Baldur's Gate 3 - Before You Buy 

Quick tip. First major battle that is 30 to 40 minutes. Save right after. The game doesn’t auto save after the battle not at the celebration.

I bought this game immediately after hearing a multitude of other game developers were saying, "Don't expect us to make this level of game."!

Nothing like watching a before you buy right after I bought the game

Voice Actor for Zanner Toobin here, it’s so stupidly awesome to see how much people are loving the game. BG3 fandom are truly the GOATS! 😊🤟🏾

I’ve never played a CRPG. But I’ll give it a try with this game!

Gameranx still making videos after 11 years is respectable dedication

I'm playing a single player campaign as a Half-Orc Ranger and a MP with my brother as a Dwarf War-Cleric. The racial and class differences have already made some major changes and it's already felt like a completely different game several times now. Also in my SP campaign I defeated a miniboss with some positioning and cheesing and knocked them into a cavern. I got the XP, they certainly died, but I didn't get the loot. It was early on and I figured meh, the XP was the real reward here because I was probably slightly too low of a level to be fighting that and winning anyway, so I let it go. 3 levels and hours later I found the body in the underdark, and got the loot. My characters even commented about how it looked like it fell a LONG way. That's some attention to detail, most games would just say meh it's gone, delete the NPC, but not in this game.

Hard for me to get a table top DnD session going. Hard to do with with a busy life. A game like this that virtualizes that experience without needing to trouble a DMaster? Perfect! Can do it with friends too? Even more impressive. The fact too that you can romance characters and approach situations in so many different ways makes this a very entertaining game!

The fact there’s so many different outcomes to situations, makes this so replayable and immersive. I absolutely love this one.

Didnt even need a "before you buy" for this game. The fact that other AAA devs were bashing the game because of its grand design told me all i need to know. Instant buy

I love how much the combat system rewards thinking a bit, without even entering exploit or cheese territory. Sneaking around for reconnaissance, splitting the group for flanking, using the high ground, funneling people into choke points, none of those are abusive but standard, common sense ways of approaching fights. Last time I played a CRPG (many years ago) you just had to make sure your tanks stood in the way to protect your casters.

The game not autosaving often is actually one of the best feature for me. That way i can quicksave before engaging key moments and try different dialogue options. Best game of 2023 and one of the best RPG of all time, hands down.

I've never played a game like this but from the great reviews to seeing the freedom of choice and honestly if nothing else to support a developer that believes in giving a full experience from the jump with no micro transactions is enough to purchase the game. After seeing so many devs complain about this game as an anomaly and not to be expected from other studios makes me want to support it that much more.

Honestly after three hours it’s just wild to me how many choices there are and how impactful they can be. The amount of stuff you can just walk passed and not even look at which actually was important is so cool

"Just one more minute" I cannot describe how true this statement is for me. Now this is coming from someone who had NO dungeons and dragons experience and in fact I despise most and every RPGs I've played. This one couldn't be more different. I cant stop playing it, it feels so great to be immersed in a world FINALLY. I could never see the appeal when its just a boardgame and thought it was lame AF to have an entire boardgame around thinking about almost everything and total imagination. Seeing it in a video game world completely made me fall in love with the genre and I keep saying to myself just one more minute. Had this gameshared with me from my brother who's friends bought him the game. We have almost complete opposite schedules so I can play his games and he can play mine basically whenever. He told me about it and I downloaded it (Took me 6 hours due to insanely slow internet which is also why I rarely like trying new games especially those within a new genre). Couldn't be more hooked and I wish everyone to at least try the game, even if you think D&D is lame or boring or nerdy or whatever give this game a try and then give a final opinion because if you can't get immersed into an RPG with this game then genuinely there might not be anything to get you into the genre. Genuinely people try this game I HATE medieval (Skyrim, chivalry, etc. I have always been a shooter / BR guy for a lot of my gaming years) I HATE fantasy, I HATE RPGs, anything this game has I hate but playing this game made me change my opinions on all this stuff and I am hooked on a genre and game I wouldn't have seen myself playing in a thousand years. Thank you for listening to my ted talk y'all, it just feels so good to finally be passionate towards a game considering how seemingly difficult it is to get totally enthralled in the game like when you're a kid. I haven't felt this level of passion and joy towards a game since H1Z1: KOTK (Best gaming experience ever hands down) and that game has been dead for over 5 years now. Thank you Larian for making this game and I hope this game gets all the recognition it deserves.

