the industry. Because I haven't seen any evidence for that. And in the end you say yourself that we aren't there yet. Regardless, I enjoyed this video a lot. Your explanation on gameplay vs narrative was really interesting!

[@PicesQ]

The existence of failsafe characters and events blew my mind even after hundreds of hours and countless playthroughs. This makes it almost impossible to soft-lock the game no matter what you do because they already expect nearly everything you could and would do.

[@krakesh5915]

one of the best games and my all time favorite games

[@Smoses_senpai]

For me it was Divinity original sin 2 that introduced me to CRPG's and i'm really glad it did.

[@stevesport7073]

This might the best breakdown of BG3 I have seen. Everything I have wanted to say was covered. The one thing I would add is that developers, Board members and anybody else directly involved must listen to what the people want. Yes, make your money, but do it in a base game that is done with excellence out of the block. Bethesda, Activision, EA, 2K and whatever the has been company that made Diablo 4 is called(yes, sarcasm), start respected the gamers and do the right thing by listening to its consumers and do the right thing.

[@thomasr7129]

I bought the game, once I realized how much work the devs and voice actors and the rest put into it. Just out of general principle. Larian also raised the bar for other devs, and proved that it is possible to sell a game. As is. And make it work. Oh, and I can recommend Divinity - Original Sin 2 from the same developer. It is an older game, but great fun.

[@aaa3d473]

I have long thought nothing could unhorse oblivion and mass effect trilogy as my favorite of all times. Bg3 did it.

[@dertyparty5617]

What is that the game on 14:23?

[@DXFromYT]

@@dertyparty5617 Moonstone Island

[@dertyparty5617]

@@DXFromYT No, I asked about the one after that.

[@DXFromYT]

@@dertyparty5617 My bad, that would be Rakugaki.

[@dertyparty5617]

@@DXFromYT Thx

[@josephtom7326]

I love how bg3 is the game i did not pre purchase for once but knew i would be interested since i beat pwotr missed out for a good month 😢

[@claytonrios1]

Baldurs Gate 3 definitely pushed the limits of what can be put into your games. Even if that also includes interspecies romances and 10 sided dice being simulated.

[@akindatallmidget6508]

*Especially because

[@devo3243]

Mass effect kinda beat them to the first 😂

[@claytonrios1]

@@devo3243 Not with 10 sided dice

[@Riverfall_]

I'm afraid BG3 won't set up the new standard. In the current gaming era we still do get an exceptional game from time to time that raises the bar of what games can achieve. But none of those games managed to make a proper impact and make the devs (and their higher-ups) decide to actually focus on making a good game rather than cutting corners and sacrifice quality for profit.

[@dudea3378]

They just sold a buttfukton lol. Companies notice sales numbers

[@michadybczak4862]

Old BG1 and BG2 had also that kind of freedom, complexity and maturity that went above what every other game showed us till far. I expected other RPGs to follow its steps but no, it was not possible, Icewind Dale, although great, was flat when it came to characters. Neverwinter Nights was mechanically good, but again, no complex interactions with characters, story was a straight line from point A to B, and so on. There was no other game in years to come to claim that kind of story and complexity. Massive Effect in some ways came close, but not enough. I feared that BG3 will follow the industry standards and be good, but not exceptional. How wrong I was. They really took all what was awesome about old BG games to the newer, even higher standard! However, like with old BG's, this will be a unique game series and no other will be close to that. I want to be wrong, but the kind of effort to build such a game is just too high to be an industry standard. This is the game one per decade or rarer.

[@kidkratoski3778]

I still think about dragon age origins.. It was totally entertaining, i cared about the npcs and..the world i was in.

[@xModerax]

Imagine if BG3 also had a fully voiced player

[@San_Vito]

Like Fallout 4? Yeah... people didn't like that at all.

[@plasticflower]

I don't think I'd like that, if it would mean there's a fixed voice and intionation the character uses. Even by BG3s standards, it's impossible to add multiple voices for the character in the game who would have the most lines by far.

