PURE MAGIC

BALDUR'S GATE III is a dream RPG that was worth the 23-year wait

- Fraser Brown

After spending 160 hours unravelling conspiracies, setting fire to monsters and finding increasingly fancy hats for my Bard, I can now confidently say that Baldur's Gate III is the greatest RPG I've ever played. If I wasn't writing this review, I'd be rolling a brand-new character and jumping in for another hundred hours. I've got it bad.

It's my dream game: the best parts of Ultima, Baldur's Gate, Planescape: Torment, Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Divinity: Original Sin. But it also does so much more than tap into the RPG greatest hits, finding a way to unite disparate philosophies like cinematic storytelling, unhinged sandbox mayhem and tabletopstyle roleplaying. Yes, it says, you can have your cake and eat it too.

And boy is it absolutely massive, as deep as it is wide. Each of the three acts could be their own epic RPG, jam-packed with elaborate dungeons, strikingly memorable quests and unique stakes, supported by systems that offer a huge amount of player freedom. It is a game overflowing with crossroads, with every step conjuring up yet more paths trying to seduce you off the beaten track.

VENTURE FORTH

The opening act sees you wrestling with the revelation that you've been infected with a parasite - a tadpole - that will eventually transform you into a monstrous mind flayer, stripping away your identity and free will as you become an agent of the Grand Design, attempting to bring about a universe where everyone is an evil squid monster. But that initial shock quickly makes way for a free-wheeling wilderness adventure evocative of classic D&D escapades.