‘Baldur’s Gate 3’ Prepared for 100k Concurrent Players, They’ve Gotten 700K

It's a really, really good game. I'm glad they decided to make it turn based vs the real time with pause, though I know that's a somewhat controversial decision (what isn't?). The game itself is beautiful, the music is immersive, the writing is (so far) intriguing, and it runs on Linux with only minor tweaks. The game does wonders to capture the feel of playing a well-DMed campaign.

It's no surprise to me that it's getting a lot more sales than they expected, and I'm glad to see devs get rewarded for making a quality product.

As someone who mostly dislikes real time with pause I am glad they didn’t go that route. I just like the see the full results of my action such as to see a spell go off completely. Real time with pause also often messes up the art that went into the sound design and animation choreography.

Relatedly, it’s so satisfying the way the care they took with sound and how impactful your combat actions are as a result. So many game designers ignore sound design; I think this is a huge factor in the success of Blizzard games. People can argue Diablo IV is a poorly designed game, but the sound design is excellent and greatly contributes to the weight of actions and ultimately the dopamine hit factor. I think it’s been their secret weapon as people don’t often realize the effect it has on them. Larian took the same care here and it’s awesome.

Agree about sound design, both in this game and its importance in general. That's something I failed to mention. The sound of combat and just environmental sound is great and adds even more to immersion.

If you're a fan of sound in games, check out the original Dead Space. Master class in using sound to create atmosphere.