I am not typically into this type of game but I have absolutely fell in love with this game. It is astounding the amount of content they have.

One thing I'd recommend to newer or casual type players in a game like this; don't be shy about the easier difficulty mode. These games tend to be pretty tough and are more than happy to kick the crap out of you for not understanding everything about them. If you're new and just want to have a fun time in this massive world- turn the difficulty down and use that to learn at an easier pace. *I have learned that Multi-classing is for some silly reason turned off for default Explorer mode. There's a super easy workaround if you still want to multiclass though, just play on the CUSTOM difficulty instead- turn down everything that you think you might want toned down to a lower difficulty but turn ON multiclassing. Takes like a minute to set up. :D

As a non D&D player I am so hyped for this game. Since I was never lucky enough to gather people to play D&D this seems like the best chance you can get to play it by yourself. Definitely going to buy that when I can spare the money ^^

I bought this game as soon as it came out in Early access. I played through the early access version by myself and with friends COUNTLESS times. When this came out as a full release I don't think I've ever been more excited for a game than this one. I am a big DnD fan as well so having a pretty true to life game version of its current 5E rule set (with certain tweaks) is really enjoyable. I have recommended this game to friends who have never played this type of game or probably normally never would. However every single one of them has continued to praise it and played nothing else except this since its been released. I would easily say this is one of the best releases of the year, and definitely one of the top CRPGs ever made. Larian did an exceptional job with this one, and the fact they actually are ACTIVELY listening to fans and their feedback to make improvements/changes shows they truly cared. If only this level of commitment and care was a standard across the industry,

As someone who finished the BG1 and 2 back in the day, this looks awesome. My main worry is that I don't have enough time to meaningfully play it, as it doesn't seem like a very casual game and I have less time then I used

Game developer that respects the player base and delivers. So rare in game developers they’re the one only ones left.

I bought this game 3 years ago just to show my support. It was worth every penny.

Hadn't much fun playing a turn based game since The Lord of the Rings The Third Age back in 2004. Well done to Larian for this incredible game

I've been playing multiplayer with my buddy and I've had a couple of crashes so far, and the autosave feature doesn't go as often as I'd like. But beyond that, this game is amazing

I think Larian has finally established themselves as "The guys you call when you want a kick ass RPG". They have been crushing it. Watch out AAA devs, the new kids on the block ain't messing around

The simple fact that this game gives you real rewards for and encourages off the path exploration hits me the best

It really is an amazing game. I haven't been this pleased with a game in a long long time, it's been so long since a game just totally sucked me in. I feel like I'm a kid again playing Baldurs Gate 1,2, and Neverwinter Nights. I can't think of a game in the last 10 years that made me feel like this except maybe the Witcher 3, and Red Dead 2.

I like how I've never really heard of Baldur's Gate before now, but it's kinda the only new release I'm interested in because it looks so different from everything else that's been releasing. This year's been the year of the remake/remaster but this game is interesting and seemingly sprawling with effort.

Playing this game with friends is a shockingly accurate recreation of playing Tabletop Dungeons and Dragons with friends. Especially the tension of watching each players' turn, knowing every player's decision gives an important nuance to the situation makes group play really dynamic. And the satisfaction of finding where you're useful to the group. And when you're playing solo, masterminding a solution using your tools, environment, and party is so satisfying.

I never liked turn based combat in games but this game seems so deep in everything else that I'd probably forgive the combat and just play the game for what it is. Looks like you could get deeply immersed in to this game.

