Velk Reviews: Baldur's Gate 3

In the latest installment of the Baldur's Gate series, Larian Studios invites players to immerse themselves in the rich tapestry of the Dungeons & Dragons universe with Baldur's Gate 3. From the moment you step into this fantastical world, it's evident that Larian has spared no effort in crafting a breathtaking experience that seamlessly blends stunning visuals with immersive atmosphere.

Set against the backdrop of a world teetering on the brink of chaos, Baldur's Gate 3 thrusts players into a gripping tale of magic, monsters, and political intrigue. As you create your custom character, choosing from a diverse array of races, classes, and abilities, you're immediately drawn into a narrative that unfolds with each decision you make.

The game's visuals are nothing short of spectacular, with beautifully rendered environments, detailed character models, and spell effects that dazzle the senses. Whether you're exploring the depths of a dark dungeon or traversing the vibrant landscapes of the world, every corner of Baldur's Gate 3 is filled with rich detail and atmosphere, begging to be explored.

But it's not just the visuals that impress; Baldur's Gate 3 delivers a deep and engaging gameplay experience that stays true to its Dungeons & Dragons roots. Combat is tactical and challenging, requiring careful planning and strategic thinking to overcome formidable foes. Meanwhile, the game's robust character creation system allows for a high degree of customization, ensuring that each playthrough feels unique.

At its core, Baldur's Gate 3 is a game about choice and consequence. The decisions you make throughout your journey have far-reaching implications, shaping the world around you and determining the outcome of the story. Whether you choose to forge alliances with powerful factions, uncover the secrets of ancient artifacts, or succumb to the temptations of dark magic, every choice you make leaves its mark on the world of Baldur's Gate.

I have been a fan of the Baldur's Gate series of games, including IceWind Dale since Baldur's Gate 1 was released in 1998. Using the good old Thaco system from Second Edition D&D, the game world was addictive, the game play, clunky in hindsight, was great and I spent many many hours exploring. Baldur's Gate 2 repeated this endeavour, with improved resolution, but a higher level and relatively tougher experience. Nevertheless, great games worth exploring, as is this latest instalment.

Baldur's Gate 3 is a masterful blend of captivating storytelling, deep role-playing mechanics, and strategic combat. With its stunning visuals, immersive atmosphere, and richly detailed world, it's a worthy successor to the legendary Baldur's Gate series. Whether you're a fan of Dungeons & Dragons or simply love epic fantasy adventures, Baldur's Gate 3 offers an unforgettable journey through a world of magic and mystery.

Blog update, New Youtube and new Tech.

So, I decided a while back that I was going to start a new YouTube channel to document my outdoor adventures. Hiking, wild camping, generally being outdoors and getting back in touch with nature. 

In a step towards this I have a bit of a rebranding going on. I created a new YouTube channel, though I still need to decide on the final name. I have been planning some excursions and the kind of content I would like to go over, still much a work in progress, but definitely taking you fine internet people on adventures with me, seeing some epic scenery, talking about places, gear, and the benefits of getting outdoors. I also want to cover off things like planning for your adventure and the life situations and logistics that might cause friction in doing so, and hopefully help you develop some processes and strategies to enable yourself to do the same. It has been a long journey for me to get to where I am now.

I have drawn a lot of inspiration from the likes of Haze Outdoors, Wildbeare and Fables and Fells, to name but a few. I have found doing this kind of thing is good for the heart legs and noggin, and in the last year of doing all of this, I have been thoroughly enjoying it. I have taken some epic photos. I have been to places I never conceived of, and met some amazing people along the way. 

After some research (and boy was it a hard choice!) I have bought a GoPro Hero12 to enable better vlogging and video capture of these adventures and the scenery.

I may create a new blog page to interact with this channel, and the work I will be putting in, but for the time being, I will be posting here, and hoping to up my rate of posting of all things geeky and nerdy, and getting out and having fun (Look! It's a geeky toy ok, don't look at me like that...)

-V

Velk Reviews! Assassins Creed: Valhalla

I started this game the day it was released for the PS5 back in November 2020. It is weird thinking back that it was that long ago, but there we are!

I have played through the base games and the additional content in Ireland and France, taking me about 180 hours to play through. That is 180 hours of fun filled murderous satisfaction 😁. Let's break it down and discuss some of the key areas.

Gameplay:

The control system took a few hours to get my head around, but once I did it felt pretty natural. Character movement is somewhat different from the AC games of yore, but once I got used to the way Eivor (You!) moves, it felt natural. There are a few combat methods in the game, with sub 'methods' of each. 

Eivor can be set up as an out and out warrior, where they wade into the midst of battle wielding whatever combination of weapons you wish them to wield, one handed, two handed, dual wielding or sword and board. I found dual wielding was particularly fun, especially later in the game dual wielding a two handed weapon in each hand, you can carve your way through the ranks of enemies.

You can take a stealth approach (It IS Assassins Creed after all...) keeping out of sight or above your enemies, creeping about, using cover, and whistling at your enemies to draw them towards your cover and taking them down, sneaking up behind them for a silent takedown, or, death from above! Dropping from outside their line of sight onto them and eliminating them (And as an added bonus, I think with a perk, you can hurl an axe at a nearby enemy that has not noticed you to eliminate them too. Double takedown, heck yeah!)

Finally, you can do some archery. The archery system (especially with the PS5 haptic feedback triggers) is great fun, and there's 3 kinds of bows you can use. Light bow, Hunter bow and Predator bow. 

I thought the light bow sucked and just did not find an area I was happy using it.

The hunter bow was great for mid-ranged picking off of the opponents, lining up headshots for instant takedowns, and making use of the stealth system to maximise the effect.

The predator bow is a sniper rifle. Zoomed in sights, and the ability to use various shots including guiding the arrow in slow motion from first person to navigate around obstacles to try to take down the targets. Great fun!

Combat is interactive, there are ques if you pay attention on what the enemies are doing to react to, and the boss fights offer a good level of challenge but are not crushingly difficult to overcome, especially with practise.

Graphics:

On a high end system, they are gorgeous. The lowest end system I have seen this on is a PS5 in 4k, the details, the terrain, the lighting, all great! I particularly love as you travel around the different counties and areas, the terrain all looks slightly different, and they are in different seasons showing some passage of time, and the plant life that exists there is realistic to the area. I remember a tweet (An X? Whatever) from @MiracleOfSound when he was playing through the Wrath of the Druids expansion that was based in Ireland, that it was like being there, was gorgeous and super immersive! I am from the UK and am well travelled, and many of the areas I have been I would say are very similar to what they are in the game. Again, love it. 

Story:

No spoilers here, but the plot line is great. Starting from Eivors childhood you get an introduction to their past before picking up in Norway to start the game.The wider world events that are happening are relatively historically accurate. If you have ever watched The Last Kingdom, you might recognise some of the locations that are contested. Play the game, meet famous real life vikings and saxons, follow the plot, explore, pillage and raid. It is a sandbox game with a plot weaved through.

If your reading this and you have NOT played it. Go play it. Just, off ya go, go play! :)

-Velk