by: Tommy Steimer

**A spoiler – free review**

On June 6th of 2019, a new computer roleplaying videogame game based on the world of Dungeons & Dragons was announced. This game’s name was Baldur’s Gate 3. In a gaming world full of microtransactions and advertisements, we are finally delivered a game that truly is a one-time payment for the full game. With a team of 450-470 employees working for six years straight and professional voice acting casting, the quality of the work shows.

Now, what led Baldur’s Gate 3 to the critical success that it turned out to be? (pun intended) Simple answer… The story. After your party is infected with an Illithid parasite by evil Mindflayers trying to spread their disease across the land of Faerun. The Nautiloid ship your party of four is being held in comes crashing down in a fiery inferno. After escaping, the end goal of the game is to remove the parasite from your head and save the city of Baldur’s Gate from a tyrannical, telepathic, and grotesque elder brain that leads the mind flayer colony.

The second reason why this game was such a success was the captivating and complex gameplay. After you get through the first final boss of the game, character creation, you are met with a battle in the crashed Nautiloid ship to introduce you to the combat. The crazy part about this game is that Larian Studios has a direct partnership with D&D and has adapted the same modernized combat system as the age-old game. Innovation Academy student Kai Payne said, “I started this game with my friends who play actual D&D, and they almost immediately knew how to play.” The game perfectly helps ease any new players into this complex turn-based combat system, and any returning D&D players will almost instantly pick it up.

With 17,000 unique endings to Baldur’s Gate 3, vast combat choices, and impactful story decisions, this is a PERFECT game for anyone looking to get into the high fantasy genre. With generational performances from Matthew Mercer, J.K. Simons, Jason Issacs, and Amelia Tyler. Not only that, but it also gets better with the more people you play with! This game truly feels like an adventure from start to end. No wonder it won Game of the Year in 2023!

Official Baldur’s Gate 3 Poster

Baldur’s Gate 3 Gameplay