Both games are currently on sale on Steam for about the same price ($59.99 CAD vs $58.49 CAD). I’ve never played either. I know they’re both supposed to be excellent games. My question is, for those who have played both, which do you prefer?
I don’t think I’ve got a ton of experience with similar games, though I don’t know for sure. I mostly play Souls games and Elder Scrolls games (Elden Ring and Skyrim are my two favourite games of all time). I don’t think there’s much carryover there but I could be wrong.
Hopefully this post could also help someone else who’s curious about the two games.
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I personally like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 more than Baldur‘s Gate 3. I didn’t play BG3 until like 10 minutes into chapter 2. It’s just not appealing to me. I also didn’t play Skyrim beyond exploring and the main quest.
They’re very different, so you need to figure it out for yourself. Both are great, but we don’t know your tastes. I would recommend BG3 though, for what is worth.
However, if you’re strapped for cash, I would recommend playing indie games. They’re often more interesting than these larger budget games (though these two are exceptions to large budget games being shit), and they’re usually like $20 max. Most people can get more out of Factorio or Dwarf Fortress, for example, than they can out of these games, at a much lower price.
And tbh since OP said they’re generally more into Soulslikes and such, Silksong comes out in 2 days for $20
Yeah I read about that after posting. I’ll probably pick that up honestly, but these two games are both super tempting too.
If you mostly play Souls games, I have to lean towards E33 due to the real-time parry mechanic. Both games are amazing and you won’t regret playing either.
I completely and utterly loved both of those games, but if I had to choose I’d go with Baldurs Gate 3, simply because it gave me many many more hours of gameplay while keeping things fresh enough for multiple playthroughs and is very fun multiplayer with up to 4 people, though also fun single player. Expedition 33 is a lot of fun but strictly single player and for 1 playthrough, replays are just the same but a little harder.
Highly recommend both when you can, each will consume a nice part of your life
Expedition 33 is very good at what it does. It’s a great experience, well worth the money (though I found combat to be repetitive over time) and as others have already explained, a lot more artistic.
BG3 however was a mind-blowing game for me. The amount of choices you have at every point was something I’d always wanted, and I’d always been let down.
I still think about E33s story often after my ~20h playing it, but for BG3 I really wish I could play it again for the first time, after having played over 200 hours already.
BG3 is a master class in RPG fwiw.
BG3 never goes much below it’s current sale. It’s slowly going lower, but it’s going to stay that prices for a while because it’s worth the money and it’s in high demand.
Both games are on sale on resellers as well which might get you some better prices:
https://isthereanydeal.com/game/baldurs-gate-3/info/
https://isthereanydeal.com/game/clair-obscur-expedition-33/info/
BG3 is the only game I can think of that’s worth an $80 price tag and the moniker of “AAAA.” There is a frankly ludicrous amount of stuff in this game. The amount of effort it just have taken, let alone to ship 8 fully featured patches, borders on lunacy.
That’s a good argument. I appreciate your insight.
Baldurs Gate 3
I’m not usually a fan of turn based games.
Baldur’s Gate 3 hooked me. It was one of my favorite gaming experiences ever. I played through it two and a half times, consecutively.
I couldn’t get through Expedition 33. It’s very well done, but the story itself never hooked me. It just felt too abstract, like it never got me emotionally invested.
And the gameplay was too narrow. I’m sure it opened up after a while, but it would still be the same kind of turn based combat the whole time.
The story gets better, but it’s paced really weirdly and has some major issues. There’s a lot that’s not explained and the characters often just don’t react to what’s happening. The visuals and music are GORGEOUS though.
It just felt hard to relate to. The core premise is intriguing like I want to see where it goes, but it’s not intriguing like I feel personally invested in it.
Baldur’s Gate just had this perfect buildup, where you’re trying to solve a personal problem, and then it just keeps growing until you’re killing gods.
No wrong choice. Though if you like Skyrim so much I’d say you’d prefer BG3, ever so slightly
That’s where I was leaning at first too, but now I’m not so sure after reading some other comments. Tough decision.
Baldurs Gate 3 only because it has numerous endings while Expedition 33 has 2. Otherwise difficult choice.
You could get GamePass and play Expedition 33 at a cheaper price.
Also, three examples you quoted are both first person based, while BG3 is not.
Elden Ring is third person and Skyrim allows for both. I’m not picky on it though, I like both.
That’s a good point about GamePass though. I also learned that BG3 had a two hour demo on PS5 which I also own. So I might look into that too.
If you have a strong stomach for unbelievably cringeworthy theater kid energy but really fun gameplay, go for Baldurs Gate 3.
If you want to be upset during really fun gameplay, go for Clair Obscur.
i think you just put into words my dislike of bg3, it feels like a group of teenage “theatre kid” annoyance. could get past meeting shadowheart (that name should have made it obvious i wouldnt enjoy the writing)
Honestly I feel bad for not enjoying it. I really do wish I could stand the energy that character interactions in that game give off but I just can’t. I had to mute the game several times, especially when Karlach was around.
The whole thing is just… Too much. And all the characters keep trying to fuck you, too?? It’s so uncomfortable, and very very “young adult fiction”.
I can tell the game was made with real passion, and I wish I could have enjoyed it more. I played like 60 hours I think and loved it until anybody opened their mouths 😂
The secret is to just kill or not recruit the annoying characters. I’ve played the entire story a few times and I always forget Karlach is in the game because I kill her every time. Astarion too, can’t stand the rogue stereotype.
That being said I did leave a negative Steam review for BG3 and I get made fun of for liking the game and not recommending it lol
That’s true, but I don’t want to miss out on gameplay just because the characters make me want to crawl out of my skin 😂 Astarion dies immediately for me too!
Yeah there are a lot of BG3 fans that are a bit unwilling to hear any criticism. Which is fine, they’re passionate about something they really love and they don’t need to hear my opinion 😅 You just kind of have to ignore a lot of them when you want to discuss the game.
I enjoyed both, but members of my family who are into souls like games enjoyed E33 more.
That’s where I am. I loved bg 1&2. For some reason 3 just isn’t clicking for me. I can’t get past the first goblin cave and have the difficulty low. I’m no slouch either as I’ve gone through every single one of the fromsoft library. I even beat pre patch balteus ffs. I know there’s something simple I’m missing but bg 1&2, icewind Dale, shit even planescape never gave me a problem! I’m absolutely love Clair obscura though. It’s giving me huge ff VIII vibes which I loved.
If you’re strictly speaking about how many hours of playtime you will get out of it, than BG3. Both games are awesome though (in totally different ways).
I think bg3 just went on sale.
