Since its release at the beginning of August, I’ve been slowly and patiently working my way throughBaldur’s Gate 3. A lot of people finished the game on opening weekend –368, to be exact– but not me. I’m just getting into Act 2, which is slow in comparison to some of my coworkers. I put an hour or two into the game a couple of times a week, which has led me to have clocked up roughly 20 hours so far, but considering players’ reactions to Act 3, I’m kind of glad I took things slow.
When Baldur’s Gate 3 first came out, people were astounded by its depth and the lack of bugs. So was I. Though my game did crash once, I’ve had a bug-free experience with Act 1, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time. But it’s also worth noting that Act 1 was in early access for three years, giving the team plenty of time to polish and refine it. This was always going to be the least buggy of the acts.
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Players now getting to Act 3, though, are finding themselves unpleasantly surprised by the number of bugs and a general feeling of the act being unfinished,as reported by IGN. It’s far less polished than the rest of the game, with players saying it “feels like act 3 wasn’t tested at all” and bringing up serious performance issues. Many also said they felt the endings were severely lacking and incomplete in comparison to the first two acts.
Larian Studios, for its part, is doing its best to patch as much as it can, as quickly as it can. Its first patch was astonishingly big, addressing “over 1000 bugs, balancing, flow issues” and more, according to the patch notes. Players have said, though, that Act 3 remains largely broken, and the patch hasn’t done enough to improve the experience. Larian’s second patch is coming soon, featuring “major performance improvements” and “begins [Larian’s] journey incorporating feedback into Origin Character epilogues”. These things are getting fixed, but it will take time – possibly a lot of time.
Most players are sympathetic to Larian because, after all, it has created a mammoth game with incredible systemic depth and some of our favourite characters of all time. (Mine is Karlach, for the record.) It has one of the all-time highest Metacritic scores, despite the bugs, which is a testament to its overall reception,though I don’t think it’s necessarily crucial to judging the game’s quality. People who dashed through the game are getting disappointed, but thankfully, people like me who have taken their time might be spared. As patches keep coming in, Act 3 will likely get better and better. By the time I get to the ending, I will be having a very different experience from those who finished the game on opening weekend, with less bugs and hopefully a more fleshed-out ending.
I’m upset that my slow progress has meant I’ll have to balance Starfield and Baldur’s Gate 3 next month, but I’m glad that I’ll have a better overall experience with the latter. Starfield might launch broken anyway, in typical Bethesda fashion, but that’s fine – I’ll just do the cycle all over again and take my time while the bugs get fixed.
Next:I Simply Do Not Have Room On My PC For Starfield