[@JeremyLevi]

When you were talking about the importance of failure and narrative mechanics I started to think "oh this guy just isn't very experienced with CRPGs" as there are plenty that have done such to the same level of quality. I'm glad I stuck around to the end of the video though because you really hit the nail on the head once you started talking about the presentation. This is really where BG3 breaks new ground. No previous CRPG titles with this same level of choice and consequence has ever included the level of presentation that BG3 achieves. In the past it's mostly been one or the other, never both. The ability of Larian to bring it all together into one satisfying game is where BG3 stands head and shoulders above it's forebearers.

[@LazerDisk]

Swinging a sword in morrowind as a mage is letting chance take me down a path, sometimes a worse one. It always sucks. I think it’s just about how the game makes failure fun sometimes, which didn’t need a whole deep dive.

[@Rift2123]

BG3 just sucked me in i fell into another world another universe it was truly a special experience

[@Aikidragon_Prime]

I've been playing D&D since 1979. I have watched the progression of crpgs from the 80's SSI games to BG3 and have enjoyed playing the majority of them. This game is the best version of the game since I'd say Neverwinter Nights, pretty sure you can still play NWN online with Persistent Worlds created by players. It would be great if they could create the same thing as NWN with BG3. I have almost 700hrs of BG3 playtime.

[@IDontKnowYouWhoAreYou]

dude i really wanted neverwinter nights armor sets in bg 3 :(( they have some of the best and cool armors for wizards and rogues and yeah bg 3 does have some cool armor sets but my god larian have a habit of copy and paste syndrome just look at divinity orginal sin 2 :(

[@Aikidragon_Prime]

@@IDontKnowYouWhoAreYou Larian probably doesn't have the rights to them.

[@HeribertoEstolano]

Me, an XCOM Ironman Mode player laughing throuhg the whole section of the video about "The Importance of Failure" as if Baldur's Gate 3 was the first game ever to make players deal with their mistakes. (Also Disco Elysium did most of that 4 years before)

[@PDVism]

I really enjoyed the XCOM games BUT while failure is a thing to deal with in XCOM's there is no in depth follow up on it. There are no story consequences other than having to scramble to level up some other soldier to take the place, but no change in dialog screens, no banter of other team members about how you lost an important long time member of the squad. THAT, that is something that BG3 does do. Disco Elysium? Sorry can't comment seeing that although released years ago I never heard about it.

[@endplanets]

Great stuff. Insert comment about wanting a Disco Elysium review... the other greatest CRPG ever made.

[@3Fractures]

Drow Warlocks own!!!!

[@sympex4103]

Recently i often think about how less progressive the industry feels nowadays compared to a decade back. in terms of graphics there are some steps to be seen but technically and mechnically there isnt much stuff anymore that lets you think "WoW thats fun". In BG3 i was amazed about the insane amount of possible outcomes, choices while the characters were all fully voice acted with cutscenes. Its kind of a revolutionary game, becasue there was no CRPG which had that before, especially in this scale. I hope something changes and I can be amazed a dozen times in the upcoming years :)

[@teinmeizeshi5209]

1:55 NO I don't understand why there's a combo of 4 different loading screens just to get to another planet.

[@Josephine-lr9fh]

8:01 What face mod is that? 🥹🫶🏻 Awesome video btw

[@DXFromYT]

Loulette Heads

[@TheManodeep]

I wholeheartedly agree with the 'freedom to fail' sentiment, but oh boy, it feels bad not to see Disco Elysium mentioned. Every skill check failure in the game surprised me with so much new stuff that wouldn't otherwise show up.

[@teetee1640]

One of my fave YTers is talking about BG3? LFG

[@AugustRx]

LFG is the least hype way to say lfg

[@plasticflower]

@@AugustRx Looking for group..?

[@altaccount8749]

Guns and roses starts playing. Oh you’re a villain (CRPG) alright… just not a super one What’s the difference? Presentation!!!!

[@besgarknightshade3241]

You can not see everything there is to BG3 in one play through. Sure you can save scum each dialog... but the choices matter further down line that you cannot predict. On my solo play through I encountered an Illithid in the Iron Throne that in our group play was not there. While I can tell you where I think the path diverged I can't tell you what I did differently at the time. Continuing past one failure does not mean you failed the game. It just gives you a different experience of the game. My solo playthrough I failed to save someone at the Inn (Act 2) and had to deal with the consequences. It made the playthrough unique compared to our group playthrough where we did what was expected of us... where in every other game there is only 1 way through and you either hit the wall until you get good or you go play another game.