Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur’s Gate 3 is a role-playing game developed and published by Larian Studios. Released for Windows on August 3, 2023, it reached PlayStation 5, macOS, and Xbox Series X/S later. It is the third main game in the Baldur’s Gate series, but its story takes place more than a century after Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn. The game uses a modified version of Dungeons & Dragons fifth-edition rules and begins with a mind flayer nautiloid abducting the player character and implanting a tadpole in their eye.

The nautiloid is attacked by githyanki raiders led by Lae’zel’s people, forcing an emergency landing near the Sword Coast. Although the tadpole should transform its host into a mind flayer, it instead grants unusual psionic abilities while the transformation is mysteriously delayed. The player can create a custom hero or choose one of seven Origin characters: Astarion, Gale, Lae’zel, Shadowheart, Wyll, Karlach, or the Dark Urge. Their personal quests intersect with a conspiracy involving the Absolute, a new religious movement commanding armies across the region.

Among the recruitable companions, Shadowheart is a cleric of Shar, carrying a mysterious artifact that protects the party from the Absolute’s influence. Gale is a wizard from Waterdeep who conceals a dangerous magical condition connected to the Netherese orb in his chest. Wyll is known as the Blade of Frontiers and has a pact with the cambion Mizora. Karlach escaped the Nine Hells after being fitted with an infernal engine that now powers her body. Astarion is a vampire spawn seeking freedom from his former master Cazador Szarr. Lae’zel is a githyanki warrior determined to reach a creche and cure the tadpole.

The campaign travels through settings, including the wilderness, the Shadow-Cursed Lands, and the city of Baldur’s Gate. In Act Two, the party confronts Ketheric Thorm, an immortal general whose power is tied to the Absolute and the Nightsong. Act Three, the city is threatened by the Netherbrain, while Enver Gortash and Orin the Red compete for control of the crisis. Player choices can determine alliances, companion romances, quests, and the fate of entire communities; the game supports turn-based combat, dialogue checks using ability scores and proficiencies, and extensive environmental interaction. At The Game Awards in December 2023, Baldur’s Gate 3 won Game of the Year.