Baldur’s Gate 3 has been the talk of the gaming community ever since its release. Everybody wanted to play the game for its great dialogue and gameplay, but many also wanted to jump in for Astarion’s sake. Despite everybody’s undeniable thirst for the resident vampire man, the game wouldn’t have gained a lot of traction if it were released half-heartedly. Baldur’s Gate 3 proved that big developers are capable of doing more for one-time purchase games, even without copious loot boxes or battle passes.
To nobody’s surprise, the game won in multiple categories during the Golden Joystick Awards 2023. Swen Vincke, CEO of Larian Studios, had the smile of a man who was suffering from success while he struggled to carry all of the awards Baldur’s Gate 3 won.
One award isn’t enough, but these awards are the fruits of the collective efforts of the people who worked on the game. Many competitors in several categories were also notable games with outstanding performers, so for Baldur’s Gate 3 to win in seven categories, including the Ultimate Game of the Year Award (UGOTY), was no easy feat to achieve. In the UGOTY alone, there were at least 19 games that Baldur’s Gate 3 was up against. Most of them also had a lot of support from their fans, or became popular early on in 2023.
Baldur’s Gate 3 set the bar higher, and gamers began expecting more from other large video game production companies. After experiencing what the full game could offer, many players have decided to push back against battle passes and other forms of micro-transactions in the gaming industry. The award-winning title was not perfect upon release, and there were major bugs at the last act of the game that almost spelled its doom among many players, but Larian Studios was quick to make changes and continue improving the game. Perfecting a game can only be done if the developers listen to their playerbase, and it seems that they’ve excelled in just that.
(featured image: Larian Studios)
