Baldur’s Gate 3 PS5 Review

thesixthaxis.com:

Baldur’s Gate 3 is proudly described on the PS5’s home page as a “next generation” RPG. That term is thrown around a lot in games, so much that it barely even means anything anymore. It could mean that there’s a significant jump in terms of graphical fidelity or some ambitious game design, but it could also just be a buzzword meant to sell the product – how many times have you played the “next generation” of first-person shooter, and how many times was it basically the same as the last one? Baldur’s Gate 3, however, actually deserves that description.

It’s clear almost from the beginning that this game is something special. It begins (after creating your character, of course) with an unsettling cutscene in which a mind flayer inserts a small tadpole into your eye and you get to watch it burrow up under your eyelid. It doesn’t take long before the game sets you free in the world, though you’re generally pointed towards trying to remove the tadpole from your head. In typical RPG fashion, there are things to do absolutely everywhere and, as you do more stuff, you gain more abilities that allow you to do even more stuff! This includes the usual things like upgrading your lockpicking or conversational skills, but it also includes a couple of relatively unique things.

One of the things about Baldur’s Gate 3 that makes it feel so “next-gen” is the world itself and how you can traverse it. It isn’t just a flat sprawling map, but has a lot of verticality as well, and I found the ability to jump (or fly, or teleport) to be unbelievably useful in a way that gives you the same satisfaction you can find in combat. When you’re in a huge tower and need to get down somewhere in this game, you can cast featherfall and just jump off. You