Who should buy Baldur's Gate 3?

Worth it if: A hundred-hour RPG is the appeal rather than the obstacle — the main story runs about 73 hours, and 117 with side content; Turn-based tactics land for you even if D&D does not: if you have played modern XCOM you already know the combat grammar; Replaying is how you get value — the choice tree diverges early enough that a second run stops matching the first. Skip if: Act 3 is where long RPGs lose you: it remains the weakest stretch, and Larian's own wording is that Hotfix #34 should reduce framerate spikes, not that it fixed them; Waiting out a sale is your habit — it has never gone below $44.99 on Steam and sits at $59.99 with no discount; Finishing what you start matters to you: 23.5% of Steam owners have the completion achievement.

What do players say about Baldur's Gate 3?

Players love: Still being surprised years in. Players a thousand hours deep report scenes and outcomes they had never triggered before. Players struggle with: Act 3. The complaint is strikingly consistent among people who loved the first two acts — that the city is disjointed and tedious by comparison.

Decision brief

Is Baldur's Gate 3 worth it?

Yes — an easy recommendation.

Larian called Patch 8 the final one, then quietly shipped eight more — including the work that eased Act 3's framerate. Still $59.99, still worth every cent.

9.6/10 Mighty

The right-now case

Data as of July 29, 2026 UTC

Best price today: $59.99 at Steam All-time low $41.99
Playing right now: 57,784
Time investment: ~73h story · ~181h completionist

Who should pick this up

Worth it if…

A hundred-hour RPG is the appeal rather than the obstacle — the main story runs about 73 hours, and 117 with side content
Turn-based tactics land for you even if D&D does not: if you have played modern XCOM you already know the combat grammar
Replaying is how you get value — the choice tree diverges early enough that a second run stops matching the first

Skip if…

Act 3 is where long RPGs lose you: it remains the weakest stretch, and Larian's own wording is that Hotfix #34 should reduce framerate spikes, not that it fixed them
Waiting out a sale is your habit — it has never gone below $44.99 on Steam and sits at $59.99 with no discount
Finishing what you start matters to you: 23.5% of Steam owners have the completion achievement

What long-haul players keep saying

What players love

Still being surprised years in. Players a thousand hours deep report scenes and outcomes they had never triggered before.

What frustrates them

Act 3. The complaint is strikingly consistent among people who loved the first two acts — that the city is disjointed and tedious by comparison.

See the reviews behind this →

What changed recently

Larian published “The Final Patch” on 15 April 2025, saying Patch 8 would be the last update to introduce new content — then shipped eight further hotfixes, most recently #36 on 26 March 2026. Hotfix #34 added a native Steam Deck build plus streaming work Larian said should reduce framerate spikes in busy areas such as the Lower City in Act 3. On 25 July 2026 Larian restated it is not involved in any new Baldur's Gate projects.

Want the full picture — patches, community pulse, guides, similar games? See the Baldur's Gate 3 dashboard →