WARNING: Spoilers are highlighted with black

Introduction:

I finished playing Baldur’s Gate 3 (BG3) for the first time on February 2026. It’s a critically critically acclaimed RPG that was released in 2023 by Larian Studios and most of its mechanics and worldbuilding are based on the 5th edition of Dungeons and Dragons. It’s worth mentioning that I haven’t played any of the previous installments of Baldur’s Gate so I can’t compare this game with its predecessors.

My General Impression:

I really like RPGs, I love creating my own characters and have them make decisions that affect the settings they’re in. And BG3 is soooo good at this, it features such great freedom of choice in a well thought out way that very few games actually manage to do. Another element that I greatly enjoyed in the game are the maps. There was something to do in every corner! More often than not, big games like that feel very empty. I also love the turned-based combat it offers, I understand why some people think it’s dull, but personally I find real-time combat exhaustive and I like having time to plan things out.

Now it's time for listing the flaws. I wish it featured a better starting tutorial because I wasn’t familiar with the mechanics of DnD at all before I had played the game. It took me an embarrassingly long amount of time to even get the basics. Also, the worldbuilding of DnD and therefore of BG3, is not amazing. It’s very typical high fantasy stuff as one would expect. For example, all of the goblins are evil, so most of the drows, deep gnomes and duergar. There isn’t much nuance. But maybe it was for the best I suppose, because that way things are easier to understand and I didn’t have to learn three novels worth of lore in order to get what’s going on. My last complaint is that the overwhelming majority of companions and pretty much all the important NPCs are humans or elves or half-elves! It drove me crazy considering there are many other races available in the game.

My Character and the (most important) Companions

The Custom Character: The custom character I created for my first playthrough was Mirla, a deep gnome ranger. I played her as someone who has good intentions but doesn’t always make the right choices. As I said, most of the other characters are humans or elves so she stuck out like a sore thumb. I don't regret picking a gnome though at all. In my opinion, small races (gnomes,dwarves and halflings) make interesting protagonists in fantasy settings since they're underdogs and get made fun of.
In my playthrough I freed Orpheus, fought against the Emperor and commanded the Netherbrain to destroy itself and the tadpoles. Mirla turned into a Mind Flayer as a noble sacrifice and chose to imprison herself in the ending. That’s considered a good ending and I’m glad that I got to do it on my first try.

A picture of Mirla during Act I :)

Lae'zel is a githyanki fighter. As most of the githyanki, she was raised in a very militant society that instilled in her a strong sense of honour and zero tolerance for showing vulnerability.
She was surprisingly likeable and cute even though she looked down on every other race and wanted to deal with every single issue through intimidation and violence. She was also not ar human/elf/half-elf and that’s another reason why I ended up liking her so.
In the finale she left with Orpheus to help her people.

Shadowheart is a gothy half-elf cleric. After a few hours of gameplay, it is revealed that she’s a worshipper of Shar, the malicious goddess of loss.
Despite her mysterious past and edgy appearance, she was one of the kindest and most reasonable companions. She also was one of the best written ones to me and the more information about her past was revealed the more intriguing she became. Plus, I loved her voice it was very soothing.
I wasn't able to prevent her from killing Nightsong because I’m dumb, but I helped her restore her memories, forsake Shar and save her parents.

Astarion is a half-elf rogue with suspiciously red eyes. After like 2.5 hours max, it is revealed that he’s a vampire. On top of that, he was a slave for 200 years before the events of the game! He’s one of the most beloved characters online so even if you’ve never played the game, there's a great chance that you’ve encountered horny art of him.
He's very sarcastic. Sometimes in a hilarious way, sometimes in an annoying way. Due to his very painful past, I couldn’t really be mad at him for being an asshole. He had plenty of vulnerable moments that I enjoyed though. I understand why Astarion is so popular with the fans and I really liked him as a character, but he just didn't do it for me.
It was very cathartic when I let him kill his master, Cazador. I chose to not let him ascend because that required letting so many people die.

Gale is a human wizard. He has what is best described as a magic ticking time bomb inside his chest, because he flew a bit too close to the sun.
Gale was a wise and funny (in a gentle way unlike Astarion) guy. I barely used him and I'm not sure why. As a result, I don’t really have anything remarkable to say about him.
I didn’t let him become a god, that would have obviously been a bad thing.

Wyll AKA Blade of Frontiers is a human warlock who has sworn to protect people from monsters. There’s a dark secret beneath his heroism and friendly demeanor: He gave his soul to a cambion in order to obtain powers and his father exiled him from Baldur's Gate because of that.
Wyll was easily my favourite companion. I’m a sucker for nice, righteous characters who hide their sadness. I loved his backstory and every time I think about it I get emo. I didn’t romance or even slept with anyone in the game because I’m a dull person, but in my next playthrough I’m going to do his route.
I saved his father even though that renewed his contract with the cambion. Moreover, he assumed the title of the Blade of Avernus instead of becoming a politician, which I think is for the best.

Karlach is a tiefling barbarian. Despite her intimidating appearance, she’s very sweet and cheerful. Karlach was also a slave before the events of the game AND she's a ticking time bomb. Give her a break.
Another popular character, and I can see exactly why. It was so nice seeing a strong athletic woman who was not mean or evil. She was also very powerful so I always had her at my party during combat.
In the finale of my playthrough she went with Wyll to Avernus to fight demons. I loved that cutscene it was adorable.

The (less important) Companions:

Halsin is a druid elf. He was OK. I didn't make much use of him, but he was helpful when I invaded the goblin camp.

Jaheira is another white-haired half-elf just like Astarion. She's a druid too, just like Halsin! It bothered me so much, I wish there had been more variety. She has some interesting quests in Act 3 with the harpers. After finishing the game, I learnt that she’s originally a character from Baldur’s Gate 2

Minsc is a human ranger. He was basically the stupid muscular comedy relief character who refered to himself in the third person. I liked him and his hamster fine, but I didn't make use of him at all. He's originally from BG2 too.

Minthara is a drow paladin. I didn't recruit her because I didn't know it was an option! I killed her in the goblin camp... I will make sure to recruit her it in my next playthrough she seems interesting.