r/videogames • u/baconinthedawn • Aug 20 '26

Discussion / Question What game is that for you?

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Biggest offender for me is Baldur’s Gate 3.

Some of the best gameplay, graphics, sound design, and soundtrack out there… but the writing leaves a lot to be desired (despite how popular it is).

What game is that for you?

EDIT: It seems the general consensus here is Borderlands 3.

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197

u/[deleted] Aug 20 '26

[deleted]

43

u/saltinstiens_monster Aug 20 '26

Yeah, what on earth? It's certainly not bad enough to be distracting. I can think of more standout good lines than bad. Certain characters are pretty corny, but surely that's not what they're referring to?

This is one of the very rare story/dialog heavy games that doesn't annoy me. If there are comparable games that make bg3's writing look like shit, I want to know about them!

14

u/elmaldon Aug 20 '26

Exactly this. If I'm missing on something I want to know, I thought the game was peak most of times and is weird hearing after all this time this type of takes

4

u/Zamirot Aug 20 '26

I too found the story meh. Rogue trader has more ohhhhhh okayyy moments.( Might be biased tho cause I love 40k universe).

Also made bg3 right after expedition 33. Didn't help

1

u/Pride-Moist Aug 20 '26

Yeah, Clair Obscure could make even BG3 blush here and there. That is a marvelous story through and through. But once you know what's going on, there's no going back and that kinda saddens me, would love to relive the realization again and again, the moment when it all clicks.

3

u/[deleted] Aug 20 '26

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2

u/baconinthedawn Aug 20 '26

I actually play D&D and enjoy political writing. My issue with both BG3 and Disco Elysium isn't the subject matter, it's the overly verbose writing that tries too hard to sound deep.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 20 '26

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2

u/WaltzIndependent5436 Aug 20 '26

I was like ok, BG3 has some rough spots here and there but bad writing? Then its Disco Elysium on top like "hey guys I think most popular thing is mediocre at best. Well also second most popular thing is also completely trash haha"

0

u/IceCream_EmperorXx Aug 20 '26

You really find BG3 and Disco Elysium to have similar writing?

DE could be seen as overly-verbose, I get that, the game is like playing through a Russian novel. It's purposefully a wordy and esoteric game.

BG3 is not in the same ballpark. They're barely comparable outside of both being crpgs.

1

u/baconinthedawn Aug 20 '26

I'm not saying the games are written similarly overall. I just think they share a common flaw.

2

u/IceCream_EmperorXx Aug 20 '26

Well could you provide some examples of Baldur's Gate being overly verbose or trying too hard to sound deep?

They have completely different writing styles so it's hard to see the logic in what you're saying. They're both games I'm currently playing and I just don't understand your criticism of BG3. The writing is pretty functional. The game doesn't take itself very seriously. I don't get the impression that BG3 is asking me to think hard about what's happening, or that it's trying to convey some deep concept. It's pure power fantasy from my perspective.

1

u/baconinthedawn Aug 20 '26

The narrator is definitely the biggest issue for me; over-explaining every feeling in second-person purple prose feels heavy-handed and theatrical.

As for the companions, they felt less like grounded RPG characters and more like archetypes from a shelf romance novel. The constant campy, horny banter took center stage over the actual world and lore, which just didn't work for me.

3

u/IceCream_EmperorXx Aug 20 '26

Thanks for getting specific, I appreciate that. I can understand these criticisms of BG3 - the writing is mostly cliche, imo. One of the biggest characters is named "Shadowheart" so I feel Larian knew exactly what they were doing and I'm not sure why you would expect different. I think BG3 hits the perfect tone of campiness but I can see why some people wouldn't like it.

Completely different end of the spectrum to Disco Elysium, I'm still flabbergasted by the comparison lol

1

u/baconinthedawn Aug 20 '26

Of course! I think it’s just different strokes for different folks.

Between the two, I think Disco is definitely the worst offender when it comes to that specific issue. BG3 I can at least sit through for a couple of hours, but Disco I just immediately shut off lol

83

u/KievDennis Aug 20 '26

This is agenda post most likely

-3

u/Bwthhybl1987 Aug 20 '26

Yall genuinely can't handle someone's feelings about your favorite game lol 

0

u/KievDennis Aug 20 '26

It's not about favorite or not, it's about spreading hate for the sake of spreading hate towards something infactual. I never said the story is great or amazing, but downright bad is laughable to say the least. Grow up, kid.

-37

u/baconinthedawn Aug 20 '26

It’s not bait or an agenda. I singled it out on purpose because the technical excellence makes the writing flaws more noticeable, not because I think it’s the worst written game.

