Thanks for the video! I really appreciated your insight. You mention a lot of other videos in this one (like the sponsored videos for BG3 from Joel Haver and others) Would you be able to post links to these videos? I can't seem to find them (besides the joel haver one which I can)
Keep in mind larian is not done with BG3 yet, from the leaked honour mode to the abundant patches and definitive edition on the horizon. And that is after larian went out there way to accomodate even the 1% outcomes with exquisite narration, full motioncap on the most random irrelevant NPC or quest object, truly an masterpiece made by people with an genuine love for the game.
At the moment is still quite buggy, they have quite a lot to fix. The utterly most important feature they have to implement is druid-badger and wolf form able to dig up treasures.
All they need to do to complete the game is re-introduce the upper-city, provide more depth to the evil playthrough rather than just making you a murder hobo, fix the ending (they did Karlach dirty), and potentially elevate the level cap to 14 or 15. Introduce a proper evil campaign that doesn't railroad you towards the same outcomes at the end of act 2 and 3, flush out the political intrigue of baldurs gate some more, bring back the upper city and missing companion quest content, flush out the endings (narration by withers), leave some room for an expansion pack down the line, and the game will be truly perfect.
@@fellowtraveler2251 The game is already Amazing. But yes this would make it the true masterpiece it’s said to be. It’s is an absolutely amazing story game with real rpg mechanics. But yes we need the ending fleshed out and upper city. And then just adding more dlc I’ll pay $40 for 20-40 hour dlc. Would be perfect
I’m an older, casual gamer, having returned to regular gaming during the Covid lockdown. And I’m a recently new subscriber of Legendary Drops with the launching of BG3 on steam. Your intelligent, seriously earnest presentations are the best I’ve seen basically ever. Your style is engaging, and your well-expressed opinions are informative, thought-provoking and entertaining. For me, you are the compelling presence among the crowd. And, as busy as your daily life keeps you, I encourage you to keep it coming as much as you are able; especially because I am one of your newest supporters. 😊Thank you very much for great content! Christopher
400 hours in this game so far with the amount of freedom and player choice within the game is nothing I've ever seen before. It really feels like 5e DND. I'm not even remotely bored of the game and I'm still finding new things and I truly feel like no matter how many hours I play it I'll never see all of it. I love it.
I agree. I am pretty newly into act 3, about 200 hours. And I VERY seldom am able to get a second play through on any games, ever. But I am already considering which characters to take, and which classes to change for a second run.
Yup. I have finished my first solo playthrough and am in act 2 of my second. And I am also playing through a duo playthrough with my brother, as well as a trio playthrough with my brother + brother in law. Every playthrough is very different from one another. And a simple change in my second playthrough has reinvigorated it a ton (I will never load a game, instead accept the dice as they roll, though I can use inspiration points). 457 hours in, not even close to quitting as I am already super excited for the ideas I have for my third playthrough.
@TheYuleTube I've done 4 solo characters and 1 character as multiplayer in a campaign my wife and I have. My first one was well over 130hrs my second is at 105 but haven't finished it. Have another at 68 and another at 60 so far. In each playthrough despite the overarching story being the same, it feels like my characters story has been completely different and I've found many things in each new playthrough that I didn't in others just because of how my character would behave (how I roleplay them, you know what I mean) And not even getting into some of the unhinged hilarious things you can do. A highlight for me was my wife talking to minthara, and while she was distracted I picked up the goblin minthara was talking to and just threw it into a chasm before my wife or Minthara even noticed When the cutscene ended my wife was like wtf where did that goblin go? Oh just walked off I guess If we were playing splitscreen it would have ruined the moment obviously but we have separate monitors on either side of the room so it was great
I'm on my 3rd playthrough and already looking forward to another. I KNOW there are things I can do differently and really want to see the outcome. I'm going to try a Solo Tactician next, that much is for sure. But still trying to decide which class and how.... evil Dark Urge, sneaky Assassin, or maybe the Hero Champion.
For every silly scene like the bear scene, there is at least half a dozen scenes that provide massive emotional gut punches that leave you thinking about stuff like our mortality, the inherent unreliability of memory, the frequent contradictions between duty and honour, cycles of abuse & how to break them....to name a few.
@@gethriel 2 hours isn’t much time in a 100 hour game. Trust me, the more you play the more your thoughts would change. And cut that superiority bullshit man, just because you don’t like something, doesn’t mean others are weaker just for liking it.
@@gethriel yeah it's a long game! Nobody is talking about anything in act 1, believe me. There's some interesting setup there that will be important later, but there's no significant payoff to any of it until significantly into act 2. Which, if you're not just following walkthrough guides (in which case I'm sure the emotional impact will be reduced) should take you no less than 20 hours to get to, and possibly about 50.
I really hope that BG3 makes triple A companies realize that giving us crumbs and leftovers isn't acceptable. Perhaps the success that BG3 has become, due to it's attention to detail and storytelling, will make them see the benefits in creating a game that people ACTUALLY love.
It won't. At least not on it's own. There will have to be a few more like it, and more importantly, some failures of games that keep following the micro-transaction half-done-at-release train.
@@StanHowse I don't mind DLCs, *as long as* they bring value, and ADD to the game. They cannot reserve portions of the base game to extract extra cash. Like, if Larian puts out a BG3 DLC, I will run not walk to give them my money. I got this whole amazing game, and now they've made an additional part? Yeah, gimme.
@alecchristiaen4856 We're already seeing the fall of the AAA publisher. Konami destroyed their development studios for gambling profits and they are feeling the consequences of that. EA is dismantling Bioware as we speak. I could talk about various studios and publishers having poor decisions and misteps but I don't want to be here all day. Point being, most of the developers that complained about this are feeling the effects of the system that is pushing for layoffs and downsizing as AA and other indies are setting growth.
7:37 I really dilike the way developers painted the picture that "indie devs can't hope to match the quality bg3 delivers"... we know; we're not stupid, but we CAN expect the same quality from huge triple a devs that have way more monetary backing than larian ever had. conversely, we can also expect indie devs to at least deliver a feature complete product even if it doesn't have all the bells and whistles bg3 has; hell bg3 isn't without it's flaws (looking at you act 3) but just immediately going "well you can't expect us to do our job as well as Larian does" was really infuriating for me to read 8:34 lol I see you articulated the same point :P
BG3 has lots of flaws, UI problems, inconsistency with actual dnd rules, balance issues.. It got me furious, utterly upset, and disappointed multiple times. But it's still a great game. The next big thing I'm personally praying for is Skyblivion. And we're not getting any other single player RPGs of this scale anytime soon. I'm not expecting anything decent from next Dragon Age or next Witcher game from CDPR..
Just remember that Baldur's Gate 3 was sitting in the top 10 highest rated games of all time on metacritic and the number 1 highest rated PC game of all time for days until a handful of various critics decided that it was completely appropriate to deduct points from their publication's scores of baldur's gate for the crime of being a video game instead of real life. Yes, multiple reviewers started coming out and actually subtracting points from the score because it wasn't equal to a real life D&D session with human beings sitting around a table. It got knocked out of the top 10 and is now sitting somewhere in the mid 30s of the "Best Video Games of All Time" because it's a video game, meanwhile NFL 2k1 - a game absolutely nothing like playing a real life football game in a field with a group of friends, a game that time has largely forgotten, is sitting at number 10. Now, it's exact positioning is also altered by user reviews, and 9% of the user reviews are negative, meaning 0-4. Let's look at some of the hot takes here: "It's an MMO style game and the open world is too difficult to navigate" "All fluff, no substance" "it's trying to brainwash you into the woke agenda" "most overhyped game in years. i was tricked by social media into buying it and it's a terrible game. screw those liberals who circle jerked this game into the status it has now. It's a false idol! it's maybe a 6/10"
Ya the scores don't matter though. What does matter is that on steam it is to this day still in the top 5 in the steam charts for player count. And for like a month it was 3rd place. Wich for steam charts is really number one because cs:go and dota 2 have literally never not been 1st and 2nd place respectively
@@namethefifth7315honestly CS and dota always at all time being 1st and 2nd on steam is suss as fuck to me. I played both and I still dabble in dota for fun and they are popular, it just doesn't seem they are that popular all the time. Idk just weird.
The game being woke is a valid point of criticism for somebody who doesn't want their game to be woke and it's fair to rate the game lower based on that opinion. Everything else is retarded, they either didn't know they are buying a CRPG or have never played a recently released AAA story driven RPG because if they did they'd recognize how much superior BG3 writing is compared to anything Bethesda, BioWare, or any other former RPG titan is capable of.
@@HalIOfFamer well they are steam exulsive made by valve are very well known like everyone and their dad knows about them, they are the most popular e-sports, and they got that gamba so... kinda hard to compete
I was keeping up with it since early access, i loved Divinity and was expecting BG3 would either break the gaming industry or go unheard of. Im very glad it was the former.
I didn't like the story/narrative of both original sin games. DOS 2 had a particularly bad combat system due to needing to burn down a health bar to use any CC. But between the combat engine both games used AND the well written companions in DOS2... Larian had the tools to make BG3 an amazing cRPG.
