Maybe ‘Baldur’s Gate 3’ Did Ruin Gaming for Me a Little

I hopped on the Baldur’s Gate 3 bandwagon really late. However, I was tuned into all the non-spoiler discourse surrounding the game. A growing sentiment began to form as I took all the impressions in. Baldur’s Gate 3 was such a layered, complete, euphoric experience that it diminished other titles.

That’s a loaded statement! Even my all-time favorite games can stand alone while I gleefully enjoy others — within and outside those genres! Baldur’s Gate 3 changed everything, though. I noticed it while my partner and I played Epic Mickey: Rebrushed. Granted, we aren’t that far into it. But, so far, it’s fine! It’s cute! I love platformers, and it’s refreshing to play something that doesn’t have the emotional heft of a Baldur’s Gate 3!

But, man, would I be lying if I said that BG3 didn’t feel like an ex you have the most passionate time with — only to have to eventually move on and think about them all the time. We aren’t even done with Baldur’s Gate 3 yet and I’m already thinking about different classes to play, other choices to make, the variations between romance options. Meanwhile, there’s Mickey Mouse, splattering paint all over paint monsters or something.

‘baldur’s gate 3’ is the sweetest blessing and the most devastating curse

I’ll save my other game-playing experience related to BG3 for this week’s Waypoint Weekend entry. Still, it’s as if Baldur’s Gate 3 entered my life and rewrote all the rules and conventions of gaming. In that game, do you know how many times I was shocked to discover that Larian accounted for so many “player-minded variables”?

In RPGs, you traditionally play by the game’s rules. Yes, you can experiment in some ways when it comes to combat, but overall, spells have a set function. Which makes sense! Games would take a whole decade to make if all RPGs adhered to Baldur’s Gate 3‘s free-range experimentation! But, we’re talking about a different kind of beast, I swear.

An ice spell in any other RPG may freeze your enemies. At worst, it’s just another elemental tool in your spell kit. Which is cool! In Baldur’s Gate 3? An ice spell hurts enemies. Creates icy surfaces for anyone to slip on and go prone. Puts out fires. Interacts with water to freeze it. If you splash an enemy with water while they’re Chilled (once you use an ice spell on them), it freezes them where they stand for a turn.

In Baldur’s Gate 3, the rules are whatever the hell you say they are! Your limits? Your imagination. If you want to try and turn a difficult enemy into a sheep and toss them off the side of a cliff to avoid a lengthy struggle, you can do that (which I did)! In Baldur’s Gate 3, I’m whatever I want to be. In Epic Mickey? I’m a rat with a paintbrush, forced to paint within the lines.