Baldur’s Gate 3is… well, I don’t think I even need to preface this article by explaining what the game is; you already know, so let’s keep it brief. It’s that D&D game with the white-haired elf, the fiery red lady, the angry green lady, and Gale. Yeah, that should do it.
Despite the fact that Baldur’s Gate 3 doesn’t love me back, I could sing its praises all day. Some days, I probably have. I spent 120 hours finishing the game my first time around,meticulously and cautiously ensuring I saw the most of what the game had to offer. I got to know each companion in-depth, and was set in my ways as the core decision maker of the adventure. I was, after all, the main character.
However, I recently got around to trying out the game in co-op for the first time, and true to that of actual D&D, it didn’t take long for me to realise this was an entirely different beast.
I’m No Longer The Protagonist, But Just Another Guy
For the first time, the adventure was not solely in my hands, and it was honestly such a relief. Despite the companions going through the same Illithid situation as you, albeit with much more interesting backstories, playing the game single-player still makes you feel like the core protagonist. You make the decisions, even for the companions, and can directly control them at will.
Of course, you’ll have your own interesting backstoryif you decide to take on a Durge run, but still.
But now, I wasn’t the only player. I wasn’t in control of everything and everyone, and I had to accept that things could - and would - happen without me. This was such a refreshing experience in what I thought had been an experience I’d already had.
I’m usually a lawful-good ‘talk my way outta things’ kind of person, and my co-op partner is… less about the talking. And honestly, this could not be a greater pairing.
A Parallel Playstyle Made All The Difference
What really surprised me was when I started to see scenes I’d never seen before, despite playing through the opening chapter several times. My partner’s differing playstyle meant that I was suddenly seeing things as a result of actions I would never take, within an adventure I was still taking part in.
You know that guy with his brain exposed on the Nautiloid? Yeah, usually I leave it or squelch it with my hands. I’ve seen it die and I’ve seen it run off - y’know, just the usual activities for a brain. But here I watched as my co-op partner brute forced it from the skull and began to have a conversation with it, before it joined their company as a follower.Excuse me?
It’s a very simple thing, and something I’ve never seen purely because of how I’ve played the game, but the fact that this realisation was taking place like 30 seconds into this extensive game, I knew I was going to be in for a completely different experience. From further scenes I’d not seen, to battles I’d usually reload, it soon became chaotic in a way that the best D&D adventures do, and I couldn’t be more excited to see what third-party consequences I’ll be subjected to.