@@GoldenMaskedChad The combat engine was great! But the mechanic of having to delete a physical or magic health bar before you could apply CC... poorly thought out and just resulted in one mindless playstyle working best: high burst damage.
@@chuckchan4127 didn’t pay enough attention while reading, sorry. You are completely right about having to break down the armor to use CC. That is annoying. But I personally like the magic and physical armor idea.
I bought the game back in like September and it was my first introduction to a lot of things: D&D, CRPG, as well as Larian themselves. This game has been a nonstop fun fest
Playing this game gives me the same wonderful vibes as playing The Witcher 3 back in 2015. I've replayed that game numerous times since its release. I'm planning to replay BG 3 multiple times as well. It's a game that feels like it's made with love, which is very rare these days.
Great analysis. The stars aligned for this game, but for the most part, Larian actively made them align. I also loved the part where you suddenly had a cat on your shoulder!
@@Sparticulousdidn't you go to the House of Hope-in Avernus? Also, the game starts in Avernus 😉. Ramazith's Tower is technically in the Upper City.....& the final conflict is also in the Upper City. Sure I wouldn't complain if they decided to add more locations to the game-especially in the Upper City prior to the final fight....but at 120 hours of play time, I don't feel remotely hard done by.
@@TheMarcHicksthe game starts on a notaloid in avernus and tge house of hope is a small house floating above avernus and you can't even see any of the landmarks in the skybox and the finile battle in the upper city was one battle that lasted less then an hour in a destroyed area, so that hardly counts
Larian Studios had a reputation for loving their games and making them into rpgs THEY would play - it just happened that that development pattern fit well with the D&D IP. What was a narrow fan base came to love now could be experienced by mainstream audiences....
Larian seems like one of us because they are one of us. A group of great people that loves games that were able to make a game they wanted to play. Since it happened to be a game that millions also wanted to play, I’d say that firmly places Larian in the camp of one of us… suddenly I feel like watching Toy Story. One of us!
Larian and Remedy are studios where I don't feel like I'm being taken for granted. These guys worked hard to earn my purchase and it shows in the quality of their games. The Bungies of the world are trying to figure out how to nickle & dime me while providing the bare minimum of quality.
@@Supremax67alan wake 2? or bg3? You can call almost every game title with “hope” from a community being overhyped. That's all there is to it. You either end up enjoying what's there or not and then that's it.
Never played a cRPG, or even any RPG games, never played DnD, my most played games before this were survival/puzzle/cosy games but BG3 is now my most played game of all time with 400 hours, and I'm running it on a crappy laptop. I absolutely love this game, the writing, the interesting mechanics and I especially love that the combat is turn-based, I typically don't play combat based games because playing with a touchpad makes them honestly kind of impossible, but turn-based combat takes what normally is a reaction/mechanical skill based thing and makes it more like a really cool game of chess, keeping track of all the pieces and their abilities and having time to think about each move ahead of time and plan out a strategy, it gives me the same satisfaction as solving an interesting puzzle , honestly a lot of my hours have just been going back and reloading combat encounters just to test out new ideas or mess around with builds! And after all those hours I’m still yet to actually finish any of my saves 😂😂 And I can say I didn’t discover it from the bear scene 🤣 I actually found it by watching someone stream it while I waited for starfield to release (I had thought starfield would be something I’d enjoy watching people play as I love space …. Oh how wrong I was!) A single stream was all it took to hook me and the minute I got paid I grabbed the game myself, haven’t looked back since! (Also I totally didn’t spend half the video trying to catch a glimpse of the furball behind you only to finally see them getting cuddles at the end xD)
@@Sieghiro i'm pretty sure way more people would enjoy crpgs... if they were voiced like bg3 is. and if they had actual turn based combat instead of rtwp. some people prefer rtwp, but i think a lot more people enjoy tb. it's just more chill. same as voiced dialogue is more chill than reading an entire book (if you don't like reading, which i do).
I love that this game is friendly for people who are not skilled in „fast gaming” , I played like maybe 5-6 (I can only name guild wars , neverwinter nights and the sims as a kid and all of the Witcher games) games in my life and I just simply cannot react fast, but turn based combat and allowing creativity in the combat is just amazing. I actually feel good at the game and it’s a huge confidence boost. I feel like I can really annoy it even though I didn’t play games a lot
All my friends were talking about this game but what really got me to give this game i never heard of before in a genre i never played a shot was that clip of matthew mercer, who i did not know was matthew mercer at the time, stacking barrels and using an arrow of transposition to get into a fort. It blew me away so much with the idea of a game that gives you such freedom that I got it the next day
*slow clap* well said! 400+ hours since release and only made it to the end one time. Never played tabletop D & D so I do not as yet fully understand all the race/sub-race/class synergies. Even having numerous party/player character wipes so many start overs I STILL love playing; always discovering new stuff.
My friend can't start a new campaign because he ends up choosing the same things, so he asked to join mine, and I'm still in act 1 and what I end up discovering by reading the comments and showing it to him, the boy gets so excited... He wants to get his girlfriend to play, and I want to go along and talk fun facts right away. It's so beautiful to see everyone's excitement. This game is really incredible, I would like to customize my Steam with things from Bg3 xD
Baldur's Gate 3 brought me back to enjoying RPGs, and well, you reading this don't know me, but it was like someone casting a resurrection spell on my inner child
Most AAA developers nowadays cast "speak to the dead" on the audience which they killed themselves, so they also use "disguise" and "charm person". And it seems that some of our coin is also missing so pickpocketing is a thing)
That would've been a satisfying ribbon the wrap up the year. I could get behind other games getting the award but I wholeheartedly believe BG3 deserves a nomination.
8:40 I fully agree. It was the AAA developers that p*ssed me off in this discussion. BG3 IS the standard for shops like Moneyvision-Blizztard, etc... Of course we will always love our indie developers and the amazing things they achieve with their more limited funds and resources.
Im on act 3 of my fourth playthrough, and act 2 on my 2nd multiplayer playthrough absolutely loving bg3. and it keeps getting better. Larian did an amazing job on this game and the effort they're putting into improving it post launch is incredible.
something I find interesting is that the marketing campaign of BG3 looks like most of the budget went into the game instead of the marketing campaign. It looks like a game made by the creators (artists, developers, etc.) rather than by a marketing team.
slightly disagree, the game is 10/10 in the first act, 9/10 in the second act and 7-8/10 in the third one, which feels like it was kinda made for game reviewers to hype it up hardcore. since game reviewers usually don't finish a game before they review it. still, every part of the game is at the very least pretty good to straight up awesome.
The whole developer talk thing is so funny to me! Like is BG3 a bit on the niche side? yes. Is there a luck involved in this success story? Absolutely. But at the end of the day, BG3 is a prime example of a project made with lots of love and care, and wasn’t trying to nickel and dime their players. The big developers aren’t afraid of BG3 because of how ambitious it is, they are afraid players will wake up and demand enough is enough. Most of these companies cannot meet their bottom line with honest business practices, not anymore.
1. Luck 2.) Bear scene 3. ) Marketing by UA-cam influencers 4. ) Full engagement with gaming community 5. DnD board campaign with all original voice actors 6.) Animated shorts These are many things other conpanies fail to do, if not from lack of trying.... except for #1. If they could just stop acting like it's purely business and stocks, they would be more successful.
As someone who has loved Larian since Divine Divinity in the nineties, I could not be happier for their long overdue final breakthrough! When I played Divine Divinity I back then I already liked it so much better than Diablo. This world was much more alive even then. You could have found yourself in ambushes or get robbed. The story was simply better. Of course if you played Diablo only for the hack and slay, you would not have been has happy in Divine Divinity. Enemies once killed would not respawn. I knew from this moment that they have it in them and I loved EGO DRACONIS even more but unfortunately, they never managed to get the attention of many until now. So I am really, really glad for them.
Before BG3, I had already sworn off EA, Bungie, and Blizzard for their micro-transaction hellscapes that are internet only. Playing BG3, I remembered what it was like gaming as a kid. Larian captured that magic of playing a game that just wanted to be an awesome game; nothing more, nothing less. Larian's BG3 is the new Halo 2 in my opinion. After BG3, my convictions of what should be acceptable and expected in a game has been reinforced.
I mean, personally I think Halo 3 is better than Halo 2 but I would agree with everything else (you know, forge and all lol). God, it feels good to just play a game the developers, actors, and everyone involved had fun with instead of looking at it as a soulless product that's just a job. Not to mention the amount of QOL updates that we got for free shows that EA, Bungie, and Blizzard are just lazy and greedy.
@@justinpurcell3717 I hear you on that, for my friend group in high school, though, it was Halo 2 that was more formative. Some friends literally only owned a controller, no game or system, just so we could play 16 friends in one person's basement/garage/barn, lol.
This game made me feel things had the heart and soul of a dnd table game it brought me laughs smiles anger and even shed tears for lost friends who would've loved it this is the best game I've ever played and I can't wait to share more playthroughs with more friends
I knew it was going to be amazing before they even started it. BG1 & BG2 we’re that good. I prayed for BG3 to land in the hands of someone that loves games. DND done right can even be better.
me 1 + 2 were awesome too. and then came me 3 and me andromeda. just saying. just because the games before were good, doesn't mean anything. i was hoping it would be good. and i didn't get disappointed. ty larian! ty sven vincke!
