It's hard to overstate the spectacle of Baldur's Gate 3. It's hard to escape it, too. Baldur's Gate 3 is all over the internet like its players are all over bears. Larian's latest epic RPG is well and truly having a moment, and through it, CRPGs in general are too. It's amazing to see such an enduring but somehow-still-niche genre receive this kind of widespread love. Nowhere in my crystal ball did I foresee an Elden Ring-grade reception for this thing, and it seems Larian didn't either. This makes it especially annoying to see people sour the mood with strawman criticisms that lead to nowhere.
Baldur's Gate 3's viral launch is simultaneously the most and least surprising development of the year. CRPGs are far from dead, even if we really don't get that many of them anymore, but they've never enjoyed success like this. But it's also not like this is an out-of-nowhere indie hit like Dave the Diver or Vampire Survivors. It's Baldur's Gate! It's D&D! It's Larian! It's the RPG based on the RPG. Of course lots of people are going to like it. They already like the things it helped inspire – like Elden Ring!
