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TapTap Game of the Year 2023 #1: Baldur’s Gate 3 - the new gold standard

2K View2023-12-21

In a year of astonishingly great games, there was one that captured the hearts of players around the world, not to mention those of the editorial team here at TapTap. Baldur’s Gate 3 is our 2023 Game of the Year, and we’re confident that it’ll be remembered fondly in the years and decades to come as one of the most important games of our time.

At every turn, Baldur’s Gate 3 wants to give you more: more options, more spells, more story, more drama. It opens with the crash of a dimension-hopping mind flayer ship, in the wreckage of which you’ll encounter the first of many memorable companions who will join you on your journey. Your first goal is to rid your brains of the invasive psychic parasite that’s been placed there by the squid-faced mind flayers, but every step of the journey draws you deeper into a darker and far-reaching conspiracy that leads all the way back to the high reaches of power in the city of Baldur’s Gate itself.

This is the Dungeons & Dragons experience I’ve been waiting for - Baldur’s Gate 3 Review

https://m.taptap.io/post/6197631

On every level, Baldur’s Gate 3 is a triumph of craftsmanship. Its story is expertly told, giving players almost unprecedented freedom in determining what threads they want to chase down, or which objectives to prioritize. Each act offers up massive new areas to explore, from the forests of the Sword Coast to the forbidding caves of the Underdark and the Shadow-Cursed Lands.

Every character is fully voiced and motion-captured, and brought to life by unforgettable performances and excellent writing. Ask any Baldur’s Gate 3 player who their favorite character is, and they’re likely to breathlessly explain which three they’re madly in love with. High elf rogue Astarion has a certain biting wit many players have found irresistible, but Karlach the rock-and-roll tiefling barbarian, Shadowheart the gold-hearted Shar cultist, and the fearsome Githyanki warrior Lae’zel are no less memorable.

You can choose to play as any of these characters or create your own, and either way, they’ll become part of your party while maintaining their own motivations and goals. Each character has secrets they may choose to reveal if you gain their trust, too—each of which can radically change the course of your adventure.

The enchanting cast of characters also help make Baldur’s Gate 3 an incredible showcase for Dungeons & Dragons, which has seen a revitalizing renaissance over the past several years. Sure, there are still the dark stone passageways, bearded wizards, and kobold brigands that have always featured heavily in the roleplaying system, but, along with many actual play podcasts and livestreams, as well as the rollicking Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves movie that premiered earlier in the year, Baldur’s Gate 3 shows that there’s plenty of room in the Forgotten Realms for everyone, and for stories that can be deeply personal as well as epic.

In the thirty-five years of official Dungeons & Dragons video games, none has ever captured the popular imagination the way Baldur’s Gate 3 has this year. It’s a truly historic achievement, and one that opens up exciting new possibilities for the RPG genre as a whole.

For now though, we’re happy to join countless other Baldur’s Gate 3 players in starting another playthrough.

Check out the rest of TapTap's Game of the Year 2023 picks at this link, and share your own choices in the comments or by making a post and using the tag #TapTap GOTY 2023.