First off: immaculate taste in shirts Second: I do think that Larian played out the EA period MASTERFULLY. They released to early access with a solid game, and then created a bit of hype for every major patch, keeping the flame burning for years. Every patch made me more and more hyped for the next and when #9 dropped with a promise of the full release next summer, I was ecstatic. What helps IMO is the multiplayer. People like the game, and in pitching it to friends they say "we could play it together", which already makes it more appealing.
I can't imagine trying to slog through this game with a friend. At that point I'd rather go pen and paper. I was initially excited for it, because my daughter planed to get the game to play with her boyfriend and we could have all played together. But after actuary putting in some time into the game, the combat is far too clunky and slow to allow for that to be a fun experience. I guess that you can just make the combat essentially nonexistent by lowering the difficulty.
@@Xoulrath_nothing remotely "clunky" with the combat at all. It rewards careful planning and out of the box thinking. I can only guess you're more of a Diablo player who prefers button mashing.
@@TheMarcHicks I'm a fuckin master tactician who learned chess at the age of 5. The game requires no real thinking. The combat is CLUNKY. There are a fuckton of tactics games, that are turn-based, that do it better. And no, I'm not going to make a list for you. I'm glad that you enjoyed the game. It was good; but it wasn't what the hype led me to believe it was. I put in 70 hours across two campaigns and had my fill. There are better combat experiences to be had elsewhere, and I couldn't give a fuck about the contrived story.
Love the pacing of your videos. I can tell you put a lot of thought into what you're saying. If there's one studio that I wish would follow in Larian's footsteps is Bioware.
It's a bit weird for me to see this comment because I was thinking that Larian is channeling the Bioware (or Black Isle) of old. Planescape: Torment especially has a special place in my heart.
Unexpected? I don't think anyone ever doubt that it was gonna be a hit, given the company's record of awesome releases. Divinity original sin 2 anyone?
I've been playing almost 300 hours of this game across line 8 campaigns. Been having a blast. Currently in act 3 of my solo playthrough and have loved every minute of it. Can't wait to finally finish a playthrough. 😂
I’m still not convinced BG3 success was blind luck, I feel there was a lot of gambles and a lot of risks taken with out of the box thinking. This was a passion project more than anything. The biggest standard set is for Larian themselves they may and try to replicate the success of BG3 on another title and that will answer if this was blind luck or just gambling with out of the box thinking.
To anyone who is a huge fan of Larian Studios like myself this was no surprise. I played over 1000 hours of dos2, and was so happy that they took their time even if it meant waiting years for the final product because the game felt finished on release unlike other rpg studios that I no longer support *cough* Bethesda *cough* and not only that they're still working on the game and listening to their audience. Ultimately Bg3 was exactly what I wanted from Larian and expected. Larian finally having a huge success like this really puts shit in the britches of all game developers because Larian has given people exactly what they wanted, leaving out all the bullshit. I would gladly take a longer wait time for a polished unique story experience, rather than buying skyrim for the nth time or getting something I've played a million times and get bored of quickly, which is exactly what I experienced with both dos2 and bg3. I would be utterly shocked if Larian in the future after such a big success fell off and never made a big title like this again which after the long wait from dos2 did scare me a little that it would happen not a lot of people were talking about larian before the full release of bg3 and now that they are a household name there is no doubt in my mind that Larian will be known as one of the best developers from our time.
lol love your cat. Thanks so much for your insight. I'm new to your channel, found it through my search for all things BG3. I started playing back in September and avoided all social media at the time so i didnt have spoilers. Now that ive completed it twice, im ok with looking at spoilers and BG3 info. I;m on my 5th playthrough and trying out the dark urge first time. wow so many options and I'm still finding new cutscenes i haven't seen before. I love the BG3 community and the voice actors. BG3 is an amazing and unbelievable game. I can't wait to see future DLCs.
BG3 has been that rare game that while I was working my way through my 300+ hours completionist run, I was already planning my next build, the one after that, and the one after that, ad infinitum. It's not a perfect game by any means, but it is close, more importantly, as a studio, Larian actually seems to cares about their community and will listen to what they say. Try that with Bethesda or any of the other big studios. I played Skyrim for years but even though I loved that experience, it is nothing compared to BG3 on release - Skyrim is only still fun and fresh with mods, but each time I play, it's like putting on a comfortable old pair of shoes and for nostalgia, not because I can have a different experience. Larian has truly spoilt me, now that I know studios CAN release games that are complete, runs fairly smoothly without many obvious bugs, doesn't expect you to shell out for DLC after DLC for the next 5 years that will add actual content that was missing from the base game, and have an actual engaging storyline and good writing( like, ya know, it's an RPG? )
I loved Ginny Di's sponsored cover of the Weeping Dawn and the High Rollers one shot. Neil made me want to add Astarion to my party roster more often. Also Bing Bong
I’m on my first play through. I’m a Lloth-sworn Drow. As soon as I get a chance, Astarion is dead for holding a knife to my throat and not killing me … I love this game.
I mean... I'm not sure the success was *wholly* unexpected. Larian is good at making games, but also good at their business and marketing decisions. Yes, I think they were surprised by the massive extent of that success. But even the early access period had pretty good sales.
One thing to note from my personnel experience. When it went into early access I felt it was just marketed for Stadia and PC. So, I felt like I would be able to play it so I ignored it. When it was announced that it was going to be released this year and on PS5 I was looking at it like a brand new game. Additionally, there have been a lot of things that have brought DnD into the spotlight recently that has never happened before. Stranger things references DnD, COVID(people finding things to do that they normally wouldn't have, DnD), and the new DnD movie. I am commenting very early in the video, so maybe you have went over these things. But, this is what I have been thinking about....Very good point about the marketing. The carbot animations are the best.
100 hours in ea and 350 in full release. I have to say this game is hands down the best RPG Ive ever played. Ive never laughed, cheered, smiled and even cried for a game like i did in that finale of my first playthru. Truly magical game and game studio. GOTY OR RIOT. also glad to see you posting again. love the content!
I’ve been feeling like the video game industry has been in decline for a while now. A lot of games that have been released the past few years seem to favor money rather than passion for creating something that’s new and memorable. I think it’s can be easy for companies to be caught up in the numbers of sales and how much they can make from a game when they have a lot of investors and deadlines to meet but I think a lesson they can learn from Larian Studios is that if you hire great writers and staff that are passionate about the game, success will come. Games are a form of media that portray a story or an experience, So in a way games are art. I’m glad to see that there are still development studios out there who care about creating something unique.
Great video! And what saddens me about the salty devs commenting on the “new standard controversy” is that some of those statements could stem from the specific devs wishing they could work on something like BG3, but can’t because of where they work which is sad. Larian deserves all the support they’ve gotten, it was well earned. BG3 is a game made with love the old fashioned way by developers who are passionate about their work. The way I see it, this was a big W for us the consumers and a step in the right direction for the gaming industry.
Even though the information you're discussing and the opinions that you've developed from that information are almost universally run parallel with my own and very little tends to be something unknown to me I still get a lot of satisfaction with the way you communicate it as well as the shared outlook on nearly all of the expressed opinions helping me see that with enough investment by customers and fans like ourselves towards a company that can really make a form of entertainment where we can get enjoyment that we want or sometimes truly need may just lay the roadwork to seeing a chance for future anticipation or genuine excitement towards something fun or enjoyable that I had not had for a game or hobby in well over a decade to be honest. I appreciate your time and effort all while juggling an occasionally immense real world work schedule and life beyond the screens. Because of that I actually try to make a point to click a "like" for your videos as I watch them as it's not something I've purposefully made a habit of doing otherwise. Take Care, brotha.
The good thing about making a game of the size based on dungeons and dragons is that DND already has an incredibly rich history. Already filled with insane Contant in every city hovel and town. There is so much lore already in place that is now being brought to the public. It’s so awesome! Thank you for making this video.
All good man, good to see you upload another video. I'm glad Baldur's Gate 3 had such an impression on you and I'm glad Larian is still refining their masterpiece. I'm sure more than one other studio will look at BG3 and say "Hey, we can do that too!" Time will tell, I think the games industry is still reeling from its meteoric effect.
I've played dos 2 before so when i first saw bg3 earley access i got into it after checking their first showcase of it. Pretty soon seeing their dedications, panels and progress of devolopment as they added new classes, races other little stuff to ea as years passed i was sure of it winning goty and becoming a new standart for rpg genre. It is simply unique and a rare experience, im really glad this game exist and i had a change to play it.
Larian Studios came onto my radar with the Divinity Original Sin kickstarter. Are there things I can nitpick of the 3 titles I've played from them to this point, yes. But they're just that: nitpicks. I'm enjoying myself with BG03, it has a LOT of replay value. It deserves a GoTY 2023 recommendation at a bare minimum.
