I can’t tell you when I last found myself accidentally hooked on a game as much as Baldur’s Gate 3. When the hype train started, I was quick to jump on board—I downloaded the game on release day, and let me tell you, it’s been a rollercoaster ride of a journey. But, looking ahead, I’m afraid I won’t make it to the finish line.
You see, for the past three weeks, I’ve been completely lost in the world of Faerûn, like hundreds of thousands of other players around the world. My life balance has completely shifted because of Baldur’s Gate 3.
Like many of you, I sacrificed sleep, social interaction, gym sessions, and even forgot to eat a few times. Why? Because I was stuck in a random fight, trying to woo Shadowheart, looking for things to cool off Karlach or feed Gale, or simply lost doing something spontaneous but absorbing in Baldur’s Gate 3.
I have been (and still am) having tons of fun in Baldur’s Gate 3, but only this week I came to the realization that I’m only in the middle of the second act. When I checked how many hours it took my colleagues and other gamers to roll credits, I realized I’ve still got a few dozen hours to go, at least.
Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t just leave behind my beloved companions and tadpole-infested Rogue in Faerûn on their own. But the next few months, especially the upcoming weeks, are full of highly anticipated releases that I just can’t miss, with Starfield taking off in less than two weeks. I could just drop everything and focus on Baldur’s Gate 3 for the next few days, but it would also be nice to go outside a few times before summer ends to try and get back into a somewhat healthy lifestyle, right?
Starfield, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Alan Wake 2, Cyberpunk 2077: The Phantom Liberty. I’ll be focusing on them at work, but also enjoying them in my spare time, especially Spider-Man, whose trailers I’ve watched more times than I can admit.
It helps that most of these games seem like they won’t require a minimum of 100 hours to finish (not looking at you, Starfield, which I’m also unlikely to complete this year). Also, did I mention Counter-Strike 2 is threatening to disrupt my life balance again? Now I’m glad I don’t have beta access.
Had Baldur’s Gate 3 dropped a bit earlier, and not in what could be the most packed half-year of game releases in a long while, I would likely have played long enough to see substantially more of the game.
I’d probably arrive at the titular Baldur’s Gate at last, and would finally find out whether Shadowheart really loves me or if she’s just brainwashed. But alas, I need to focus on myself for now, and hope my relationship with Shadowheart will still be intact when I come back at Christmas, next year, or eventually. Or I could check out one of those speedruns everyone keeps talking about.
