Baldur’s Gate 3 is one of the video games of the year, a title that offers total freedom to players. In this file, we take stock of the essentials to know about this RPG before launching. Release date, gameplay, universe, we tell you everything.
Baldur’s Gate is a saga that brought joy to RPG fans in the late 1990s and early 2000s. She returns to the front of the stage with a third episode that we expected more, the well named Baldur’s Gate 3.
In this file, we take stock of the essential to know before starting. Release date, price, gameplay, universe, we tell you everything! Ready to embark on a new adventure?
WHEN WAS BALDUR’S GATE 3 RELEASED AND ON WHICH PLATFORMS?
Baldur’s Gate 3 was released on August 3, 2023 on PC and Mac, both on Steam, GOG and GeForce Now.
AT WHAT PRICE IS SOLD BALDUR’S GATE 3?
Baldur’s Gate 3 is sold at 60 euros on PC and Mac. On PS5, it is displayed at 80 euros.
A collector’s edition is sold for 259 euros. It includes a copy of the game on PS5 and a code on PC, but also various goodies such as a statuette, an artbook, a cloth world map, a keychain, character sheets for your D&D games or a metal D20. Reserved for hardcore fans.
WHAT ARE THE SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS FOR BALDUR’S GATE 3 ON PC?
Baldur’s Gate 3 is a greedy game and it takes a relatively new PC to run it in good conditions. It is however possible to take advantage of it even if you have a somewhat old machine, but you will have to make concessions on the graphics. Here is the minimum configuration (to play in low):
Intel Core i5-4690/ AMD FX-8350
8 GB of RAM
Nvidia GeForce GTX 970/ AMD Radeon 480
Windows 10/11
150 GB of free space
And the recommended setup (to play in medium, high and ultra):
Intel Core i7-8700K/ AMD Ryzen 5 3600
16 GB of RAM
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super/ AMD Radeon 5700XT
Windows 10/11
150 GB of storage space
BUT BY THE WAY, WHAT’S BALDUR’S GATE?
Baldur’s Gate is what is called a cRPG, a western role-playing game primarily dedicated to the PC. A type of video game that focuses on an open universe, rich, and very permissive gameplay. As the name suggests, we play a role and many choices more or less important support the adventure. The first episode of the saga was released in 1998, developed by a small studio called Bioware. He puts us in command of a hero created by us in a long quest that will take him to the city of Baldur’s Gate, which gives his name to the saga. The player evolves as he pleases in isometric tables in 2D that are full of life and dangers. Real-time semi-battles are based on the rules of Dungeons and Dragons. For good reason, Baldur’s Gate is placed in one of the flagship universes of the license: the Forgotten Kingdoms. He received a critical rave and was a great commercial success. In 1999, Bioware released an expansion, Tales of the Swords Coast, which added many quests.
Baldur’s Gate 2 was released in 2000. If he uses the formula of the first, he sublimates it on all points. Richer universe, gargantuan content, more choices, a compelling story… Next to that, the first episode almost seems like a draft. Even today, BG2 is considered one of the best cRPG in history, if not the best. It hosts an expansion in 2001, Throne of Bhaal, which is actually a third episode disguised as an add-on. He brilliantly concludes the trilogy and the story of our hero.
But this does not mean the end of Baldur’s Gate, since in 2001 also released Dark Alliance on PlayStation 2. Goodbye the role-playing game, since it is a hack and slash to the Diablo. Very good bill, it will be followed by a second part in 2004. These games have little to do with the basic titles, except the name and the universe.
Bioware will no longer develop Baldur’s Gate games, but will continue in role-playing games including Neverwinter’s Nights, Jade Empire, Knights of the Old Republic, Dragon Age or Mass Effect. But the footprint left by Baldur’s Gate is immense in the cRPG world, which without it would not be what it is today.
In recent years, studios have paid tribute to Baldur’s Gate with titles using exactly the same formula. We can mention the two Pillars of Eternity (2015, 2018), Tyranny (2016) or Pathfinder Kingmaker (2018) and Wrath of the Righteous (2021). The latter is one of the richest RPGs ever made and we highly recommend it.
But Baldur’s Gate comes back in 2023 with a third installment. This is what we’re interested in today. Will the king keep his throne?
WHO DEVELOPS BALDUR’S GATE 3?
