I loved what I played ofBaldur’s Gate 3. I think I was closing in on the end of Act 1 when theStarfieldreview code arrived in my inbox, and was struggling with a lot of decisions. Who deserveda place in my party? Had Ibuilt my character all wrong? Hadthis ugly hatI picked up irrevocably cursed my playthrough? Should I pretend my Xbox exploded so I could stay on the Sword Coast?
Baldur’s Gate 3 had been a complete surprise to me. I got caught up in the pre-release hype, and Larian’s RPG more than lived up to my hastily-formed expectations. Even the little church that serves as a tutorial hasfour or five different solutions, most of which I’d never have thought of in a thousand years. Baldur’s Gate 3 was slowly teaching me that everything I knew about video games was wrong, as every expectation was turned on its head and I felt truly in control of the story playing out before me.
Related:I Killed An Owlbear Cub In Baldur’s Gate 3 And I Hate Myself
But I had to play Starfield. I’m not going to pretend to be upset about that. I’m a bigBethesdafan and this was one of my most-anticipated games of the year. And overall, it lived up to my lofty expectations. The story was great – in a Bethesda game, yes! – and the faction quests that I played were similarly exciting. However, the exploration let it down significantly. I mean, you can read the full review for a more expansive article about my thoughts on the game, but you get the gist. I liked it, but something was holding me back from loving it.
For the most part, that thing was exploration. Cracks show in Bethesda’s procedural generation and the planets without side quests are barren and dull. However, there was also something in how Bethesda presented its RPG choices that felt old-fashioned, especially in the wake of Baldur’s Gate 3. There were multiple quests where I had two clear options that I struggled to choose from, but I knew the results ahead of time. It was the Megaton nuke all over again. It’s the Paarthurnax dilemma. It was HELIOS One again. Yes I know that last one was Obsidian, but it’s also 13 years old.
For nearly every major decision in my playthrough, the results were entirely transparent. To avoid story spoilers, the game essentially asks you if you want to save Person X or Person Y. Do you want to go here, and A happens, or go there, and B happens? Everything is scripted, even before you gain the ability to read minds. After that, it’s practically game over.
This is just Bethesda’s way of doing things. It wants to place the moral choice on your shoulders, and it does give the decisions a sense of gravitas. I ummed and ahhed over some for minutes. But it’s not how Baldur’s Gate 3 does things, and that bugged me.
Baldur’s Gate 3 does the exact opposite. You make your decisions as you play through the game, often willy nilly. ‘Oh, this trivial question won’t impact me later on,’ I foolishly thought on many an occasion. Reader, I was wrong. Whether you’re kicking squirrels, assassinating warlords, or flirting with party members, every decision you make impacts your game in some unforeseen way. Maybe not immediately, maybe not beneficially, but I tread carefully around every conversation now, because I’ve been burned before.
My biggest regret in Starfield is [redacted], but I believe I made the right choice overall, even if it broke my heart. My biggest regret in Baldur’s Gate 3 is killing an Owlbear cub, because I thought I had an egg that would hatch its sibling in my possession and genuinely thought I was putting it out of its misery. In a Bethesda game, I would have saved the cub in an instant. In a Larian game, I have to live with my decision and wash this innocent blood off my hands.
Ultimately, Larian reflects real life far better despite its fantasy setting. You don’t get to make every decision regarding your family, career, or anything else knowing the predetermined outcome of each choice. Baldur’s Gate 3 feels real, and it makes it feel like I am truly in control of this adventure, for better or worse. I had no idea that helping Karlach would curse Wyll. I didn’t know that allying myself with Halsin would eliminate the option of recruiting Minthara as a potential companion. Maybe there was a way of recruiting both. Because that’s the other thing Baldur’s Gate 3 has over Starfield, or any other Bethesda game for that matter: there are a thousand possible solutions to every problem, and you’re only limited by your imagination.
When you’re stealing a priceless trophy in Starfield, Bethesda tells you all your options up front. You can steal it, persuade someone to give you it, or kill everyone on board. I rolled persuasion and got lucky, but knowing the options limits the thrills. I want to work out how I can solve this puzzle for myself, thank you very much.
It feels harsh to say it, but playing Starfield so soon after Baldur’s Gate 3 felt like playing the Horizon games. They’re good fun, but each was immediately overshadowed by Breath of the Wild and Elden Ring respectively. Both Horizons followed their formulas well, but launching so close to games that brazenly eschewed conventions and shifted entire genres forced them into relative obscurity. Starfield is a Bethesda game, and if you like Bethesda games, you’ll enjoy it. But Baldur’s Gate 3 feels like it’spushing RPGs forwardsin more ways than I thought possible, and will be remembered fondly for doing so. Larian has created an RPG like the ones we used to play, and it’s somewhat ironic that it therefore feels light years ahead of its time, and leaves Starfield as a galaxy-sized speck of dust in its rearview mirror.
Next:Baldur’s Gate 3 Already Has More Scousers Than 99 Percent Of Games