BG2 was, and still is, my favorite game ever made. So the Diablo4 argument falls flat in my case. I literally bought this game just because it was "the next one" in the Baldur's Gate franchise. I would have bought it even if it was Icewind Dale or Planescape Torment as well.
Parian also collabbed with creators not known for gaming content, some who do more bits on experiences and immersive art and that was so god damn smart
My day 1 experience with Early Access was actually pretty damned good. I've played full access games, day 1, which were less polished than BG3 was in EA....it only got better with the addition of each new class & race.
The bear scene almost kept me from getting the game. I didn’t want to support something that shouldn’t exist. However, all my friends and people I trust praised the game. It’s also D&D.. you can do anything. So I eventually got it. I love the game it’s in my top 5 now right next to Mass Effect. One thing I love is there is a toggle for sex scenes and nudity. It honestly made me feel respected as a player for having different views. Amazing game and amazing studio, one of the view studios I feel look at players as equals and not as an obstacle to my wallet.
People have pretty much said everything I would have said in the comments. I'd just like to add that I love that the game has permeated culture so much that it's in the latest South Park mini-movie and its clear the writers are fans.
Cat!! And yes, BG3 is incredible. I'm 240+ hours into it, still in 1st playthrough, totally skipped Underdark by accident. I played BG2 and used its AI to control companion combat because I found it difficult to manage many classes in a fight. Was worried I wouldn't be able to deal with the full party combat by myself in BG3. But now, I just really enjoy testing what can be done because Larian somehow made it easier to try, and rewards curiosity. I still don't really know what to do with Druids, though - beyond wildshape. 😂Sorry Halsin & Jaheira.
Algo loved this video. Good content. Never get recommended small channels. Recommend doing GOTY reflection series, leading up to the decision. Every game listed you could do another "updated" reflection video on and the algo will love it. Subbed, and hope you can slingshot with this wave of clicks. -random dude on internet
It really shouldn't have succeeded, given how utterly garbage the game is. It is a tedious slog full of unintuitive decisions and "consequences" that only take the form of punishing player choices, without any sort of impact on the plot itself. And the ending (one, because all the endings are just one ending) is the most half-arsed bullshit end I've seen in decades.
Legit, the first time I've paid full price for a game because I wanted to support the studio, and show that AAA studios that you don't have to force micro transactions on people to make money. The market will reward you for doing the right thing. They don't HAVE to be scum bags. When you mentioned marketing... imagine my surprise when I saw BG3 pop up on my ps5 feed of games you would like to purchase in June. I had no idea it was even being made. Of course then I started following the news, but that's just a testament to the game. It didn't need to be marketed because it's good. Word of mouth is still king when you make a good product. D4 is crap so they had to sell it hard.
Regardless if it is a new standard, from mechanics, story, and pure user experience aspect, in a year of special games proceeding some years of some very special games bulders gate truly stands out. And if absolutely nothing else i hope the devs and va's especially are proud of themselves, theyve earned that and more
12:18 "Do what ever you want" - its pretty good that they had a scatter gun approach with multiple creators, rather than trying to micromanage them. It wouldn't matter if there was dud content, because at least a few creators would likely create a hit
The bear scene would have fallen totally flat / been just a giggle shared if what it proposed wasn't in line with the entire marketing campaign -- and the game's design. Which can be summed like this: "Do whatever silly you like. And share it with all world to see." The suggestion was: All bets are off. You can do whatever in this one. INCLUDING getting shagged by a bear. Which naturally also connected deeply with the D&D / tabletop experience. Which is all about moment to moment improvisation. The game master asking: "What ya gonna do now?" And the players responding, with their fantasy being the limit.
You are exactly the kind of people that I like to watch. You know how to talk, which shows proper education and the will to give positivity to the day of others. AAA Person
I was telling my internet buddies since the early days of EA that BG3 would one of the biggest and most beloved games we'd ever seen and they laughed at me lol. None of them had ever experienced a good cRPG. I'm pretty sure one of my buddies is refusing to experience the game even still because he hates to be wrong and doesn't want to give me that "Told you so" moment haha. Even if you personally for whatever reason don't find the game itself appealing, there is no doubting that it has made a significant impact.
I played the first night I got it and was hooked. I ended up taking PTO from work so I could play it for a couple weeks uninterrupted... That's how damn good the game is. I had no plans to take time off. Just thought I'd play it when I was bored on the weekends or something. Nope. I was hooked immediately.
Speaking about the money they have and the financial security...there is a big difference between Larian and a "normal" Indie studie (not to mention that Larian is actually a bit too big to be considered an Indie). It should not be forgotten that while Swen Vincke and his wife own enough of the shares of the studio to be in control and the company is not publicy traded there is another shareholder in the back who gives them a lot more financial security than the average Indie: Tencent owns 30 % of the studio's shares.
You do know the Bears sing was not planned did you even watch the live stream in which the Bears scene happened? The audience was voting for every choice they did during that live stream, so had they not voted because they told him do you want to see what a romance scene is like and the audience voted yes and then proceeded to tell them they might be minor spoilers, so are you sure you want to see a Romance scene
I bought the game for me, my son and a close friend. Now it is on nearly 700 hours played... 250 in early access. Currently doing a 3 player mp game and the third playthrough now as dark urge. One was together with my son. And we loved every moment of it. Game of the decade for me.
the reason why i played the game is accredited to all of the triple a studios saying that we cannot compare other projects to bg3 as the new standard. if it was so good i had to know why. and damn were they right its so good.
It amazes me that we live in a time where you can pay $70 up front and thousands in microtransactions for a 3 hour-long generic and shitty game, or $60 up front for a game with over 150 hours of unique and high quality content. What amazes me mord is that sheep will opt to get the short, generic and shitty game over the massive, unique and epic game.
Go look at Call of Duty's community posts on UA-cam. There are people saying "I won't buy a $70 DLC" and a slew of people calling them broke and saying nobody cares. It's baffling how people keep gobbling up slop.
I'm out of the habit and a bit rusty. Theres roughly 10 seconds of missing footage in the video. Apologies.
Thanks for the video! I really appreciated your insight. You mention a lot of other videos in this one (like the sponsored videos for BG3 from Joel Haver and others) Would you be able to post links to these videos? I can't seem to find them (besides the joel haver one which I can)
@LegendaryDrops, No worries, homie. Love your videos and that you aren't some faux-react channel. Stay you and stay true! :)
weeelcome back to Baldur's Gate City!!
reported
Black monster on background is video star !!!!!!
Keep in mind larian is not done with BG3 yet, from the leaked honour mode to the abundant patches and definitive edition on the horizon. And that is after larian went out there way to accomodate even the 1% outcomes with exquisite narration, full motioncap on the most random irrelevant NPC or quest object, truly an masterpiece made by people with an genuine love for the game.
They still gotta fix the ending as well, my only gripe with the game.
The game is a diamond with little scruffs here and there... among a sea of shit covered zircon rocks.
At the moment is still quite buggy, they have quite a lot to fix. The utterly most important feature they have to implement is druid-badger and wolf form able to dig up treasures.
All they need to do to complete the game is re-introduce the upper-city, provide more depth to the evil playthrough rather than just making you a murder hobo, fix the ending (they did Karlach dirty), and potentially elevate the level cap to 14 or 15.
Introduce a proper evil campaign that doesn't railroad you towards the same outcomes at the end of act 2 and 3, flush out the political intrigue of baldurs gate some more, bring back the upper city and missing companion quest content, flush out the endings (narration by withers), leave some room for an expansion pack down the line, and the game will be truly perfect.
@@fellowtraveler2251
The game is already Amazing.
But yes this would make it the true masterpiece it’s said to be. It’s is an absolutely amazing story game with real rpg mechanics.
But yes we need the ending fleshed out and upper city.
And then just adding more dlc I’ll pay $40 for 20-40 hour dlc. Would be perfect
I’m an older, casual gamer, having returned to regular gaming during the Covid lockdown. And I’m a recently new subscriber of Legendary Drops with the launching of BG3 on steam. Your intelligent, seriously earnest presentations are the best I’ve seen basically ever.
Your style is engaging, and your well-expressed opinions are informative, thought-provoking and entertaining. For me, you are the compelling presence among the crowd. And, as busy as your daily life keeps you, I encourage you to keep it coming as much as you are able; especially because I am one of your newest supporters. 😊Thank you very much for great content!
Christopher
Wow, thank you so much! I really appreciate comments like these, and don't worry, more videos are on the way.
400 hours in this game so far with the amount of freedom and player choice within the game is nothing I've ever seen before. It really feels like 5e DND. I'm not even remotely bored of the game and I'm still finding new things and I truly feel like no matter how many hours I play it I'll never see all of it. I love it.
I agree. I am pretty newly into act 3, about 200 hours. And I VERY seldom am able to get a second play through on any games, ever. But I am already considering which characters to take, and which classes to change for a second run.
Yup. I have finished my first solo playthrough and am in act 2 of my second.
And I am also playing through a duo playthrough with my brother, as well as a trio playthrough with my brother + brother in law.
Every playthrough is very different from one another. And a simple change in my second playthrough has reinvigorated it a ton (I will never load a game, instead accept the dice as they roll, though I can use inspiration points).
