It was never really going to be any other way, was it? Larian’s long-awaiteddice-rolly,sex-packedRPG has cleaned house this awards season, and while there were certain splinter groups attempting to make a last-second push forTears of the Kingdomto claim the crown,Baldur’s Gate 3isDualShockers' Game of the Year for 2023.
So to celebrate Larian’s triumph, while sneaking a bit of self-branding into the theme of the piece, we’ve gathered the DualShockers team to recount their most ahemshockingmoments in the game. From amazing revelations about the depth of the game’s combat system mid-battle, to key decisions that lead to devastating outcomes, and general WTF-ness that shows off the game’s immense freedom to think outside the box, and really screw things up for yourself if you’re not careful.
So behold our recollections as we pay tribute to the best game of the year (and, let’s be honest, one of the best of all time) by revelling in its potential for chaos.
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The Last Light Inn
Robert Zak - Features Lead
Up until this point in Act 2, I wasn’t quite aware of the scope to which your decisions or actions could affect outcomes. Sure, some people lived or died here and there, and from what I understood you could really mess things up at the Druid Grove in Act 1, but by and large things had been pretty smooth sailing for me.
Then along comesIsobel,Bloody Isobel, the mage whose force-field at the Last Light Inn was protecting all the Harpers and Tieflings (who I’d saved earlier) within it, preventing them from turning into shadow-cursed zombies. When Flaming Fist Marcus came to steal her away, I did all I could to protect her, but she just refused to protect herself; I turned her invisible, she’d cast some pointless spell to break it; I’d lay a carpet of thorns out to protect her from incoming enemies, she’d run right over it to fight those enemies. In the end, I concluded that this wasn’t a fight that was meant to be won.
Mandid it put the game’s ruthless implementation of consequences into perspective.
When, after the fight, the force-field dissipates and turns dozens of people - many of them familiar faces,faces I’d rescued- into zombies who I then had to slay, I thought it was a tad brutal, but also that it’s just how things were meant to go. So imagine my shock when it turns out that youcansave Isobel, and that all that death, which locks you out of tons of quests and content, was preventable. Did I enjoy this moment? Hmmm, not really, especially given how Isobel’s AI kept unravelling some pretty shrewd strategies of mine, butmandid it put the game’s ruthless implementation of consequences into perspective.
It was a harsh, devastating moment that earned my respect, forcing me to be mindful about every decision I made from that point on.
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The Blood Of Lathander +1
Matthew O’Dwyer- Evergreen Editor
I’m going to bend the rules a bit and touch on two moments, because one of them doesn’t deserve more than a mention. My most surprising moment, or at least one of them, was fairly early on in Act 1. You’re looking for the Githyanki Creche, and your search leads you to a monastary full of Githyanki. There are several surprising things here, but for me, it was hunting down The Blood of Lathander.
The golden light was shining. It looked dazzling on my paladin.
The puzzles and all were very fun, but the striking moment was walking into the chamber with The Blood of Lathander waiting inside. When I walked up to the mace, I noticed it was sitting there in a way that looked like a trap. How could it not look like a trap? But I’m a greedy little goblin, so I snatched it right out of its resting place. It was beautiful. The golden light was shining. It looked dazzling on my paladin. That’s when it all turned ugly.
A doomsday device had been activated. I had to destroy the crystals surrounding The Blood of Lathandar or escape within a limited number of turns. Escaping sounded great, but wait! If you escape, the doomsday device will go off, killing everyone inside. I couldn’t decide what to do. Staying to fight was risky, but running meant the entire monastery would be destroyed. Needless to say, I stayed and fought.
Unfortunately, after delaying the doomsday device, I had an altercation with the Githyanki and had to kill everyone in the monastery anyway. I didn’t want to do it. I felt I… owed it to them.
My second moment… It’s early into Act 1. Can you guess it? That damned barn.
What the… I mean Larian, we knowthings are pretty horny in the world of Baldur’s Gate, but I haven’t been that traumatized by a barn since The Walking Dead.
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Doomed, Detected And Caught
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I found myself in the House of Hope — the lavish abode of the antagonistic cambion Raphael. As I wasn’t immediately confronted with death and hellfire, I developed a false sense of security. I thought I might escape hell unscathed with the object of my desire if I played everything perfectly.
It all went off without a hitch; I fooled the Archivist, destroyed the provocative incubus, got the Orphic Hammer and broke Hope’s chains. The escape sequence that ensued was tense with ramping music and an unshakeable feeling that I was on a timer, even though I knew from a previous quest that you get a physical turn timer when that happens.
Saying I felt doomed would be an understatement.
Just inches from freedom, Raphael arrived to block my escape. After we received a thorough dressing down from the acerbic devil, I simply implied he was often premature in his carnal relations and the fight immediately kicked off. I was terrified. The fight was completely optional, and every character had warned me not to trifle with Raphael. This had to be one of the most difficult fights in the game, right?
Then I heardmusic. The all-powerful creature I foolishly antagonised had a fully-voiced operatic accompaniment. Saying I felt doomed would be an understatement. After more than a couple of attempts, I did triumph over the archdevil’s heir. As powerful as Raphael is, Gale’s magic missiles always strike true. Hands down, one of the most surprising and gratifying experiences I had in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Infiltrating The Goblin Camp
Jeff Brooks - Evergreen Lead
I think what really stands out to me when looking back on those early hours in the game—when it struck me just how thoroughly some encounters and scenarios were designed—was at the goblin camp in chapter 1. I played through this area a few times (a couple of times solo due to rerolls, and another time in a co-op playthrough). My first time through the area, I took a fairly standard D&D adventuring party approach. I attacked the goblins at the gate, then I attacked the goblins outside the temple’s entrance, so on and so forth, moving from one bloody encounter to the next. But the subsequent ventures through the area really hammered in just how varied an approach you can take.
The level of player freedom within the confines of such a narratively driven experience is extraordinary.
You can sneak into the camp, you can chat with the goblins on your way in, you can smear Warg dung on your face to appease a prankster at the gate. You can intimidate your way in. You can poison the drinking grog outside the temple, thinning out the guards without having to lift a blade. You can sneak in through the rafters above. You can waltz through, acting like an ally. You can waltz inbeingan ally. You can knock enemies — and even bosses — into a spider pit. You can accidentally get knocked into the spider pit, befriend said spiders, and join forces!
Not every scenario in the game is as varied and open-ended as this one, but a shocking number in the game are. Larian created so many fantastic systems and subsystems that work together beautifully and do a great job simulating that feel of sitting around a table with friends coming up with creative, complex solutions to often simple problems. The level of player freedom within the confines of such a narratively driven experience is extraordinary.
Baldur’s Gate 3
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