I’ve reached Act Three ofBaldur’s Gate 3, and I’ve just arrived at the Goblin Camp for the first time. That probably doesn’t make sense to those of you who’ve played the game, since the Goblin Camp is one of the first major locations you stumble across in the game. But it’s because having just reached the sharp end of my adventure, I’ve decided to start all over again.
My second playthrough wasoriginally a co-op playthrough with my wife, but over the first few hours that gradually changed into me watching her play by herself. It still feels like ‘mine’, at least a little bit. I created a character who remains in the party, and I know she’s never going to play without me, so we’ll make it through together. In my own time, I’ll return to my first playthrough and finally finish the game. But I’m in no rush.
I’m less bothered by Baldur’s Gate 3’s main story than I am by the smaller interactions. It’s smarter than most fantasy games, presenting you with a medical problem you must seek a cure for rather than a generic big bad to fight. That lets you embrace each corner of the world in desperate hope, rather than follow a trail to an inevitable showdown. It feels like aDungeons & Dragonsadventure, one as devious as it is thoughtful. But despite its strengths, it’s not the main draw for me.
Eventually I will trace the origin of the tadpole and liberate myself and Baldur’s Gate itself, but I care far more about the character interactions and smaller stories than I do the main plot. Conversations that delve into how the characters landed in these situations is more compelling than trying to climb out of them. That’s why starting over is so easy - I get to see it all again.
Playing it in co-op offers a fascinating new perspective too, especially as co-op quickly evolved into some light backseat driving. If I was replaying the whole thing myself, I’d be constantly in my own head. ‘What did I do last time?’, ‘What happens if I don’t do that?’, ‘Who did I take on this quest last time?’, and so on. InMass Effect, I’ve done full Paragon and full Renegade runs, but the more layered the game is, the harder it is to set defined parameters. In my first playthrough, I just reacted to every situation as best I could, trying to be a good person but ultimately taking whatever response made the most sense in the moment.
On a second run, I’d be constantly thinking which choice doesn’t make sense, or at least makes the second most amount of sense, to differentiate my responses. With my wife making the choices, that doesn’t matter. Some things are the same, but most of what we see is very different. Not only that, it’s revealing how much depth Baldur’s Gate 3 has. In my own second playthrough, I likely would have played the same way, only making different dialogue choices. But she approaches quests in different orders, from different vantage points, and with different companions, and that means she’s getting conversations and scenarios I never even saw.
When she does encounter the exact same thing I did, and responds in the same way too, it’s still worth seeing again. The main draw is the characters themselves and the conversations you have with them, so seeing these play out again and wondering where they will head is an essential reason to dive back into Baldur’s Gate 3. It’s like watching your favourite movie over again, except this time there might actually be a different ending.
There’s nothing wrong with my original playthrough. No grave mistake I’m avoiding, although the points of no return have cut off some of the game for me. In due course I’ll be back in Baldur’s Gate alone to finish everything. But until then, a second playthrough while the experience is fresh reminds me why I fell in love in the first place. Playing this way means it’ll take me longer to finish, but the journey is better than the destination. If taking the scenic route means I get to stay in the world longer, then sign me up for another go around.
