I really don’t know how long I’ve played Baldur’s Gate 3. When I check my Steam account, it says I’ve racked up close to two hundred hours, but I find that hard to believe. When I check my save files, I have four different characters, some finished and others in stasis due to multiplayer sessions that have been held off due to other obligations. But the Baldur’s Gate 3 epilogue has me jumping back in the saddle.
Originally, I was just going to call it quits until an eventual Definitive Edition released or when Larian Studio would announce the final patch for the sprawling CRPG. No, I’m back and I’m deep in it.
It only took a friend on social media to announce that they were playing Baldur’s Gate 3 for the first time, and the moment she started telling me about her campaign I was ready to give the game another shot. (This being the fourth or fifth time.) While I’ve basically exhausted what you can do in the main scenario and completed all available side quests, bar romancing everyone in the cast since I tend to gravitate towards Gale or Shadowheart, I’m in it for the epilogue.
Generally, I don’t have favorable opinions of games that release loads of post-launch content that isn’t labeled as DLC. This is largely because I’m harsh on the current state of the industry, with developers being forced to push out half-finished games for this is a very expensive hobby. Paying $60 to $70 for a half-baked product wouldn’t fly in any other creative medium.
But against my better judgment, and because I’m waiting for games like Granblue Fantasy Relink to release in January 2024, I started up another playthrough of Baldur’s Gate 3. Yeah, I could just load-up an old save file and see the ending that way, but I’ve forgotten chunks of the journey and want to re-experience it. Maybe the game will be more stable now and I’ll enjoy it now that my thoughts on the game cooled. Or perhaps I just want to like this game so badly in the same way that my friends and peers do that I’m willing to sit through another 60 to 80 hours to see what my favorite companion characters are up to post-credits.
I never got a conclusive ending for Karlach. The first time I beat the game, Jaheira literally asked where Karlach was after the final fight (after Astarion sprinted into the depths of the city before nearly immolating in the setting sun) before the game cut to credits. Maybe this time I’ll actually see what happens to Karlach in the Baldur’s Gate 3 epilogue, since I was unmotivated to take her with me in other playthroughs due to numerous bugs that plagued the character. I already know I’ll like whatever they build on with Astarion, Shadowheart, and Gale, and not just because these were my mainstay party members.
But with over 3,000 words added into the epilogue, I’m expecting something meaty and, most of all, fun. Because despite Baldur’s Gate 3 not really having a tone I exactly enjoy, I know that the narration will carry whatever it is that happens. And that it’s OK for things to be a little goofy — which I will expect it will be having seen a GIF of Astarion in bat form on social media a week or so ago.
Regardless, I hope the Baldur’s Gate 3 epilogue serves to round-out the experience and offer a more satisfying ending to the game. Because while I think aspects of the journey were great, the ending felt like a missed opportunity to really elaborate on what your companions would be up to post-game. Or maybe that will show up in future DLC or even installments in the series. Because with Baldur’s Gate 3 winning Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2023, I don’t think this is the last time we’ll be traipsing around Faerun and The Sword Coast.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is available on the PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
