Baldur's Gate 3 review: the RPG that raised the bar

Baldur's Gate 3 is widely regarded as one of the greatest role-playing games ever made, and this Baldur's Gate 3 review looks at whether it is still worth playing in 2026. Developed and published by Larian Studios, the team behind Divinity: Original Sin 2, it left early access on PC on 3 August 2023 and arrived on PlayStation 5, Mac and Xbox Series X|S later that year.

The game became the first to win Game of the Year at all five major industry award shows, including The Game Awards 2023, and it has sold well over ten million copies. Based on Larian's official information, published reviews and player reports, here is what makes BG3 exceptional, what to watch out for and who will enjoy it most. Story details are limited to the opening premise.

What is Baldur's Gate 3 about? (no spoilers)

Set in the Forgotten Realms world of Dungeons & Dragons, the game opens with your character abducted by mind flayers, who plant a parasitic tadpole in your brain. It should transform you into one of them, but it doesn't, at least not yet. Instead, strange new powers begin to awaken, and you set out with other infected survivors to find a cure.

You can create your own character or play as one of the origin characters, such as the vampire spawn Astarion, the wizard Gale or the cleric Shadowheart, each with personal stories. A special origin called the Dark Urge offers a darker path. How you use the tadpole's powers, resisting or embracing them, shapes everything that follows.

Choices and freedom: why BG3 stands out

Baldur's Gate 3's biggest achievement is how thoroughly it responds to player choice. Quests can be solved through combat, conversation, stealth, spells or creative use of the environment, and characters remember what you did. Dice rolls based on D&D rules decide many conversations, and failure often opens new, interesting paths rather than ending the story.

This reactivity makes replaying the game genuinely different, which is why many players finish it several times with new characters, classes and moral choices.

Combat: turn-based tactics with D&D rules

Combat is turn-based and built on Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. Your party of up to four characters uses positioning, height, spells, items and the environment, for example pushing enemies off ledges or igniting oil. There are twelve classes, and Patch 8 added twelve more subclasses on top of the originals.

Players who enjoy tactics will find huge depth. Newcomers can lower the difficulty, and there's no need to know tabletop D&D beforehand, but the number of spells and rules can be intimidating early on. For veterans, Tactician and the single-save Honour Mode offer a serious challenge.

Characters, writing and performances

The companions are the soul of the game. They have their own goals, opinions and relationships, and can approve or disapprove of your choices, sometimes leaving the party. Performances are consistently strong: Neil Newbon won Best Performance at The Game Awards 2023 for playing Astarion. Romance options are a popular feature, and they include mature scenes.

Co-op, crossplay and platforms

Up to four players can play the whole campaign together online, each controlling their own character, and two players can share one screen in split-screen mode. Patch 8, released in 2025, added cross-platform play, split-screen on Xbox Series S, a photo mode and new subclasses. Earlier, Patch 7 brought an official mod manager, including curated mods on consoles.

The game is demanding in its busiest city areas, where some players report frame rate drops on lower-end hardware. PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X all offer a good experience, and a native Mac version is also available. There is no Nintendo Switch or Switch 2 version.

Weaknesses: act 3 and time commitment

Reviews and players commonly point to the third and final act as the weakest part: it is large and dense, and at launch it suffered from more bugs and performance issues. Many of these have since been improved in patches, but the pacing can still feel crowded.

The game is also long. A thorough first playthrough typically takes many dozens of hours, and many players report more than 100. If you have little free time, be prepared to play it over weeks or months.

Who should play Baldur's Gate 3?

With no in-game purchases and years of free updates, it offers outstanding value for its price.

• Fans of story-rich RPGs and tabletop Dungeons & Dragons
• Players who enjoy turn-based tactics and experimentation
• Friends or couples who want a long co-op campaign
• Adults only: rated PEGI 18 / ESRB M for violence, gore, sexual content and language
• Less suited to players who want fast real-time action

Key specs

Developer / publisher

Larian Studios

Release date

3 August 2023 (PC); PS5 6 September 2023; Mac 22 September 2023; Xbox Series X|S 7 December 2023

Platforms

Windows PC (Steam, GOG), macOS, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S; also on GeForce NOW

Genre

Role-playing game with turn-based combat

Rules system

Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition

Multiplayer

Up to 4 players online; 2-player split-screen; crossplay since Patch 8

Age rating

PEGI 18 / ESRB M

Metacritic

96 (PC and PS5)

Alternatives to consider

• Divinity: Original Sin 2: Larian's earlier turn-based RPG, with similar freedom and excellent co-op.
• Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous: A huge, rules-heavy tabletop-style RPG for players who want even more complexity.
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt: A story-driven fantasy RPG with real-time combat for players who prefer action to turns.

Frequently asked questions

Baldur's Gate 3 is the rare game that lives up to its reputation. Its freedom, characters and tactical depth set a new standard for role-playing games, and Larian's free updates have made it richer, more social and easier to share with friends. It asks for a lot of time, its final act is uneven and it is strictly for adults, but for RPG fans it is essential in 2026.

How we research: Reviews are based on the maker’s specifications, published independent tests and owner reports. Scores compare the product with others in its class.