I did warn you!
It’s not what I expected.
I expected to prefer the PC version, the lead platform, thehomeofBaldur’s Gate.
And if your PC is hooked up to your television, the environment will also be the same.
Anyway: Baldur’s Gate 3 plays differently on a controller in small but profound ways.
The main one is to do with movement.
And the repercussions of this are larger than you might think.
Either way, I’m zoomed out - well out.
It feels more like being a battlefield commander ordering troops around than being one of them.
With a controller, it’s a different experience.
Here, I’m directly in control.
I am much more in the world.
There’s something else, too, but it’s harder to describe.
In my experience, pointing and clicking requires more thought.
I’m not looking around for places to choose, I’m just pushing a stick.
I bet you do it too.
Of course it does - it’s why it’s become the de facto method of control there.
However much I try, I can’t replicate that feeling on PC.
I’m always leant forward and never very far from the feeling of being at work.
None of this would matter if Baldur’s Gate 3 played rubbishly on a controller, of course!
But it doesn’t - far from it.
The controller user interface actually handles all of the information on the screen better, I think.
Larian has clearly learnt a lot from adapting the twoDivinity: Original Singames for console.
I’m also a fan of the radial menus, now I’ve organised them a bit.
The inventory is more fiddly, though - granted.
For me, playing in Performance mode, it’s a smooth 60fps most of the time.
The only disappointment for me personally is split-screen.
If only there were cross play, then all of my dreams would come true.
Not yet, at least.
