Image: Larian Studios
Baldur’s Gate 3 is 2023’s best-reviewed game according to users and critics alike.
Larian Studios’ Dungeons and Dragons RPG Baldur’s Gate 3 has officially become 2023’s best-reviewed game, according to the review-aggregate website Metacritic. The site puts Baldur’s Gate 3 above games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Resident Evil 4 and Street Fighter 6 as the highest-scoring game of the year so far.
Baldur’s Gate 3 hasn’t even launched on consoles yet, with a PlayStation 5 release set for September while its Xbox ports remain up in the air. Even so, its PC launch has already been immensely successful, racking up a combined Metascore of 97 on Metacritic - just one point ahead of Tears of the Kingdom’s 96, thus making it the best-reviewed game of 2023. Its user score is also the highest of 2023, sitting at 9.1, above Pikmin 4’s 9.0.
If you’re wondering what the rest of 2023’s best-reviewed games are, Metroid Prime Remastered comes in below Tears of the Kingdom at a Metascore of 94. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Complete Edition is in fourth place with a similar score of 94, while Tetris Effect: Connected comes in at 93. After that, it’s Resident Evil 4 with 93 and Street Fighter 6 with 92. Metacritic scores games separately for each available platform, so upcoming reviews for Baldur’s Gate 3 on PS5 shouldn’t impact its current score.
However, it’s worth noting that the RPG currently holds such a high score from just 21 critic reviews, seeing as most haven’t even finished the game yet thanks to its gargantuan size. More PC reviews could still come in and change this score over time. In fact, Larian Studios recently confirmed that only 368 players had managed to complete the game over its opening weekend:
These stats come with a lot of neat little information. For example, players have spent a whopping 88 years in character creation alone so far, and Gale was simultaneously the most-picked Origin character and seventh leading cause of death for players in the game. Most players picked the Paladin class and Half-elf race. The majority of players have also veered on the side of good in their choices during the story, which does warm the heart.
Baldur’s Gate 3 will launch on the PlayStation 5 on September 6, sharing a release date with Starfield.
