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James Dawes, Professor of English, Macalester College

'Baldur's Gate 3' became the surprise hit of 2023 by upending conventional wisdom about what gives video games broad appeal

Larian Video Game
The role-playing game has sold millions of copies since its August 2023 release and is one of the highest-rated video games of all time. Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Few predicted that the smash hit video game of 2023 would feature old-school game mechanics, hours of brooding cutscenes and a vexing learning curve.

Yet “Baldur’s Gate 3,” a 20-year-old title based on a 50-year-old role-playing game, has already become one of the highest-rated video games of all time.

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