Baldur's Gate 3 is now the top rated game on Open Critic

Divinity: Original Sin 2, Larian's previous game is #13 and they did that one when the studio was a fraction of the size it is now and on a miniscule budget when compared to BG3. It's just a wonderful studio, full of talent and enthusiasm that starts from the top.

Yeah and dos2 they really figured out the formula. Bg3 feels basically like dos2 but with a lot more story and cinematics, but not to say dos2 didn't already have a ton too. It's a good thing though, both games are amazing.
- Bg3 feels basically like dos2
  
  That was all I ever needed to hear. 😄
- I really like that dice roll mechanic they added in BG3, it's highly satisfying. But yeah, mechanically D:OS2 and BG3 are pretty much the same. I hope BG3 makes people give D:OS2 a try.
I absolutely adore their feedback/early access system.

All games should have an early access like that. Not a shitty way to release a crap full of bugs to steam out, but a very analytic/data and feedback base way to improve the game. Basically giving the players a very large demo that can be easily changed in order to improve it.
I bought divinity 2 when it came out. Haven't played it yet! Still in the back log.
- There are so many hilariously broken builds. You can play it serious or you can go the full comedy route.

BG3 is phenomenal. It feels like it came out in 1998, and that's a good thing.

Have you played Baldur's Gate 1 recently? 2E is a nightmare of THACO and instant death waiting around every corner. Weapons break constantly, mages inevitably hold your entire party, it's very easy to wander off in the wrong direction and die, NPCs have wonky stats that cannot be respecced. Save scumming is mandatory unless you really, really know your stuff.

The writing is still amazing, though.

BG3 does not feel like it came out in 1998.
- Instant death like being thrown off a cliff? :D
  
  Thac0 is not intuitive, but it's not the end of the world either.
  
  And no, you don't need any mage in your party.
  
  Man I feel like we played a different game.
- The lethality of the world in 1&2 contributed to so many memorable moments in them, for me at least.
  
  There’s something different about figuring out step by step how it is even possible to beat the enemy that wrecked your shit as soon as you walked into the room, versus grinding out a more typical battle. I’m not saying it’s better, or that BG3 has to be that way, but it is definitely a big part of this particular series for me.
  
  For example, I have vivid memories of running into mind flayers, and fights with certain dragons, and the demogorgon, and Kangaxx, and even the first time getting to the gnoll stronghold.

You get what you f***ing deserve.

I wouldn't expect that to last long though, a lot of reviewers still haven't played enough of it to give it a rating so right now the sample size is pretty small. Even IGN hasn't submitted their review yet, and usually they're early. The game is just really big.

Ign shouldn't have much issue with it. There isn't too much water
- They get memed a lot about this, but I actually agree with that ORAS review. The water does hurt navigation for a huge chunk of the game.
- However, there are:
  • Jumping puzzles dependent on either high strength or specific spells.
  • Inventory management is critical, particularly grabbing a few emptied crates/chests/backpacks and dumping them into your personal storage chest so you can quickly sort.
  
  Both of those, based on previous reviews, make a decent score from IGN unlikely.
I agree with a lot of your post - but it started at 92, after a few days it was 95, then 2 weeks after release its 97. If anything, more reviews will mean a higher score.
- That assumes everyone is going to be rating it in the 90s, which is far from a guarantee even for games that absolutely deserve it. Especially when the cRPG genre isn't exactly an industry darling.
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Haven't played yet but my friends rave on how good it is that they don't have shell out more money for micro-transactions.

Man, people do love the bear. jk

I'm playing a female tiefling and I was tempted just to see what all the fuss was about

