Recent reviews by Shadey

This game has absolutely overwhelmed me and more than exceeded my expectations - despite being in Early Access.

I write this review as a D&D 5e Dungeon Master and as someone currently running Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus in real life. I also write it as someone who is already a massive fan of Larian's work but not as someone who has a great love or nostalgia tied to the previous instalments in the BG franchise.

While the character creation lacks in certain aspects, it is still amazing and I expect it will expanded upon later. The fact that you get to choose which God you worship as a Cleric (and the fact it has dialogue and gameplay impact) was really surprising to me. I am also in love with the numerous subraces the game allows you to pick already.

The companion system is one of the best I've personally seen in a game, it is reminiscent of Fallout 4 but by far a major improvement. My only wish is that there was another option for a healer class, so you wouldn't have to pick Shadowheart to have a balanced party (unless you go Cleric yourself). Many people are angry that the companions' opinions clash, this is something I personally love, however. It really gives you a feel that these are individual characters with their own goals and ideals, rather than all being somewhat the same.

The dialogue and voice acting is stellar in my opinion as well, not to mention the absolutely huge array of possibilities for you to pick during dialogue, especially the race or class dependent ones are cool.

The combat is great and a near perfect translation of 5e mechanics, though there are some hiccups here and there. I've personally yet to see Concentration with spells work as intended but again, this is something I expect will be fixed sooner or later.

One of my favourite things so far, has to be the ties with BG: DiA, as someone playing the module it really adds a lot more depth to the game. Not to mention the possibility of meeting recurring characters from that module, including one more or less confirmed.

Playing this game has made me feel like I'm in the Forgotten Realms again.