This actually makes me want to go and build a PC just to play it. I've been considering building one but expensive ya know? Well this game might push me over the edge and finally go and get the parts!

This was my first hardcore RPG, I played a bard. Honestly you will stumble a bit with the combat at first, but pretty quickly you get pretty good at using the most of your team

The characters are what impress me in BG3. Your companions are ALL very interesting, clever and have very strong personalities and even individual mannerisms. No copy/pasted animations. Even down to their minute facial experessions. I don't think I've ever had a hard time deciding who to romance, theres usually only one option I really like. I have some tough choices ahead (lets be real it's gonna be Astarion)

Don't know if this one is for me but I always appreciate a game studio that doesn't forget their main audience and water down the game that made them in order to "appeal to a wider audience". Everything doesn't need to be for me and I'm cool with that as long as people who are into it are happy.

Thanks for the video Jake! Haven't picked it up yet, but I definitely will at some point! I loved BG2, DOS2, etc., so I have no doubt I'll enjoy this one.

The amount of replayability in this game is INSANE. From character builds that have subclasses that you can multiclass that you can subclass. The fact that those builds affect dialogue. The choices you make the can really affect the game seemingly every 5 minutes, including main characters dying. Like there are multiple Wrex moments, some quite early in the game. Just the branching paths of branching paths of branching paths. Its truly the most impressive thing about this game. No game has ever come close. I mean I always thought it was crazy that people played Mass Effect 3 with Talia when she died for me at the end of 2 but in this game its like, "Oh all those things that did or didn't happen to that major character in your playthrough? Interesting... I barely remember that guy. I killed him in act 1." Again the branching storyline tree would be a mile wide if you wrote it out on a wall. I swear 50% of the development team spent the entire development time just writing. The variations a single dialogue can take.

IT'S AMAZING. I played the pre-release and it's different enough I'm not bored. The story is MUCH better. I love it.

Haha, jokes on you, I already bought the game. Your well thought out reviews will not thwart my blind impulse purchases today!

This isn't really my type of game, but i will absolutely buy this to support Larian. Finished games with love and effort put into them always need to be supported.

this is the only series/channel i go to when i'm contemplating buying a new game!

Great to see a CRPG doing this well in 2023!! The fact that Larian is continuing to make these while Obsidian is making 3d games like outer worlds makes me happy at least.

Actually I think the controller support for this is one of the most impressive parts, I would never even consider playing a game like this on controller, but its a really good implementation especially if you are playing on a TV and the UI is too small for you

Just started playing this recently after never playing a CRPG or a single game of DnD, and I pretty much agree with everything Jake says here. It can seem a bit daunting at first, but once you get a hang of the combat, everything clicks. I also realized pretty early on that this game is so dense with stuff to do/check out/explore that there's no point in trying to get through it quickly. I highly recommend it.

Been playing with my brother using local co op, it's been a blast. Just like when we were kids playing Baulders Gate on the PS2

The sorcerer goes in. Caster is just fun in general imo. Game in general is just lore rich doesn’t even feel like a hassle to go around the world. like other turn based. You guys are 🐐

Hey, Jake! Thank you for the before you buys!🔥

A few of my friends did a one off DND campaign because I was curious about it and I wanted to play. It lasted about six hours and I honestly really enjoyed it. I thought DND was more of a really hard to understand takes months to get into sort of game and I personally never cared but after that, I got really into it the possibilities the imagination it was honestly just really cool then I heard about baldurs gate three DND taken into a video game world. and coming from a gamer I was immediately intrigued. Then I found out that the entire campaign was playable multiplayer and I got even more excited. I decided to play with one of my friends after we convinced each other that the game was worth $60 We are currently playing the entire campaign together and from my experience, not knowing a lot about DND or playing really any games like this. It’s extremely difficult in the beginning, but given four or five hours you pretty much understand the entire combat aspect and from that point forward, you’re just having a blast. The story is absolutely mind blowing. The characters are funny spicy and so full of life. I recommend this game to anyone with the money and anyone with even a little bit of interest, I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Been playing this game like crazy i encountered bug where characters carry weight got stuck to encumberment mode, (even when i was below the limit of it) so i rerolled new playtrough and been having a blast i go trough every nook of encounters on hardest difficulty and sometimes you just have to accept sacrifices like Jehira lost will to live soon as we met, jumped straight into Wall of fire + bladestorm combo and that was it for her.