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I'm excited for BG3 but I guess I struggle to see why it needs to be compared to TotK at all. Feels like that is selling both games a bit short. They aren't really that similar.
- They're competing for GotY, probably the only reason they're getting compared.
- Because they're on the same game leaderboard. So they get compared.
- I think it's a fair question that if both are transcendental games, which transcends over the other?
I can't agree it's that easy a win at all. Both are outstanding games, doing very different things excellently
BG3 is immensely good and I'm really enjoying it so far. I have to say I had more pure fun playing TotK and would call it the better game. I love them both though.
- My issue with TotK is it was fun until one day it suddenly wasn't. I explored pretty much the whole map but never finished the main story
Idk about that, it's very very hard to compare the two and to which is better. Objectively, they're both amazing games and very high quality. Think from there, what determines what's better is what your preference is. I like them both for different reasons and can just tell you I'm immersed and having tons of fun with both.
Counterpoint: TotK is running on a 7 year old phone, the fact that it works at all is remarkable
- Seriously. The Switch is a piece of shit and it looks beautiful and plays well and has so much depth and complexity. Sure, it doesn't have raytracing, but have you seen those sunsets?
- BG2 > TotK, but it has nothing to do with hardware
If I want to play a Zelda game, BG3 sucks. If I want to play a Baldur's Gate game, TotK sucks.
- If I want to play a Tetris game, they both suck.
Have you played TotK?
I thought TOTK was great, but it's not like it was good enough to compare good games against. Like, it's just BOTW with a new story and some QOL fixes. It's essentially a $70 standalone DLC. I could probably list a few games that came out this year that I liked better.
- You obviously have not played TotK. It is not a dlc in anyway. I don't know what DLCs you've been playing.
  
  You're basically saying that A link to the past is a dlc with QoL changes to The Legend of Zelda on NES.
- I really don't understand the "$70 DLC" comments. Maybe I'm too old, but TotK is the perfect example of what a sequel is.
- Yeah, TOTK is too similar to BOTW structural wise, it's very easy to get bored of the grind and just do sandbox thing once in a while.(and that's with dup glitch in mind, without dupe those crafty machines won't see the day since the time required to get enough zonites to do the auto build.) I basically haven't even finish the 4 spirits yet (got 3) and decides to play BG3 instead, and that's a good choice, so much more brain engaging in this game as well.(and that's even with save scumming, mostly to see what other paths of conversation go.) The battle is pretty balanced if you turn off karmic dice.(on balanced difficulty.) I only restart battle when I misclick and attacked on my own party.
I haven't even played BG3 yet, but I wouldn't fault anyone for saying this. I lost a month and a half to TOTK and enjoyed every second. It fixed every gripe I had about BOTW, but that's kind of the problem as well. I always felt like BOTW was a glorified tech demo, and after playing TOTK, it felt more like the game BOTW should have been.

TOTK also has its own issues, especially with the story. The story just being told to you and not being something you're really experiencing was a weird choice. I was hoping for Ganondorf's involvement to be more than "it was me Link!" leading up to the final confrontation.

The final boss fight was an insanely awesome sequence though. Easily my favorite part of the game.
- I agree with not really being a part of the story. You do play a part a little more in Totk, but it's still mostly watching cutscenes from the past again. Such a weird narrative to stick to.
  
  Also, did you know that was the imprisoning war?
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Nah.

Glad to see persona v here, twice

If only it came to Xbox :(

I could play on my Deck, but I want to play this one co-op. We still have the Divinity games, which D:OS2 is apparently very similar, but I wanna try this!

If you can connect your Xbox controller to your Deck, you can still play it in Coop, just ignore the gaphics and you're good to go

Im doing thus all the time with my Manjaro Laptop all the time
- Not when the friend I want to play with is a seven hour drive away and only owns an Xbox.
It'll be coming sometime next year. Making splitscreen work on the Series S is holding up development.

Baldur's Gate 3 is the living proof that - at least as far as RPGs are concerned - absolutely nothing happened in the last fifteen to twenty years of gaming. Make one good AAA RPG and people lose their minds over it. I mean it certainly is better than the slob Bethesda served up in the last two decades.

Great game but its not that good. And neither is totk for those discussing it.

It is one the best games in its respective genre. I only play RPGs and this game has easily toppled Witcher, Elder Scrolls, and other games like Pillars of Eternity and so on.

It’s not your type of game, it seems. Not that it isn’t one of the best RPGs in it's class.
- It is definitely my type of game. Crpgs are my jam, this doesnt mean ill blindly praise it as the best rpg ever and it doesnt mean i wont criticize it. The interface really sucks. The tooltips and info on skills and classes are lacking. The decision to move away from real time with pause and small party size changes the identity of a bg game. It is better than many games and i agree it is better than pillars but it is far from the best rpg ever made is all i am saying.
Thank you. Good to know I'm not alone in this, I literally don't understand why this game is praised so much, it seems like it barely works, seems weird as hell, I don't understand the replayability and the gameplay is just.... Clicking menus?