457 hours in, not even close to quitting as I am already super excited for the ideas I have for my third playthrough.
@TheYuleTube I've done 4 solo characters and 1 character as multiplayer in a campaign my wife and I have.
My first one was well over 130hrs my second is at 105 but haven't finished it. Have another at 68 and another at 60 so far.
In each playthrough despite the overarching story being the same, it feels like my characters story has been completely different and I've found many things in each new playthrough that I didn't in others just because of how my character would behave (how I roleplay them, you know what I mean)
And not even getting into some of the unhinged hilarious things you can do.
A highlight for me was my wife talking to minthara, and while she was distracted I picked up the goblin minthara was talking to and just threw it into a chasm before my wife or Minthara even noticed
When the cutscene ended my wife was like wtf where did that goblin go?
Oh just walked off I guess
If we were playing splitscreen it would have ruined the moment obviously but we have separate monitors on either side of the room so it was great
Same
I'm on my 3rd playthrough and already looking forward to another. I KNOW there are things I can do differently and really want to see the outcome. I'm going to try a Solo Tactician next, that much is for sure. But still trying to decide which class and how.... evil Dark Urge, sneaky Assassin, or maybe the Hero Champion.
hell yeah brother! Great vid EDIT ADD ON: Thanks so much for the shout-out. Bg3 has been great for so many. Happy for your channel's success.
Thanks for watchin' brother
For every silly scene like the bear scene, there is at least half a dozen scenes that provide massive emotional gut punches that leave you thinking about stuff like our mortality, the inherent unreliability of memory, the frequent contradictions between duty and honour, cycles of abuse & how to break them....to name a few.
Great balance of humour and heartbreak, like the best RPG’s
Played for hours and have yet to see any story at all, much less gut-punches. But then millenials and Gen z ARE pathetically weak.
@@gethriel 2 hours isn’t much time in a 100 hour game. Trust me, the more you play the more your thoughts would change. And cut that superiority bullshit man, just because you don’t like something, doesn’t mean others are weaker just for liking it.
@@gethriel yeah it's a long game! Nobody is talking about anything in act 1, believe me. There's some interesting setup there that will be important later, but there's no significant payoff to any of it until significantly into act 2. Which, if you're not just following walkthrough guides (in which case I'm sure the emotional impact will be reduced) should take you no less than 20 hours to get to, and possibly about 50.
I really hope that BG3 makes triple A companies realize that giving us crumbs and leftovers isn't acceptable. Perhaps the success that BG3 has become, due to it's attention to detail and storytelling, will make them see the benefits in creating a game that people ACTUALLY love.
Fingers crossed, but short of the fall of capitalism, I don't expect to see that happen.
It won't. At least not on it's own. There will have to be a few more like it, and more importantly, some failures of games that keep following the micro-transaction half-done-at-release train.
Not to mention ALL the DLCs = Nails in the Coffin.
@@StanHowse I don't mind DLCs, *as long as* they bring value, and ADD to the game. They cannot reserve portions of the base game to extract extra cash. Like, if Larian puts out a BG3 DLC, I will run not walk to give them my money. I got this whole amazing game, and now they've made an additional part? Yeah, gimme.
@alecchristiaen4856 We're already seeing the fall of the AAA publisher. Konami destroyed their development studios for gambling profits and they are feeling the consequences of that.
EA is dismantling Bioware as we speak.
I could talk about various studios and publishers having poor decisions and misteps but I don't want to be here all day.
Point being, most of the developers that complained about this are feeling the effects of the system that is pushing for layoffs and downsizing as AA and other indies are setting growth.
7:37 I really dilike the way developers painted the picture that "indie devs can't hope to match the quality bg3 delivers"... we know; we're not stupid, but we CAN expect the same quality from huge triple a devs that have way more monetary backing than larian ever had.
conversely, we can also expect indie devs to at least deliver a feature complete product even if it doesn't have all the bells and whistles bg3 has; hell bg3 isn't without it's flaws (looking at you act 3) but just immediately going "well you can't expect us to do our job as well as Larian does" was really infuriating for me to read
8:34 lol I see you articulated the same point :P
BG3 has lots of flaws, UI problems, inconsistency with actual dnd rules, balance issues.. It got me furious, utterly upset, and disappointed multiple times. But it's still a great game.
The next big thing I'm personally praying for is Skyblivion. And we're not getting any other single player RPGs of this scale anytime soon. I'm not expecting anything decent from next Dragon Age or next Witcher game from CDPR..
Just remember that Baldur's Gate 3 was sitting in the top 10 highest rated games of all time on metacritic and the number 1 highest rated PC game of all time for days until a handful of various critics decided that it was completely appropriate to deduct points from their publication's scores of baldur's gate for the crime of being a video game instead of real life. Yes, multiple reviewers started coming out and actually subtracting points from the score because it wasn't equal to a real life D&D session with human beings sitting around a table. It got knocked out of the top 10 and is now sitting somewhere in the mid 30s of the "Best Video Games of All Time" because it's a video game, meanwhile NFL 2k1 - a game absolutely nothing like playing a real life football game in a field with a group of friends, a game that time has largely forgotten, is sitting at number 10.
Now, it's exact positioning is also altered by user reviews, and 9% of the user reviews are negative, meaning 0-4. Let's look at some of the hot takes here: "It's an MMO style game and the open world is too difficult to navigate" "All fluff, no substance" "it's trying to brainwash you into the woke agenda" "most overhyped game in years. i was tricked by social media into buying it and it's a terrible game. screw those liberals who circle jerked this game into the status it has now. It's a false idol! it's maybe a 6/10"
Review scores are pointless garbage.
Ya the scores don't matter though. What does matter is that on steam it is to this day still in the top 5 in the steam charts for player count. And for like a month it was 3rd place. Wich for steam charts is really number one because cs:go and dota 2 have literally never not been 1st and 2nd place respectively
@@namethefifth7315honestly CS and dota always at all time being 1st and 2nd on steam is suss as fuck to me. I played both and I still dabble in dota for fun and they are popular, it just doesn't seem they are that popular all the time. Idk just weird.
The game being woke is a valid point of criticism for somebody who doesn't want their game to be woke and it's fair to rate the game lower based on that opinion.
Everything else is retarded, they either didn't know they are buying a CRPG or have never played a recently released AAA story driven RPG because if they did they'd recognize how much superior BG3 writing is compared to anything Bethesda, BioWare, or any other former RPG titan is capable of.
@@HalIOfFamer well they are steam exulsive made by valve are very well known like everyone and their dad knows about them, they are the most popular e-sports, and they got that gamba so... kinda hard to compete
I was keeping up with it since early access, i loved Divinity and was expecting BG3 would either break the gaming industry or go unheard of. Im very glad it was the former.
I didn't like the story/narrative of both original sin games. DOS 2 had a particularly bad combat system due to needing to burn down a health bar to use any CC. But between the combat engine both games used AND the well written companions in DOS2... Larian had the tools to make BG3 an amazing cRPG.
@@chuckchan4127DOS 2 had a bad combat system? What are you on?
@@GoldenMaskedChad The combat engine was great!
But the mechanic of having to delete a physical or magic health bar before you could apply CC... poorly thought out and just resulted in one mindless playstyle working best: high burst damage.
@@chuckchan4127 didn’t pay enough attention while reading, sorry. You are completely right about having to break down the armor to use CC. That is annoying. But I personally like the magic and physical armor idea.
I thot the magic and phys armor idea was unique. Actually made you play the game differently from your standard rpg, both pffensively and defensively
I bought the game back in like September and it was my first introduction to a lot of things: D&D, CRPG, as well as Larian themselves.
This game has been a nonstop fun fest
Playing this game gives me the same wonderful vibes as playing The Witcher 3 back in 2015. I've replayed that game numerous times since its release. I'm planning to replay BG 3 multiple times as well. It's a game that feels like it's made with love, which is very rare these days.
Jup DA 1 and MA series too for me
Great analysis. The stars aligned for this game, but for the most part, Larian actively made them align. I also loved the part where you suddenly had a cat on your shoulder!
gosh I wish Baldur's gate 3 would have an expansion. like more races, subclasses, and more content. it's such a masterpiece ❤
It's not over yet man.. Especially with the success they've had? They'd be crazy to not Capitalize on that.
Would love upper city and maybe a travel to avernus
That is the point where you should fall into the rabbit hole of mods for BG3. Sometimes clunky, but always a blast.
@@Sparticulousdidn't you go to the House of Hope-in Avernus? Also, the game starts in Avernus 😉. Ramazith's Tower is technically in the Upper City.....& the final conflict is also in the Upper City. Sure I wouldn't complain if they decided to add more locations to the game-especially in the Upper City prior to the final fight....but at 120 hours of play time, I don't feel remotely hard done by.
@@TheMarcHicksthe game starts on a notaloid in avernus and tge house of hope is a small house floating above avernus and you can't even see any of the landmarks in the skybox and the finile battle in the upper city was one battle that lasted less then an hour in a destroyed area, so that hardly counts
Larian Studios had a reputation for loving their games and making them into rpgs THEY would play - it just happened that that development pattern fit well with the D&D IP. What was a narrow fan base came to love now could be experienced by mainstream audiences....
