For those of us who haven’t been following the D&D culture, it seems Baldur’s Gate 3 came out of nowhere and won hearts and souls left and right. Die-hard fans have been following the latest addition to the series since its early access become available, but for the rest of us, it’s definitely raised an eyebrow or two.
What is this? And how did it become so popular in such a short span of time?
I have never played Dungeons and Dragons myself — neither the actual tabletop version nor any of the video games, but I’m well aware of its influence in the nerd culture. I’m fairly certain Stranger Things played a huge role in bringing a new audience to the genre.
All the glowing reviews and fandom about Baldur’s Gate 3, which has a very real chance of winning Game of the Year, has got me so intrigued in playing it that I’ve already spent many hours on the game.
And I haven’t even bought it.
Is Baldur’s Gate 3 difficult to play?
The trouble is, all those hours went into understanding how to play the game. And I’m no wiser than I was a month ago. I get that every game isn’t made for everyone. And I’m no stranger to extreme difficulty. Just ask my unfinished catalog of Souls games.
I couldn’t beat many games because I couldn’t ‘git gud,’ not because I couldn’t understand how to play.
With Baldur’s Gate 3, I just feel like the barrier to entry is incredibly high and very, very complicated., I can’t even understand how to play the game. I know people are sinking millions of hours into this game already, so it’s not the game. And just to ‘validate’ that it wasn’t me, I asked a fairly expert DOTA-playing friend of mine if he had felt the same.
He said that everyone on his Steam list was playing Baldur’s Gate 3. But he found it too complicated to even get started and went back to playing DOTA.
I spent many hours trying to go through the most elaborate beginner’s guides to understand the game mechanics. But the more I watch, the more complicated it gets.
I can’t buy Baldur’s Gate 3 yet because I’m traveling and only have the PlayStation 5 with me. I really want to buy the game and give it a try, but I feel like it’ll be a waste of money, as I will very likely give up even before getting to the good parts of the game.
Baldur’s Gate 3 isn’t the first cup of tea that isn’t mine. But it’s one that I wish it were.