I'm playing Baldur's Gate 3 now on a Linux PC with a controller. I have a PS5 and have DOS on the PS4. Larian Studios does quality games and goes beyond what I expected in quality. The PS5 controller works great with the game.
Except for a couple things I agree. The examine screen is broken at the moment (try viewing a small object in it -- no zoom, and everything is drawn weirdly off center with no way to adjust). I also kind of hate the radial menus. But I like most of the rest of controller mode, especially since it makes the UI bigger.
My hope is that the PS5 release being late is why the controller mode just doesn't yet have the polish of the KBM mode.
From what I've played of the early access, it's a pretty amazing game. It's a lot like the Divinity: OS games, or handles similar to Dragon Age: Origins or Shadowrun. It has a lot of flexibility in how you handle encounters and situations, and the combat is challenging but fun and rewarding. The dialogue is top tier, and rewards paying attention to what's going on in the world around you.
Much like D&D, anytime you attempt something with a reasonable chance of failure the game rolls for you, and your skills or the things you've said/done affect the rolls with modifiers. There's a lot of exploration across unique locales with a lot of verticality to the environments, and a lot of secrets tucked away. All the side quests play back into the main quest in a satisfying way, and it almost never feels like you're wasting your time doing something.
Still has the shitty camera from DOS2 though. Still waiting for a mod for that. They bother building this world and then wont even let you look around it, so annoying.
i’m playing via geforce now, and was an early access purchase—i was a huge dos 1/2, bg 1/2?fan. i love crpgs is general. i think the thing to keep in mind is that this is a somewhat niche style of rpg.
bg3 is as close to a perfect crpg as i’ve played. the story is great, the the companions are interesting, the options are nearly endless. it’s just everything you’d want.
that said, this isn’t skyrim, and you don’t get your hand held with the quest tracker. there’s quite a bit going on with quests as well as all the mechanics.
if you don’t have experience with games in this rpg genre and you don’t enjoy reading a wiki from time to time, you might want to watch some youtube first.
overall the game is a masterpiece, but it doesn’t have as broad of an appeal as some other rpgs. if you’re already a crpg fan, then it’s basically christmas and you’ve been very good this year.