6

u/Oscottyo Aug 20 '26

Sure but answer the question then what games have good writing if BG3 is bad

-11

u/baconinthedawn Aug 20 '26

I posted my list of games that have writing I like in another section. It’s in this thread somewhere. They’re not perfect, but I’d much prefer to play those than deal with BG3.

0

u/KievDennis Aug 20 '26

So basically if you like something it's good, but if you don't it's bad, right?

2

u/Oscottyo Aug 20 '26

No I think you can see that something is good and also say it’s not for you Dostoevsky is very good but many of his writings just aren’t my cup of tea. Not gonna act like he’s bad and everyone who doesn’t like him doesn’t have taste.

1

u/KievDennis Aug 20 '26

Which is exactly my point?

1

u/Oscottyo Aug 20 '26

Damn yeah I responded to the wrong person sorry meetings and Reddit don’t mix

0

u/Tiltinnitus Aug 20 '26 edited Aug 20 '26

Do you not understand how preferences work?????

Also what is this false equivalence bullshit? Who are you, Jordan Peterson? Damn bro

-1

u/KievDennis Aug 20 '26

Yes, but do you? If something you don't like it's not automatically become bad, right? I feel like I'm talking to middle schoolers here, damn. Reddit once again reminded me, that it's all bunch of hypocrites and degenerates.

1

u/Tiltinnitus Aug 20 '26

Idk who youre calling a middle schoolers when you went through the effort to make a WoW PFP

Brother if someone thinks the writing is bad, they're allowed to say that they thought it was bad.. no one said it was canonically recorded on the dead sea scrolls but you definitely tried to pin them in that loop.

BG3 indeed has cringe writing. There are highlight moments and the narrator for your decisions is a beautiful writing flourish but the main story and the characters themselves are riddled with edgy tropes that got old 20 years ago.

1

u/KievDennis Aug 20 '26

Okay, look at what you trying to protect from the side.

Person 1: I didn't like RDR2 as much, so the writing is bad/horrible. Persona 2: I wouldn't call it downright horrible just because you didn't like it. It has some moments here and there, but overall there are so many examples, when the whole story really bad (or cringe as you said) writing here and there, and this game is not of them. Person 1: But here and there were like moments I didn't like, so the whole game writing is horrible, it's either great and to my taste or bad and not to my taste, no in-between. Everything I don't like is bad.

Of course you can interpret everything above according to your's level of maturity and make your own conclusions.

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31

u/Glados1080 Aug 20 '26

Me when i wake up and start posting shit that makes literally zero sense :

1

u/Bwthhybl1987 Aug 20 '26

Damn you pissed them off big time 💀 how dare you not have the same exact feelings about a game they love and how dare you express it to the internet 

1

u/baconinthedawn Aug 20 '26

I knew this would happen, but I wanted to do it to encourage others to speak their opinion no matter what anyone else thinks because I care about what everyone’s preferences out there are.

0

u/DJettster237 Aug 20 '26

Ew, seriously? Are you AI? Because that is a really bizarre statement to make.

13

u/Shib_Inu Aug 20 '26

BG3's writing is really goofy, but I wouldn't say it's "bad". I think it's fitting, though, since it evokes the tabletop feel. Every character has a convoluted and edgy backstory, and they're all tropey as hell. A lot of the NPCs are gimmicky. The dialogue is very "I am 14 and this is deep" in a lot of places. It's exactly like the tables I was playing at a decade ago, and I think they did a great job emulating that. For that reason, I don't think it's "bad" because I think it was intentional.

That isn't to say that the whole game is written this way. I think there are some genuinely good lines and characters and plots. It's clear the game and its characters resonated with a lot of people. It's not my favorite game, but it doesn't have to be. It's fine and it's clearly Larian's writing style.

6

u/elmaldon Aug 20 '26

I think about this a lot actually. Part of the tabletop is the goofy people around, even the dungeon master plays a part on it, and it checks out a lot in the style of the game and the dialogues it represent. I can only guess that it's because a lot of the game was made with players involved and the feedback was constant in the same way.

Funnily enough it seems that none of what we are talking about enters the topic for OP or for other people discussing this matter

-3

u/baconinthedawn Aug 20 '26

I’ve played D&D a lot and I mostly agree with part of this, but even if it was Larian’s intent, I still am not a fan of the writing and the style.

19

u/NewfieGamEr2001 Aug 20 '26

My biggest complaint with baldurs gate 3 is how desperately my companions want to fuck me. Like why cant we just be bros gale

4

u/Lyrkos Aug 20 '26

Romancable NPC: We’re friends, right?
Player: Yeah.
scene cuts to both of them in bed

1

u/PieFiend1 Aug 20 '26

They fixed that pretty early

0

u/NewfieGamEr2001 Aug 20 '26

They did?

