Baldur’s Gate 3: Is It Still Worth Playing in 2026?

Baldur’s Gate 3 launched in 2023 after going into Early Access in 2020. This massive RPG has over 15,000 possible endings, won five different Game of the Year awards, sold over 15 million copies, and takes place in the classic Dungeons and Dragons universe. It sounds amazing. Now that we’re in 2026, the big question remains. Is it still worth playing?

The answer? You’re damn right it is. In fact, it easily holds its title as one of the best RPGs 2026 has to offer, and remains one of the most beginner-friendly D&D games you can play.

The following post has small spoilers. If you’re here looking for whether or not to play the game, don’t worry. I have them hidden in spoiler tags. I’ll post a full in-depth review with major spoilers later.

Confession Time

I’ve got a confession to make. I’ve never played Dungeons and Dragons. I want to play it but it’s never been something that was overly popular in my friend circle. Recently though that seems to be changing, and it looks like D&D is on the horizon for me. So, going into Baldur’s Gate 3, I had almost no knowledge of the universe or the lore.

My main source of knowledge came from Stranger Things. I knew about Mind Flayers. Of course, the TV version was more slang than an accurate representation of a Mind Flayer, but you get the point. Jumping into this game without that knowledge or without playing the original Baldur’s Gate or Baldur’s Gate 2 presented a slightly worrying problem.

Would I understand anything? Would I need a vast knowledge of the D&D universe to have anything make sense? The answer was no. Baldur’s Gate 3 stands on its own, and it does it beautifully.

Companions and Unforgettable Interactions

Let’s talk about the real reason I’ve poured so many hours into this game. The Baldur’s Gate 3 companions form the core of the entire experience. I gathered a party of deeply traumatized, beautifully mad characters to form a makeshift family.

My playthrough introduced me to Shadowheart’s desperate search for her parents, Gale’s status as a magical time bomb, Astarion’s traumatic past, and Karlach’s infernal engine heart. As I progressed, I started to learn about their hidden motives, learned how to soothe their deepest fears, laughed at their camp banter, and stumbled into sexual romances. The game forced me to genuinely earn my party’s trust.

I won’t lie to you. The infamous Halsin bear scene from the launch trailer massively influenced my purchase. I’m a huge pervert. Yes, women can be perverts too.

But the amazingly written cast quickly became my favorite part of the gameplay loop. Karlach was one of the highlights. She’s a towering, badass Tiefling barbarian with the relentless, pure-hearted energy of a golden retriever.

I couldn’t ignore the impressive level of talent bringing these characters to life. I experienced fully motion-captured, BAFTA-winning voice acting throughout the entire campaign. With character models that display realistic micro-expressions, subtle vocal cracks, judgmental eye rolls, and intense moments of grief. All of this culminates into a fantastic gameplay hook. I found myself genuinely, desperately caring about whether or not a bunch of digital pixels approved of my life choices.

Baldur’s Gate 3 takes everything you think you might want in a video game and makes it a video game. But it also has its flaws.

Turn-Based Combat, Barrelmancy, and Gravity

I usually gravitate toward action heavy games like World of Warcraft, Assassin’s Creed or Conan Exiles. So I was a little skeptical of the turn-based combat. If you spend five minutes on the BG3 subreddit, you’ll see hundreds of posts from people saying, “I hate turn-based combat, but I love this.” Now I get why.

Combat in this game is a wild, environmental puzzle. You can coat the floor in grease and set it on fire. You can hoard explosive barrels in your inventory and stack them around a boss before the fight even starts (a highly effective tactic the community lovingly calls “Barrelmancy”).

But the undisputed king of Baldur’s Gate 3 combat? Gravity. There is nothing quite as satisfying as looking at a terrifying, high-level boss who happens to be standing a little too close to a cliff edge, and realizing the ‘Shove’ bonus action is available. Watching a massive threat scream as they plummet into a bottomless chasm never gets old. The combat gives you permission to be as clever, cheap, or utterly ridiculous as you want.

The d20 System and Gameplay Mechanics

I get that the d20 is a huge part of Dungeons and Dragons, and as such it rightfully finds its place in Baldur’s Gate 3. I love the system. It makes you feel like you’re playing a tabletop game. Never having played the TRPG, I’m only basing that on my own experience.

The problem with the dice in a video game is the lack of skill progression. You can go through the majority of the game and not need to develop any mechanical skill. You roll the dice, you hope you get lucky, you deal higher damage, or you unlock a door. It inevitably leads to “save scumming” which is reloading your save file five times just to pass a dialogue check. (Don’t judge me, we all do it). It’s the only real flaw that I found. That, and one specific character decision if you make a choice he doesn’t agree with.

Storytelling That Demands Your Attention

A few years ago I took a course on creative writing based around script writing for movies. On the first day, we learned that every beat in your script has to make you want to read the next line. It’s called ‘dangling causes’ and is used to create narrative momentum. The whole idea is that we, as the observer — in this case game player — should never feel like we’re caught up on all the answers.

The example they gave us was a Twilight script. It isn’t my favourite movie series but for the purposes of this analogy, it works. The script detailed the opening scene with someone running. In that first line of the script I had questions. Who was the person? What were they running from? Where were they going? Is it human or animal? How are they going to die? Who made that sound? How are they moving so fast? What are they chasing? All of that from the first 4 lines on a script.

It’s an important storytelling tactic because it keeps your attention and your investment. You want to get the answers because that’s how our brains are programmed. Baldur’s Gate 3 does this perfectly.

As time goes on, you get the answers. It isn’t just one scene doing this. It’s the entire game.

Your Choices Actually Matter (No, Really)

Your choices dictate the game itself. In Baldur’s Gate 3, every single choice you make changes things. Every dialogue option alters your path. Every decision impacts your relationships. Every action leads you to your ending.

If you want proof that your choices matter, just look at the “Dark Urge” origin. Half of the game’s fan base will tell you that playing the Dark Urge (or “Durge”) is the definitive way to replay the game. You can play an amnesiac with horrific, intrusive thoughts of violence. You can give in to the bloodlust, or you can resist it for one of the most compelling redemption arcs in gaming history. Entire scenes, quests, relationships, and companion reactions mutate if you play Durge. It is quite literally a different game.

The ending itself is steeped in your decisions. Do you make the right choice and become the hero? Do you make the evil choice and take everything for yourself? That’s one of the beautiful things about Baldur’s Gate 3. Larian Studios created the world and the text. How the game goes is entirely your choice.

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About the Author: Jess

Jess is a gamer, writer, hobbyist developer, and virtual world business owner. She has built a brand based in gaming and virtual worlds over the past 5 years.

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