00:00 Introduction to Baldur's Gate 3 and its significance as a new Dungeons & Dragons game 02:00 Character creation, quests, and the immersive world of Baldur's Gate 3 04:00 Combat mechanics, challenging encounters, and environmental hazards 06:30 Resource management, resting, and the importance of food in the game 09:37 Gameplay and Immersion 11:01 Save System and Directionlessness 12:28 Quest Progression and Confusion 13:09 Cooperative Play and Controls 13:54 Graphics and Performance 15:05 Review Summary and Community Feedback

The cool thing about it is Larian have been actively seeking this project for years. After Divinity 1 they approached WotC and asked if they can develop Baldurs gate 3. WotC said we like you but you dont have enough experience and games in your portfolio for us to trust you yet. Larian said okay Bet. Made Divinity 2 one of the greatest rpg games every made and then WotC approached them to make this game. Theres a lot of love in this and it shows.

I'm buying it... not cause I generally play this kind of game or even will but cause this is the kind of effort, love and finishing I want to see in games

I have a good and evil save on this game, and I must say they are both very enjoyable. The story is so customizable depending on your actions, It’s unlike any game I’ve ever played. I highly recommend slaughtering the grove.

Bravo !! Larian for pushing the mark as of creative and extensive RPGs, great to see what gaming has come too !!

I played the original baldurs gate a couple years ago. Loved it. Some games are timeless.

I decided to go with a Dragonborn Druid. I've never played DnD before but I did try out a roll20 experience based on Elder Scrolls one time but that never worked out. Overall I'm enjoying the gameplay and I hope to be spending many hours on this going forward!

this looks really great, congrats to the team and community - I see that you can teleport, can I please darksouls styled combat version? realtime combat with combos? that's my dream come true, thx and have fun fam

Damn, waiting for the PS5 version to release is going to be torture. I'm so excited to play this!

I had no idea BG3 was made by the same people who made Divinity 2. I LOVE that game and it was extremely reminiscent of D&D. Now that they made a game officially backed by D&D, I cannot wait to play it!

First game ive ever pre ordered! So excited for this on PS5. Thank you for the review and as always thank yall for some of the best content out there!! Been lookin for physical of this but ill have to go digital on thus one but 72 hour early access isnt too bad! I want to creat a dwarf and a half ling so bad but i also want to platinum but get lost in just havinf fun. I love the interaction of how your choices literally shape your character and the game

As a long time old school CRPG and pen-and-paper D&D player, this game is right up my alley. The only thing that makes me hesitate is having to manage 4 party members. If the coop is good though then I can probably convince some of my D&D mates to do a playthrough.

God this is the first game in years to make me want to play on pc, been too comfortable playing consoles for the last years that my pc probably can’t run this

Never played a crpg but the more I hear about it, the more excited I get! This sounds like everything that I've felt was missing from modern rpgs.

Wow what a great (first impressions) review! Very detailed and expertly written

I never got into D&D, but I've dabbled in a few CRPG's. Those didn't really click with me, but the choices you can make in the story plus the in-depth combat really makes me want to try this game. Plus, it's basically a giant middle-finger to AAA gaming, what with missing all the microtransactions and such. Still on the fence, but it looks good

Don't usually comment on your channel, but after watching this video, I did another thing I've never done. I've never bought a game the same YEAR it came out, much less the same week, but I am so glad I did! Easily one of the best RPG's I've ever played, finally unseating Skyrim for me. So thank you for that! And keep up the good work!

