Shroud explains why Baldur’s Gate 3 excels where Starfield falls short

While shroud has love for both Baldur’s Gate 3 and Starfield, two of the year’s biggest releases, he believes the former is on an entirely different level to Bethesda’s space RPG.

2023 has been a banner year for the gaming industry. It seems we can barely go a week without stumbling into another monstrous success story as one certified Game of the Year contender after another hits store shelves.

Unquestionably two of the biggest standouts thus far have been Baldur’s Gate 3 and Starfield. Both highly anticipated for years on end, the new Larian Studios title launched to near-unanimous critical acclaim and staggering commercial success, while Bethesda’s new release just followed up with its own blockbuster launch in September.

Given their close proximity and key similarities in game design, many have naturally begun comparing the two. It’s this debate that caught the eye of veteran FPS star and popular streamer shroud, who chimed in with a definitive stance.

Having already pumped dozens of hours into Starfield in its early access period, with thousands watching along with every passing minute on Twitch, shroud has been glued to the spacefaring RPG like countless others of late. But before that, it was Baldur’s Gate 3 dominating his streams.

Given his experience with both, shroud jumped into the conversation during his latest broadcast when a particularly straightforward Starfield quest highlighted some key limitations.

Tasked with acquiring a piece of art and bringing it back to a particular NPC, shroud labeled it a “simple fetch quest. I don’t think there’s a secret, alternative way to do it.

The game unfortunately doesn’t take itself too deep there,” he continued. “If you’re trying to be like ‘Oh, I want to do it this way,’ chances are you can’t do it that way.

That’s where Baldur’s Gate 3 comes into focus, as shroud drew comparisons to the unrivaled freedom in the D&D-ruled experience.

“That’s why Baldur’s Gate 3 is, by far, the game of the f***ing decade. That is truly like, ‘Oh, you want to do it that way? Yes, do it that way.”

shroud compares BG3 & Starfield at the 1 hour 13 minute mark below.

Throughout his “80 hours” with Baldur’s Gate 3, he claimed there were just two instances where that line of thinking wasn’t rewarded. Only “two occasions” where his wild schemes didn’t pan out.

“It takes the choice of video games and surpasses everything I’ve ever played,” shroud explained. “It’s such a remarkable experience that you’ll never forget.”

In comparison, he argued Bethesda games aren’t necessarily trying to compete on that level. Instead, their titles offer the “illusion of choice rather than actual, true choice. That’s pretty standard.”

“If I’ve learned one thing this past week watching shroud play Starfield, it’s that I should play Baldur’s Gate 3,” a fan chimed in, drawing a laugh from the streamer.

“Absolutely,” he replied. “Baldur’s Gate 3 is a game everyone should experience. It’s a masterpiece.”