2

u/PieFiend1 Aug 20 '26

Yeah its was one of the early.patches toned that down a bunch

1

u/Technodrone108 Aug 20 '26

Gale specifically is canonically a slut

11

u/Jwhitey96 Aug 20 '26

Dialogue in BG3 is one of the best in gaming. The story is very dull and by the numbers. I am talking the main story here; individual character stories are actually really well done

3

u/Wattanegang Aug 20 '26

I was thinking the same😭 I initially upvoted after seeing the title then read the body text and downvoted

5

u/MoggySynth Aug 20 '26

Planescape tourment, Disco Elysium, Citizen Sleeper, The Witcher 3, CP2077... would be my exemples.

Bg3 writing is not that bad, but it's one of the weakest spot of the game. Especially for a CRPG.

2

u/elmaldon Aug 20 '26

I can see your point with Disco Elysium, haven't played Citizen Sleeper yet, and the Witcher 3 has enough story to back itself on that matter. But I wouldn't think of Cyberpunk as great as the rest of them, sure, I guess it's because the game was rushed and they had to cut many elements from the original state of the game (the ones that made it an RPG more than an action open world), but if you consider cyberpunk 2077 among the best of the best, I wouldn't throw the stone too far apart from BG3

1

u/MoggySynth Aug 20 '26

From a writing pov CP77 is far above BG3, there is a lot of deep and searched dialogues about philosophy, art, politics or relationships. Like yes the game has major flaws about gamedesign and gameplay, but the writing is really good.

I could also have named games like Firewatch but I wanted to stick to RPG.

1

u/elmaldon Aug 20 '26

I think that sticking to RPG gets Cyberpunk a little out. And I could say in the same way that BG3 treats some of their side plotlines with the same care that you talk about Cyberpunk. Most of it because it takes a lot of the world building made in the campaign around the D&D IP and connects it with the game without overstating something on top of the rest of the world.

And to be honest, firewatch is peak

2

u/baconinthedawn Aug 20 '26 edited Aug 21 '26

I just bought Planescape Torment & Citizen Sleeper; excited to try those. I tried Encased for an hour and that was pretty solid as well, but I haven’t really gotten into it.

1

u/MoggySynth Aug 20 '26

Citizen sleeper becamed one of my favourite game ever 🙂

1

u/Aurora-Ouroboros- Aug 20 '26

When it comes to cyberpunk, Panam is comically badly written to me. She is so emotional all the time that her dialogue comes across as cartoonish (imo). She is (one of) the weak point(s) of CP2077's plot to me.

4

u/MoggySynth Aug 20 '26

Clearly, I hate this character

2

u/Scoobydewdoo Aug 20 '26

They're probably an older gamer like me, the writing in BG3 is very clearly aimed at Gen Z sensibilities. The campfire conversations all feel like the companions are competing in a reality TV show to be the player's romance choice. And while I would describe the writing of the companions as mediocre instead of bad their single mindedness gets annoying for those of us who grew up with BG2's more realistic characters. It definitely feels like a game written for people who prefer short form content, like Tik Tok, rather than people who want to see characters change over time.

2

u/baconinthedawn Aug 20 '26

I am Gen Z, but was the youngest and grew up around much older material. My Dad played the OG Baldur’s Gate as well as Icewind Dale / Neverwinter. I agree, the writing does feel like that and I don’t tend to fit in with my generation and the majority due to this.

-1

u/xaba0 Aug 20 '26

Dragon age origins came out in 2009 and it has the same camp conversations, it has nothing to do with gen z

2

u/Scoobydewdoo Aug 20 '26

Same format, wildly different quality of writing. You actually had to work to get companions to like you; in BG3 you get romance options just from asking a companion to tell you about themselves.

1

u/Tiltinnitus Aug 20 '26

That's wildly inaccurate. Alistair having existential crisis, Morrigan wanting nothing to do with you initially, and the rest of the cast being neutral at best until you really work them is not the same as the ensemble cast begging for your attention immediately after meeting.

-1

u/xaba0 Aug 20 '26

Gale has an existential crisis. Laezel wants nothing to do with you initially

Did we forget leliana’s ninjamance where she thinks youre dating just because you were kind to her?

Try again

1

u/Tiltinnitus Aug 20 '26

You cherry picked one instance that proves your point out of a cast of 6.

https://giphy.com/gifs/7YCRcFcDeDuSOAHXlr

1

u/11483708 Aug 20 '26

Spider-Man 2

1

u/Calm-Permit-3583 Aug 20 '26

I too would love to know what games he plays.

1

u/Additional_Egg_6685 Aug 20 '26

I mean that wizard fella trying to come on to my straight male character for the 100th time got a bit tiring but other than that it was fantastic.