Viola a underrated fighting game character from Soul Calibur V and the only female fighting game character I've ever loved and mained across all fighting games I played will be my character on BG3 since I'm on a relentless spree to insert her everywhere since Bamco abandoned her. Day 1 Steam Deck/Gaming PC player here. Downloading now on PC.

My friend and I spent an hour and ½ trying to take down the introduction boss you're "not supposed to defeat". It was somewhat of a pain, but if you're running a barbarian you get a sick flaming great sword that will last quite a few levels.

I've been tracking Larian Studios since 2002, when Divine Divinity came out, i loved their earlier games (Divine Divinity, Beyond Divinity and Divinity 2: The Dragon Knight Saga) because they were good old fashioned hack'n slash games, much like the Diablo series, turn-based only came with the Original Sin series. Loved every single one of those games, especially for the storylines ^^ and don't forget the wicked sense of humour :)

never played a game like this, just bought it to support a company that compared to all the tripple A studios seems to be on the right path with fans and values, i actually started it yesterday and it is god damn georgous

A few things that I really liked when I played the beta was that combat encounters weren't necessarily fixed to be combat encounters. In the gnoll fight at 6:37 you can use your mind flayer abilities to persuade the gnolls to attack the people in the cave. Afterwards the gnoll leader comes back to you saying they're still hungry, in which you could persuade them to attack each other. Once the other gnolls die, you can persuade the gnoll leader to canabilize itself for food. An entire fight avoided thanks to 1 spell, Crown of Madness, and the mind flayer leech.

I thought i wasnt gonna buy it when i saw this video like 2 weeks ago . But today i bought it . I never played dungeons and dragons . Completely new to this . But it looks cool . And i see it coming up everywhere . In 6 hours im gonna start the journey . Letsgooo

Very smooth on my PS5 btw, I love it. It plays a lot like Dragon Age, you have a party of 4 and you get to customize and outfit them how you like. You can play as any 4 at any given time, and all of them have unique missions and background stories. Combat is turn based but once you start leveling up it gets really fun. Just an amazing content dripping game.

Game works great, I had one quick save that got corrupted and I had to revert to the previous one. Luckily it was just a few minutes of rollback. Very impressed so far with the story, combat and just about everything. I play a high elf paladin and I love the roleplaying that keeps me in check as paladin as I love helping ones in need

I’m on Xbox and I haven’t played a game like this before however just from the overwhelmingly good feedback I wanna buy it to support the studio so hopefully more games this (apparently) good keep getting made

I've been working on getting a very generalized Warlock/Bard off the ground. Not getting very far into the game for all the restarting and rebuilding, but I am having a lot of fun.

Im usually a life simulation/casual farm game girl and i have 50+ hours and three different campaigns, all still in act 1 and i keep finding new ways to approach encounters and situations. I love this game and its characters so much

Thanks Jake! Always love a good before you buy.

Thank you for your great review! I really appreciate how you give tips and pointers without spoiling anything important about the game! Great work!

for anyone who may not know: when you let volo dig around in your eye if you keep going your eye will fall out and hell give you a fake eye that let's you see invisible creatures who get too close to you

I was going to say something really stupid and arrogant but if people like this game … good on them and the devs ! This is what gaming is about there’s all types of games for every type of player !

this game is like the definition of RPG

I played Early Access and the game has changed in so many ways. Even going from the final EA patch to this release version, I am noticing so many changes. The game looks even better. Some balancing. Quite a few QoL changes (mostly from the early days of EA, but some new ones too). This game is a masterpiece and I can't wait to explore as much as I can. (I'm also so interested to see how the game changes now that it is released. Sure there will be some stability patches. But in the past Larian has included some surprises as well).

I gotta say man.. I really enjoyed your review. I wanted to play the game anyway but you really sold me on it. You did an awesome job reviewing. Keep up the good work.