Larian seems like one of us because they are one of us. A group of great people that loves games that were able to make a game they wanted to play. Since it happened to be a game that millions also wanted to play, I’d say that firmly places Larian in the camp of one of us… suddenly I feel like watching Toy Story. One of us!
Larian and Remedy are studios where I don't feel like I'm being taken for granted. These guys worked hard to earn my purchase and it shows in the quality of their games. The Bungies of the world are trying to figure out how to nickle & dime me while providing the bare minimum of quality.
Their game is overhyped, not saying it's not good, just simply overhyped.
@@Supremax67alan wake 2? or bg3? You can call almost every game title with “hope” from a community being overhyped. That's all there is to it. You either end up enjoying what's there or not and then that's it.
It's a phenomenon.
Worldwide players keep on playing this game (incl myself)
Larian Studios from Belgium, HAIL to you.
same here, on to my 3rd playthrough and Im still not bored of it.
Never played a cRPG, or even any RPG games, never played DnD, my most played games before this were survival/puzzle/cosy games but BG3 is now my most played game of all time with 400 hours, and I'm running it on a crappy laptop. I absolutely love this game, the writing, the interesting mechanics and I especially love that the combat is turn-based, I typically don't play combat based games because playing with a touchpad makes them honestly kind of impossible, but turn-based combat takes what normally is a reaction/mechanical skill based thing and makes it more like a really cool game of chess, keeping track of all the pieces and their abilities and having time to think about each move ahead of time and plan out a strategy, it gives me the same satisfaction as solving an interesting puzzle , honestly a lot of my hours have just been going back and reloading combat encounters just to test out new ideas or mess around with builds! And after all those hours I’m still yet to actually finish any of my saves 😂😂
And I can say I didn’t discover it from the bear scene 🤣 I actually found it by watching someone stream it while I waited for starfield to release (I had thought starfield would be something I’d enjoy watching people play as I love space …. Oh how wrong I was!)
A single stream was all it took to hook me and the minute I got paid I grabbed the game myself, haven’t looked back since!
(Also I totally didn’t spend half the video trying to catch a glimpse of the furball behind you only to finally see them getting cuddles at the end xD)
I keep seeing people who have never played any cRPG or turn-based RPG and just absolutely love BG3. It says a lot about the game!
@@Sieghiro i'm pretty sure way more people would enjoy crpgs... if they were voiced like bg3 is. and if they had actual turn based combat instead of rtwp. some people prefer rtwp, but i think a lot more people enjoy tb. it's just more chill. same as voiced dialogue is more chill than reading an entire book (if you don't like reading, which i do).
I love that this game is friendly for people who are not skilled in „fast gaming” , I played like maybe 5-6 (I can only name guild wars , neverwinter nights and the sims as a kid and all of the Witcher games) games in my life and I just simply cannot react fast, but turn based combat and allowing creativity in the combat is just amazing. I actually feel good at the game and it’s a huge confidence boost. I feel like I can really annoy it even though I didn’t play games a lot
All my friends were talking about this game but what really got me to give this game i never heard of before in a genre i never played a shot was that clip of matthew mercer, who i did not know was matthew mercer at the time, stacking barrels and using an arrow of transposition to get into a fort. It blew me away so much with the idea of a game that gives you such freedom that I got it the next day
I only found your channel because of your reactions to BG3.
Glad I did. Solid, level headed content. Keep it up Holmes.
*slow clap* well said! 400+ hours since release and only made it to the end one time. Never played tabletop D & D so I do not as yet fully understand all the race/sub-race/class synergies. Even having numerous party/player character wipes so many start overs I STILL love playing; always discovering new stuff.
My friend can't start a new campaign because he ends up choosing the same things, so he asked to join mine, and I'm still in act 1 and what I end up discovering by reading the comments and showing it to him, the boy gets so excited... He wants to get his girlfriend to play, and I want to go along and talk fun facts right away. It's so beautiful to see everyone's excitement.
This game is really incredible, I would like to customize my Steam with things from Bg3 xD
Baldur's Gate 3 brought me back to enjoying RPGs, and well, you reading this don't know me, but it was like someone casting a resurrection spell on my inner child
Most AAA developers nowadays cast "speak to the dead" on the audience which they killed themselves, so they also use "disguise" and "charm person". And it seems that some of our coin is also missing so pickpocketing is a thing)
Now we need to see if BG3 can top it off with a GOTY acheivement!
That would've been a satisfying ribbon the wrap up the year. I could get behind other games getting the award but I wholeheartedly believe BG3 deserves a nomination.
If there is one game that really deserves to win it's this one.
It would be a crime of monumental proportions if BG3 doesn't even get nominated.
It is inevitable. If they don't win then we know definitely thay it's rigged.
Well, the Golden Joystick awards started to give a good indication, 7 prizes for them is as amazing as it is deserved
8:40 I fully agree.
It was the AAA developers that p*ssed me off in this discussion. BG3 IS the standard for shops like Moneyvision-Blizztard, etc...
Of course we will always love our indie developers and the amazing things they achieve with their more limited funds and resources.
Im on act 3 of my fourth playthrough, and act 2 on my 2nd multiplayer playthrough absolutely loving bg3. and it keeps getting better. Larian did an amazing job on this game and the effort they're putting into improving it post launch is incredible.
something I find interesting is that the marketing campaign of BG3 looks like most of the budget went into the game instead of the marketing campaign. It looks like a game made by the creators (artists, developers, etc.) rather than by a marketing team.
slightly disagree, the game is 10/10 in the first act, 9/10 in the second act and 7-8/10 in the third one, which feels like it was kinda made for game reviewers to hype it up hardcore. since game reviewers usually don't finish a game before they review it. still, every part of the game is at the very least pretty good to straight up awesome.
The whole developer talk thing is so funny to me! Like is BG3 a bit on the niche side? yes. Is there a luck involved in this success story? Absolutely. But at the end of the day, BG3 is a prime example of a project made with lots of love and care, and wasn’t trying to nickel and dime their players. The big developers aren’t afraid of BG3 because of how ambitious it is, they are afraid players will wake up and demand enough is enough. Most of these companies cannot meet their bottom line with honest business practices, not anymore.
I have to say I truly enjoy listening to your essays. Very insightful.
Glad you like them!
I love how I feel like it’s a woman-gamer friendly game. Idk how to explain it but I don’t feel like I’m an outsider in the community when I play it
1. Luck
2.) Bear scene
3. ) Marketing by UA-cam influencers
4. ) Full engagement with gaming community
5. DnD board campaign with all original voice actors
6.) Animated shorts
These are many things other conpanies fail to do, if not from lack of trying.... except for #1. If they could just stop acting like it's purely business and stocks, they would be more successful.
7. Great Quality Game
@GastO1 Well that's a given, but to ATTRACT folks to your game in the first place too.
As someone who has loved Larian since Divine Divinity in the nineties, I could not be happier for their long overdue final breakthrough! When I played Divine Divinity I back then I already liked it so much better than Diablo. This world was much more alive even then. You could have found yourself in ambushes or get robbed. The story was simply better. Of course if you played Diablo only for the hack and slay, you would not have been has happy in Divine Divinity. Enemies once killed would not respawn. I knew from this moment that they have it in them and I loved EGO DRACONIS even more but unfortunately, they never managed to get the attention of many until now. So I am really, really glad for them.
Before BG3, I had already sworn off EA, Bungie, and Blizzard for their micro-transaction hellscapes that are internet only. Playing BG3, I remembered what it was like gaming as a kid. Larian captured that magic of playing a game that just wanted to be an awesome game; nothing more, nothing less. Larian's BG3 is the new Halo 2 in my opinion. After BG3, my convictions of what should be acceptable and expected in a game has been reinforced.
I mean, personally I think Halo 3 is better than Halo 2 but I would agree with everything else (you know, forge and all lol). God, it feels good to just play a game the developers, actors, and everyone involved had fun with instead of looking at it as a soulless product that's just a job. Not to mention the amount of QOL updates that we got for free shows that EA, Bungie, and Blizzard are just lazy and greedy.
@@justinpurcell3717 I hear you on that, for my friend group in high school, though, it was Halo 2 that was more formative. Some friends literally only owned a controller, no game or system, just so we could play 16 friends in one person's basement/garage/barn, lol.
Its very much like witcher 3 in that it has everything, a good story, details, voice acting, exploration and on a whole a complete rpg.. That is all.
This game made me feel things had the heart and soul of a dnd table game it brought me laughs smiles anger and even shed tears for lost friends who would've loved it this is the best game I've ever played and I can't wait to share more playthroughs with more friends
we luv ya man, always good to hear you spill it out from the heart. BG3 Best game of all time!
I knew it was going to be amazing before they even started it. BG1 & BG2 we’re that good. I prayed for BG3 to land in the hands of someone that loves games.
DND done right can even be better.
me 1 + 2 were awesome too. and then came me 3 and me andromeda. just saying. just because the games before were good, doesn't mean anything. i was hoping it would be good. and i didn't get disappointed. ty larian! ty sven vincke!