Baldur’s Gate 3 was developed by Larian, a studio based in Ghent, Belgium. It is a studio specializing in the development of role-playing games on PC and is known for its Divinity saga, which was the happiness of fans of the action-RPG genre during the 2000s.
In 2014, the studio released Divinity Original Sin, an RPG that pays tribute to old titles such as Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Nights. His sequel, released in 2017, is considered his masterpiece and has shown the world the extent of his talent. A real love letter to the JDR paper and cRPG old-fashioned. It was therefore only natural that the studio was entrusted with the development of Baldur’s Gate 3.
WHAT IS THE GAMEPLAY OF BALDUR’S GATE 3?
If Baldur’s Gate 3 takes the spirit of the first two episodes, it does not take the same gameplay. Farewell to 2D paintings, since we now have a world all in 3D. In addition, real-time semi-battles give way to turn-based battles based on the fifth edition of Dungeons and Dragons. Gameplay level, we are closer to an Original Sin 2 than a Baldur’s Gate. For the better?
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At the beginning of the game, the player can choose a predefined character with his story and character, or create his own (which is more in the spirit of paper RPG). Baldur’s Gate 3 offers 11 races and 31 sub-races, as well as 12 classes and 46 sub-classes. Each character is unique, the combinations are extremely numerous and the story and dialogues change according to your origin/ class/ race. During the adventure predefined companions join you to lend you a hand. If you wish, you can even play with a friend, since a multiplayer mode is present.
During his quest, the hero travels many open lands and a multitude of dungeons. The emphasis is on choice, since there are many ways to solve a mission according to your skills or your desires. In short, each part is unique.
WHAT IS THE LIFESPAN OF BALDUR’S GATE 3?
It takes between 75 and 100 hours to complete the game in a straight line and more than 200 hours to do everything 100%. In addition to this, Larian indicates that his game has 170 hours of cinematics. You won’t see them all on your first run, since the story adapts to your character. Baldur’s Gate 3 is in the great tradition of cRPG. It is long, very long. Maybe too long? In any case, once immersed in the game, it will be necessary to clear time to see the end.
Note that this gigantic lifespan did not discourage speedrunners, quite the contrary. Indeed, Youtuber Mae managed to finish the story of Baldur’s Gate 3 in just 9 minutes! For now, his record remains undefeated.
MUST YOU HAVE DONE THE FIRST TWO BALDUR’S GATE TO UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING?
No, because Baldur’s Gate 3 is not a direct sequel to the first two games. Larian has developed a whole new story that happens a century after the previous episodes. So there is no need to memorize the adventures of Bhaal’s child in order to understand everything. However, connoisseurs should see a lot of winks and references.
However, if you want to make the first Baldur’s Gate, they have been remastered with the Enhanced Edition. Available on Steam, these versions allow you to enjoy them in HD with the current config. There is even a bonus episode that connects the two games.
FORGOTTEN REALMS, A RICH AND TRANSMEDIA UNIVERSE
Baldur’s Gate 3 takes place in a universe called The Forgotten Realms, and more particularly on the continent of Fenerun. We do not have a universe specially designed for the game, since it is a very complete transmedia world created by Ed Greenwood in 1975.
Originally designed to serve as the setting for Paper Role-Playing games in the 1970s, the world of the Forgotten Realms quickly became a staple of the Dungeons and Dragons license. Very classic in its approach to fantasy, it has the particularity of being extremely rich with dozens of kingdoms, hundreds of cities, villages, peoples and many regions to explore. Moreover, it is very codified, at the limit of the school. For example, each character is defined by his class. A real asset for the JDR. It was quickly enriched by many novels and fan fiction. We particularly recommend the trilogy of the dark elf by R.A Salvatore, which tells the story of a leading character of the universe: Drizzt Do'Urden.
The video game was also immersed in this universe, with titles like Pool of Radiance or Eye of the Beholder in the early 1990s. But it was Baldur’s Gate that blew it up on this media. There are now a dozen video games taking place in Féérune, such as the Icewind Dale, the Neverwinter Nights, the MMO Neverwinter or the action game Demon Stone.
More recently, the world of forgotten kingdoms has been brought to the big screen in the friendly movie Dungeons and Dragons: Honor of the Thieves. Part of the action takes place in Neverwinter, a town just north of Baldur’s Gate that we’ve already visited in… Neverwinter Nights.
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