Been playing since early access and I love the final result!! Been so fun I like the multi classing and the respect options, they definitely made some changes in the tutorial mission

Final Fantasy, Elder Scrolls, Elden Ring, no matter what RPG you've played, Dungeons and Dragons IS the grandfather of them all.

Started playing since yesterday night and yeah, a few hours in, it’s pretty awesome. I know there are some discussions out there on whether it’s really an heir to BG2, but when it comes to how it makes me feel, it’s like being thrown back 23 years.

This looks like one I can actually get into, tried out a few crpg games but could not get into them at all and I love rpg games, this one looks cinematic ands different take on the genre

One thing I had to acknowledge about this game is that you need to let lose and have fun with the role play. Commit to your class and race. It all counts.

I need to say that gameranx reviews are the only reviews i trust at this point. The fact you guys maintain your composure in the face of something as amazing and standard setting as BG3 has confirmed my faith in your judgment is not misplaced. Please keep doing what you do for the community and continue to hold the industry to a standard acceptable to the community they deliver to. 😁

I was on the Beta. I'm super happy with how it's come out. The prologue level is much shorter, so you're in the actual game proper sooner. The new items and the proficiency bonus skills allows for a lot of variety in combat. I love having the option to play the NPC characters. I'm super excited to see what's beyond Act 1.

I don't typically like turn-based combat games, but i might have to try this. It looks amazing!

Nice, I wonder if the fuzzy-wuzzy Owlbear four minutes in is a band name inspiration for Boston's Owlbear and its first release Chaos To The Realm...😉 I also find the sound of the dice roll immensely satisfying.

For a few guys from Long Island, NY, Gameranx and Jake are world class reviewers. Consistently great and entertaining content. Keep it up! Much success!👍

I played DnD 5e for about a year, and I am so excited for this title. It's been a really long time since I bought a game close to launch and even paid full price for. What I especially love is how Larian puts so much money into BG3 and don't shove MTX down our throats. I hope it sends a strong signal to "treeple a" studios that this is what we want from them.

Im quite unsure if I should go for it. I played few hours in divinity 2 years ago and it didnt clicked with me. Not sure if it was the control scheme with the click and everything or just too convoluted for my taste. Yet I think the story and especially the characters seem super promising and fun to Explore more of. So yeah should I go for it when I was unsure with divinity 2?

I’ve always been intrigued by DND but I’ve never been able to find anyone that I could play with which was sad so I never really got to experience that table top game. I never played any of the other DND video games before I had been intrigued by this game, but when I learned it was for PC I was like oh yeah not gonna play because I’m not a PC gamer, but I had watched other RU-vidrs that I like including this channel and then when I found out it was gonna come out for the PS five🎉 I have been planning to buy a PlayStation five, but had not done it yet, because I was waiting for the price to go down some but then I was kind of disappointed at the time when I bought it that there was not physical copy of this game, but I couldn’t wait for one because I had been studying learning all that stuff about this game and the high praise it was getting so I had already saved up enough to buy a PlayStation five also extended memory storage device as well and enough to purchase this game digitally. I was going to have three days off of work the moment I got out of work I went over and got it, and I have been loving itso much😊 I was planning on doing a Dragonborn barbarian, but then I ended up picking a warlock and forgive my spelling tilfling then later, I picked my Dragon barbarian, and then a Drow vengeance oath paladin, who was also a dark urge

I've already purchased this game for console to have it as a proper sit down and play for a good few hours type game, but this game just looks and feels perfect for the Steam Deck! Also now that it is verified on the Deck, it opens up so much versatility to the game! Maybe having a full on roleplay character for my console, but then having a more jokey cliché character for my Steam Deck playthroughs would be a nice idea!

I'm so impressed with this game. Played it for the first time today, multiplayer together with three friends and wow. This is something special

I had doubts before purchasing this game, but now I am already freaking 50+ hours into the game! hahaha

Silent watcher for decades. It is now part of my buying process to ALWAYS watch 'Before You Buys'. Outstanding work!