First off: immaculate taste in shirts
Second: I do think that Larian played out the EA period MASTERFULLY.
They released to early access with a solid game, and then created a bit of hype for every major patch, keeping the flame burning for years. Every patch made me more and more hyped for the next and when #9 dropped with a promise of the full release next summer, I was ecstatic.
What helps IMO is the multiplayer. People like the game, and in pitching it to friends they say "we could play it together", which already makes it more appealing.
I can't imagine trying to slog through this game with a friend. At that point I'd rather go pen and paper. I was initially excited for it, because my daughter planed to get the game to play with her boyfriend and we could have all played together. But after actuary putting in some time into the game, the combat is far too clunky and slow to allow for that to be a fun experience. I guess that you can just make the combat essentially nonexistent by lowering the difficulty.
@@Xoulrath_nothing remotely "clunky" with the combat at all. It rewards careful planning and out of the box thinking. I can only guess you're more of a Diablo player who prefers button mashing.
@@TheMarcHicks I'm a fuckin master tactician who learned chess at the age of 5. The game requires no real thinking. The combat is CLUNKY. There are a fuckton of tactics games, that are turn-based, that do it better. And no, I'm not going to make a list for you. I'm glad that you enjoyed the game. It was good; but it wasn't what the hype led me to believe it was. I put in 70 hours across two campaigns and had my fill. There are better combat experiences to be had elsewhere, and I couldn't give a fuck about the contrived story.
Love your content dude. Thanks for taking the time to make this. I agree completely...
The music does slap
You are right. The bear scene got my attention for the game. But ultimately, it was people saying it was good that reassured me to buy it. No regrets.
The High Rollers one-shot game was fantastic.....the whole Bing Bong thing was hilarious 😆
Love the pacing of your videos. I can tell you put a lot of thought into what you're saying.
If there's one studio that I wish would follow in Larian's footsteps is Bioware.
Thanks!
It's a bit weird for me to see this comment because I was thinking that Larian is channeling the Bioware (or Black Isle) of old. Planescape: Torment especially has a special place in my heart.
Man I am so worried about Dreadwolf and the Mass Effect game in development.
Unexpected? I don't think anyone ever doubt that it was gonna be a hit, given the company's record of awesome releases. Divinity original sin 2 anyone?
This game is soo much fun. Of course there is room for improvement left, but it's really a gem.
I've been playing almost 300 hours of this game across line 8 campaigns. Been having a blast. Currently in act 3 of my solo playthrough and have loved every minute of it. Can't wait to finally finish a playthrough. 😂
I too have four going and I cannot explain why I haven’t finished one yet. The replayability is unmatched.🎉
I’m still not convinced BG3 success was blind luck, I feel there was a lot of gambles and a lot of risks taken with out of the box thinking. This was a passion project more than anything. The biggest standard set is for Larian themselves they may and try to replicate the success of BG3 on another title and that will answer if this was blind luck or just gambling with out of the box thinking.
To anyone who is a huge fan of Larian Studios like myself this was no surprise. I played over 1000 hours of dos2, and was so happy that they took their time even if it meant waiting years for the final product because the game felt finished on release unlike other rpg studios that I no longer support *cough* Bethesda *cough* and not only that they're still working on the game and listening to their audience. Ultimately Bg3 was exactly what I wanted from Larian and expected. Larian finally having a huge success like this really puts shit in the britches of all game developers because Larian has given people exactly what they wanted, leaving out all the bullshit. I would gladly take a longer wait time for a polished unique story experience, rather than buying skyrim for the nth time or getting something I've played a million times and get bored of quickly, which is exactly what I experienced with both dos2 and bg3.
I would be utterly shocked if Larian in the future after such a big success fell off and never made a big title like this again which after the long wait from dos2 did scare me a little that it would happen not a lot of people were talking about larian before the full release of bg3 and now that they are a household name there is no doubt in my mind that Larian will be known as one of the best developers from our time.
like bioware in the past.. i really hope this won't be larians fate too.
lol love your cat. Thanks so much for your insight. I'm new to your channel, found it through my search for all things BG3. I started playing back in September and avoided all social media at the time so i didnt have spoilers. Now that ive completed it twice, im ok with looking at spoilers and BG3 info. I;m on my 5th playthrough and trying out the dark urge first time. wow so many options and I'm still finding new cutscenes i haven't seen before. I love the BG3 community and the voice actors. BG3 is an amazing and unbelievable game. I can't wait to see future DLCs.
BG3 has been that rare game that while I was working my way through my 300+ hours completionist run, I was already planning my next build, the one after that, and the one after that, ad infinitum. It's not a perfect game by any means, but it is close, more importantly, as a studio, Larian actually seems to cares about their community and will listen to what they say. Try that with Bethesda or any of the other big studios. I played Skyrim for years but even though I loved that experience, it is nothing compared to BG3 on release - Skyrim is only still fun and fresh with mods, but each time I play, it's like putting on a comfortable old pair of shoes and for nostalgia, not because I can have a different experience. Larian has truly spoilt me, now that I know studios CAN release games that are complete, runs fairly smoothly without many obvious bugs, doesn't expect you to shell out for DLC after DLC for the next 5 years that will add actual content that was missing from the base game, and have an actual engaging storyline and good writing( like, ya know, it's an RPG? )
"Try that with Bethesda" Todd Howard: You are playing the game wrong! :D
@@wruzzer true. I should ask them and see what kind of gaslighting I get from their, erm, "developers" for some sh!ts and giggles
I loved Ginny Di's sponsored cover of the Weeping Dawn and the High Rollers one shot. Neil made me want to add Astarion to my party roster more often. Also Bing Bong
Give. Us. BING BONG.
There is a mod on nexus for bing bong. Arron sells the amulet with mod in act 1
I’m on my first play through. I’m a Lloth-sworn Drow. As soon as I get a chance, Astarion is dead for holding a knife to my throat and not killing me …
I love this game.
@@Sparticulous Yeah, but I want an official one.
I mean... I'm not sure the success was *wholly* unexpected. Larian is good at making games, but also good at their business and marketing decisions. Yes, I think they were surprised by the massive extent of that success. But even the early access period had pretty good sales.
You don't know how clickbait works lol
One thing to note from my personnel experience. When it went into early access I felt it was just marketed for Stadia and PC. So, I felt like I would be able to play it so I ignored it. When it was announced that it was going to be released this year and on PS5 I was looking at it like a brand new game. Additionally, there have been a lot of things that have brought DnD into the spotlight recently that has never happened before. Stranger things references DnD, COVID(people finding things to do that they normally wouldn't have, DnD), and the new DnD movie. I am commenting very early in the video, so maybe you have went over these things. But, this is what I have been thinking about....Very good point about the marketing. The carbot animations are the best.
100 hours in ea and 350 in full release. I have to say this game is hands down the best RPG Ive ever played. Ive never laughed, cheered, smiled and even cried for a game like i did in that finale of my first playthru. Truly magical game and game studio. GOTY OR RIOT. also glad to see you posting again. love the content!
I’ve been feeling like the video game industry has been in decline for a while now. A lot of games that have been released the past few years seem to favor money rather than passion for creating something that’s new and memorable. I think it’s can be easy for companies to be caught up in the numbers of sales and how much they can make from a game when they have a lot of investors and deadlines to meet but I think a lesson they can learn from Larian Studios is that if you hire great writers and staff that are passionate about the game, success will come. Games are a form of media that portray a story or an experience, So in a way games are art. I’m glad to see that there are still development studios out there who care about creating something unique.
Since 2009/10 actually
Great video! And what saddens me about the salty devs commenting on the “new standard controversy” is that some of those statements could stem from the specific devs wishing they could work on something like BG3, but can’t because of where they work which is sad.
Larian deserves all the support they’ve gotten, it was well earned. BG3 is a game made with love the old fashioned way by developers who are passionate about their work.
The way I see it, this was a big W for us the consumers and a step in the right direction for the gaming industry.
I so hope that more games can start doing what BG3 does.
Even though the information you're discussing and the opinions that you've developed from that information are almost universally run parallel with my own and very little tends to be something unknown to me I still get a lot of satisfaction with the way you communicate it as well as the shared outlook on nearly all of the expressed opinions helping me see that with enough investment by customers and fans like ourselves towards a company that can really make a form of entertainment where we can get enjoyment that we want or sometimes truly need may just lay the roadwork to seeing a chance for future anticipation or genuine excitement towards something fun or enjoyable that I had not had for a game or hobby in well over a decade to be honest. I appreciate your time and effort all while juggling an occasionally immense real world work schedule and life beyond the screens. Because of that I actually try to make a point to click a "like" for your videos as I watch them as it's not something I've purposefully made a habit of doing otherwise. Take Care, brotha.
Thank man, I really appreciate the comment.
Legendary Drops is back for my morning commute. Nature is healing🙏🏻
"BG 3 is just an anomaly !" I'm pretty DAMN sure this Quote was impacting the success of BG3 massively - unintentionally.
The intention was to downsize the game, they made it instead even more attractive lol
The good thing about making a game of the size based on dungeons and dragons is that DND already has an incredibly rich history. Already filled with insane Contant in every city hovel and town. There is so much lore already in place that is now being brought to the public. It’s so awesome! Thank you for making this video.