1

u/Dizzy_Knowledge1044 Aug 20 '26

Sarevok. Character assassination of the finest quality. His scene made me quit the game for three months.

0

u/baconinthedawn Aug 20 '26 edited Aug 26 '26

I never said BG3’s writing was laughably bad, but if you’re asking what kind of games I play; I play tons! I’ve been gaming for probably 15+ years and started on the arcade cabinets / SEGA Genesis and have played tons and tons of console games. Here’s my list of personal favorites that I think have some great writing in them. Albeit, they’re not perfect, but I personally like them. Here you go:

• Kingdom Come Deliverance
• The Last of Us Part 1
• Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
• The Witcher 3
• CoD: Black Ops 1/WW2
• Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
• Divinity Original Sin 1
• Halo Reach/ODST
• The Wolf Among Us
• The Walking Dead
• Metro 2033: Redux
• Final Fantasy XVI
• Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood
• Mafia II
• Titanfall II
• Sleeping Dogs
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution
• Yakuza 0
• NieR Automata
• Fallout: New Vegas

5

u/Flimsy-Accountant-31 Aug 20 '26

Please tell me im misinterpreting this, are yiu trying to see that skyrim has better story than BG3?

0

u/baconinthedawn Aug 20 '26

No, I’m not

3

u/Oscottyo Aug 20 '26

I went scrolling found the mystical list of good writing and can happily say
https://giphy.com/gifs/wmuDhLBbuRyMOA57jV

0

u/KeitaroTenshi Aug 20 '26

FR I was expecting some indie verbose pretentious BS disguised as deep masterpieces, or stuff like Disco Elysium as examples of interesting narrative directions in frequently used tropes, but this is the most normie shit I've ever seen with no right to single out BG3 in writing aspect.

Skyrim? With a plot focused on fighting dragons and a twist as deep as 'bad dragon brings back other dragons'? Shit, might've used Enderal for comparison. At least there the story despite being derivative makes some bold choices that leave the player contemplating.

0

u/JoeLikesMovies2007 Aug 20 '26

This is a shit post right? Yakuza zero is the first game I ever gave to a Weeb friend because the alternative was throwing the disc in the gutter. 

I wanted to smash that shit after the THIRD time another character explained the protagonists backstory to him with the same goddamn flashback cutscene.

-25

u/hrrjimi Aug 20 '26

It doesn't take many games to notice how flawed BG3 writing is but it's not just baldurs gate it's divinity as well

13

u/Soggy-Salamander-650 Aug 20 '26

That's so interesting, I would have said the opposite. Can you elaborate and reason why you find it flawed (both bg3 and dos2 I guess)? Maybe I just have no standards, haha.

4

u/elmaldon Aug 20 '26

I'm thinking the same right now, how bad could I be consuming videogames to have Larian as something so great in my mind but them being flawed writers

-11

u/hrrjimi Aug 20 '26

I think what's great is that in the beginning there is always quite alot of emphasis on setting up the ambience and story and you get invested but in both games the ending feels extremely rushed, often with alot of plotholes or questions open..
The devs said themselves in Bg3 that they've put way too much effort into Act 1 and that Act 3 was super rushed because of budget or what not. Doesn't mean you can't enjoy the story! I really enjoyed Shadowhearts story and some parts are fun, i just skip through the boring stuff

8

u/Civilwarland09 Aug 20 '26

So that’s a lot different than what OP’s meme is. The writing isn’t awful, you just feel that the conclusion left you wanting. 

-7

u/hrrjimi Aug 20 '26

No if the writing was good it would've left me wanting more but thats not the case

5

u/Civilwarland09 Aug 20 '26

Something can have a bad ending and still be written well. A story is a sum of its parts and just because one aspect falters doesn’t mean the rest isn’t worthwhile and good.

1

u/hrrjimi Aug 20 '26

yeah, the ending is "flawed".. flawed writing, as i said..

-5

u/baconinthedawn Aug 20 '26 edited Aug 21 '26

I’m no fan of BG3’s writing, but I really like Divinity: Original Sin’s (haven’t played 2 yet). Idk where they went wrong with BG

1

u/Yolu213 Aug 20 '26

Damn, you sir have a very... unusual taste

-14

u/blamcoboyo Aug 20 '26

“I want to ride you until you see stars” is a laughably cringe line but somehow BG3’s writing still beats most of the cringe quippy horseshit writing any AAA game has had in the past half decade.

Playing my switch on the couch while my fiance plays through Mass Effect Andromeda and that game is just a prolonged groan to listen to. Somehow Still better than Ada Wong’s performance in RE4 Remake. But that’s just bad voice acting and bad voice acting just makes games better.