The fact there’s so many different outcomes to situations, makes this so replayable and immersive. I absolutely love this one. 💞✌😊👍
All good man, good to see you upload another video. I'm glad Baldur's Gate 3 had such an impression on you and I'm glad Larian is still refining their masterpiece. I'm sure more than one other studio will look at BG3 and say "Hey, we can do that too!" Time will tell, I think the games industry is still reeling from its meteoric effect.
Good to have ya back man!
I've played dos 2 before so when i first saw bg3 earley access i got into it after checking their first showcase of it. Pretty soon seeing their dedications, panels and progress of devolopment as they added new classes, races other little stuff to ea as years passed i was sure of it winning goty and becoming a new standart for rpg genre. It is simply unique and a rare experience, im really glad this game exist and i had a change to play it.
Glad to see you back! Also glad to come back to a great video!
Hey, thanks!
Larian Studios came onto my radar with the Divinity Original Sin kickstarter. Are there things I can nitpick of the 3 titles I've played from them to this point, yes. But they're just that: nitpicks. I'm enjoying myself with BG03, it has a LOT of replay value. It deserves a GoTY 2023 recommendation at a bare minimum.
Actually I agree here, all the stars aligned for Larian and BG3))
And I'm very happy for them ❤
BG2 was, and still is, my favorite game ever made. So the Diablo4 argument falls flat in my case. I literally bought this game just because it was "the next one" in the Baldur's Gate franchise. I would have bought it even if it was Icewind Dale or Planescape Torment as well.
Parian also collabbed with creators not known for gaming content, some who do more bits on experiences and immersive art and that was so god damn smart
My day 1 experience with Early Access was actually pretty damned good. I've played full access games, day 1, which were less polished than BG3 was in EA....it only got better with the addition of each new class & race.
Did you play anthem on release? EA deserves to be sued for that one, they got away with theft
It also had much more content than most EA games do, and even some fully released games.
Great to see you back. Clear insight and interesting content as always 😊
The bear scene almost kept me from getting the game. I didn’t want to support something that shouldn’t exist. However, all my friends and people I trust praised the game. It’s also D&D.. you can do anything. So I eventually got it. I love the game it’s in my top 5 now right next to Mass Effect. One thing I love is there is a toggle for sex scenes and nudity. It honestly made me feel respected as a player for having different views. Amazing game and amazing studio, one of the view studios I feel look at players as equals and not as an obstacle to my wallet.
First time watching. Very much enjoyed this video. Love the general tone and presentation.
People have pretty much said everything I would have said in the comments. I'd just like to add that I love that the game has permeated culture so much that it's in the latest South Park mini-movie and its clear the writers are fans.
Cat!! And yes, BG3 is incredible. I'm 240+ hours into it, still in 1st playthrough, totally skipped Underdark by accident. I played BG2 and used its AI to control companion combat because I found it difficult to manage many classes in a fight. Was worried I wouldn't be able to deal with the full party combat by myself in BG3. But now, I just really enjoy testing what can be done because Larian somehow made it easier to try, and rewards curiosity. I still don't really know what to do with Druids, though - beyond wildshape. 😂Sorry Halsin & Jaheira.
spore druid is the way to go. basically a druid necromancer. most op class ingame, trust me.
A bunch of us starving Dragon Age fans have fallen in love with BG3.
Gotta say yoitubes algorithm did some magic during baldurs gate release with how many new channels were shown to me
Algo loved this video. Good content. Never get recommended small channels.
Recommend doing GOTY reflection series, leading up to the decision.
Every game listed you could do another "updated" reflection video on and the algo will love it.
Subbed, and hope you can slingshot with this wave of clicks.
-random dude on internet
I've only completed the game once. I don't like to end so I keep restarting with newer mods that come out.
It really shouldn't have succeeded, given how utterly garbage the game is.
It is a tedious slog full of unintuitive decisions and "consequences" that only take the form of punishing player choices, without any sort of impact on the plot itself. And the ending (one, because all the endings are just one ending) is the most half-arsed bullshit end I've seen in decades.
Legit, the first time I've paid full price for a game because I wanted to support the studio, and show that AAA studios that you don't have to force micro transactions on people to make money. The market will reward you for doing the right thing. They don't HAVE to be scum bags. When you mentioned marketing... imagine my surprise when I saw BG3 pop up on my ps5 feed of games you would like to purchase in June. I had no idea it was even being made. Of course then I started following the news, but that's just a testament to the game. It didn't need to be marketed because it's good. Word of mouth is still king when you make a good product. D4 is crap so they had to sell it hard.
welcome back, LD. another great discussion, ty.
A full campaign co-op AAA experience without battle passes, lootboxes or other cancerous monetization also didn't hurt the game's rep.
Really interesting to hear about this from your perspective! Glad this showed up in my recommended
Glad you enjoyed it!
BG3 didn't raise the bar, it put it back to where it originally was.
Was looking forward to this thanks for sharing!
Regardless if it is a new standard, from mechanics, story, and pure user experience aspect, in a year of special games proceeding some years of some very special games bulders gate truly stands out. And if absolutely nothing else i hope the devs and va's especially are proud of themselves, theyve earned that and more
12:18 "Do what ever you want" - its pretty good that they had a scatter gun approach with multiple creators, rather than trying to micromanage them. It wouldn't matter if there was dud content, because at least a few creators would likely create a hit
The bear scene would have fallen totally flat / been just a giggle shared if what it proposed wasn't in line with the entire marketing campaign -- and the game's design.
Which can be summed like this: "Do whatever silly you like. And share it with all world to see." The suggestion was: All bets are off. You can do whatever in this one. INCLUDING getting shagged by a bear.
Which naturally also connected deeply with the D&D / tabletop experience. Which is all about moment to moment improvisation. The game master asking: "What ya gonna do now?" And the players responding, with their fantasy being the limit.
You are exactly the kind of people that I like to watch. You know how to talk, which shows proper education and the will to give positivity to the day of others. AAA Person
I have no idea what you said after 20:25, I was giggling and squeee-ing about the beautiful floof tuxie! 😻
i honestly just want to give larian more money.
i hope some greedy publisher ceo sees this comment and doesn't understand why.
I was telling my internet buddies since the early days of EA that BG3 would one of the biggest and most beloved games we'd ever seen and they laughed at me lol. None of them had ever experienced a good cRPG. I'm pretty sure one of my buddies is refusing to experience the game even still because he hates to be wrong and doesn't want to give me that "Told you so" moment haha. Even if you personally for whatever reason don't find the game itself appealing, there is no doubting that it has made a significant impact.
I can't stand those childish people, admitting you're wrong is a part of being a man
@@unknownGoblin Yeah it is pretty silly. Despite this though I do want to add that my buddy is a pretty cool dude, this is just one of his faults.
Hope you catch him playing it some time, because I'd bet he's playing it alright!
I played the first night I got it and was hooked. I ended up taking PTO from work so I could play it for a couple weeks uninterrupted... That's how damn good the game is. I had no plans to take time off. Just thought I'd play it when I was bored on the weekends or something. Nope. I was hooked immediately.
Speaking about the money they have and the financial security...there is a big difference between Larian and a "normal" Indie studie (not to mention that Larian is actually a bit too big to be considered an Indie).
It should not be forgotten that while Swen Vincke and his wife own enough of the shares of the studio to be in control and the company is not publicy traded there is another shareholder in the back who gives them a lot more financial security than the average Indie: Tencent owns 30 % of the studio's shares.
it would also be wrong to call em a triple a studio. it's somewhere inbetween.
Baldur's Gate 3 put on a clinic for how to recoup microtransactions by squishing your marketing budget into a new model.
You do know the Bears sing was not planned did you even watch the live stream in which the Bears scene happened? The audience was voting for every choice they did during that live stream, so had they not voted because they told him do you want to see what a romance scene is like and the audience voted yes and then proceeded to tell them they might be minor spoilers, so are you sure you want to see a Romance scene
I bought the game for me, my son and a close friend.
Now it is on nearly 700 hours played... 250 in early access.
Currently doing a 3 player mp game and the third playthrough now as dark urge.
One was together with my son. And we loved every moment of it.
Game of the decade for me.
the reason why i played the game is accredited to all of the triple a studios saying that we cannot compare other projects to bg3 as the new standard. if it was so good i had to know why. and damn were they right its so good.
Yeah, they shot themselves in the foot there!
It amazes me that we live in a time where you can pay $70 up front and thousands in microtransactions for a 3 hour-long generic and shitty game, or $60 up front for a game with over 150 hours of unique and high quality content.
What amazes me mord is that sheep will opt to get the short, generic and shitty game over the massive, unique and epic game.
Go look at Call of Duty's community posts on UA-cam. There are people saying "I won't buy a $70 DLC" and a slew of people calling them broke and saying nobody cares. It's baffling how people keep gobbling up slop.
@@LegendaryDropsa lot of those trolls that support modern warfare may be bots
@@LegendaryDrops I've yet to see a complimentary video of MW3!