In 2023, The Ultimate Gaming Experience Lies in Empowering Decision-Making

Having played games since I was a child, my gaming preferences have evolved over time. What started with a love for mascot platformers transformed into an appreciation for simulation games, then RPGs, and now action-adventure games with RPG elements. Despite their differences, I recently realized that what tied them all together was the element of choice.

This year, Baldur's Gate 3 was named game of the year on Our Website. While it may not be the most cinematic or artistic game of the year, it was, in my opinion, the best game. My second favorite, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, may not have been as artistic or visually impressive as other games, but it offered unique gaming moments. This made me reflect on what makes a great game for me, and I realized that the ability to make choices within the game is what truly matters.

I've always been a fan of decision-based games, whether I'm deciding on my party composition, creating a rollercoaster that may lead to disaster for my park-goers, or pursuing a romance with Thane in Mass Effect 2. Thankfully, there are plenty of games that offer players a sense of choice and freedom, and more of these games are being developed every day. In a year filled with incredible games, Baldur's Gate 3 and Tears of the Kingdom captured my heart by redefining the concept of "freedom" in gaming.

Link raises his arm toward the sky in Tears of the Kingdom. While the types of decisions you make in Baldur's Gate 3 and Tears of the Kingdom are different—such as not being able to side with Ganon instead of Zelda or glide over to Baldur's Gate before navigating the Shadow-Cursed Lands—they both provide players with an extraordinary level of freedom. The freedom is so extensive at times that it feels boundless. Many games, especially those as vast and time-consuming as BG3 and TokT, struggle to strike a balance between feeling overly guided or excessively open. However, developers Larian and Nintendo have succeeded in creating immersive worlds that gently guide you while also giving you the freedom to do as you please. It's a remarkable achievement, and even more remarkable to experience.

I quickly realized the vastness of Baldur's Gate 3. After coming ashore and waking Shadowheart, my wife--I mean, my companion--and gathering my husband, Astarion, we found ourselves near a deserted temple. I managed to scare off a group of looters, enter the temple, use a flammable barrel to take out enemies, navigate traps, loot a key, and find a secret passage that disturbed a collection of corpses. It was only a few hours later that I realized my journey was just a small part of the game.

The game is full of exciting moments and adventures. However, as I advanced, I discovered its complexity. I began to save and reload constantly not because I wanted better dice rolls, but because I wanted to know every possible outcome. Could I really kill an enemy with a slight push? Could I save everyone sentenced to death by a cruel ruler? And what was the true extent of the damage from a lobotomy?

Yet when I began my playthrough of Dark Urge, I was astonished by the countless things I had overlooked. While some of these situations - such as tearing off Gale's hand - are only possible if you are playing as The Dark Urge, there were still cellars I had yet to throw myself into, mysteries I had yet to solve, entire conversations I had neglected to start, and several NPCs that I didn't know I could trick, befriend, piss off, or eliminate in mind-blowing (and/or hilarious) ways. It was only on my second playthrough that I discovered there was an entire war that could break out if you don't assassinate the leaders of the goblin camp, or that you can simply convince some enemies to take their own life and spare yourself a fight. The game's scope simply seems unfathomable.

Astarion ascends in Baldur's Gate 3. And the impact your every action or inaction has in Baldur's Gate 3 is just as astounding. There were differences in how characters treated my Tiefling versus my Drow. There were severe consequences when my paladin broke her sworn oath, as well as when I entered a relationship with a person one of my party members wasn't particularly fond of. Whereas games like Mass Effect present you with confined, high-stakes scenarios in which the trajectory of the game can be altered depending upon your choices within a rigid binary, Baldur's Gate 3 seemingly has no constraints. It feels as though anything can change at any given moment - and there's a contingency plan for it.

Baldur's Gate 3 also avoids imposing a predetermined moral framework on players, making the game feel more human and subjective. The dialogue options are not presented as binary, and the game allows players to judge the practices and culture of the Githyanki for themselves. Players have the freedom to decide which companions to keep, their alliances, and the ultimate fate of the world and its deities. With numerous choices and branching storylines, players can forge their own story unapologetically and experience the game differently in each playthrough, leading to a truly personalized experience.

I arrived at a similar conclusion regarding Tears of the Kingdom. Although its gameplay style doesn't encourage save-scumming and replayability like Baldur's Gate 3, I often second-guessed my actions and worried that some of my victories were cheap, incorrect, or lacked the same creativity as other players. I previously wrote about these feelings earlier this year, so I won't dwell on it too much. However, it's safe to say that Tears of the Kingdom managed to replace my apprehension and anxiety with a sense of empowerment. This feeling didn't stem from Tears of the Kingdom being the most open of all open-world games, but rather from the value attributed to every action taken within it.

Link soars through the sky on his glider in Tears of the Kingdom. Tears of the Kingdom allows you the freedom to go wherever you'd like, in whatever order you'd like, by whatever means possible, and then makes all your decisions feel intentional and legitimate, for lack of a better word. It's an incredible achievement that is surely aided by how eagerly the game's developers provide you with the tools to break the game they created through Link's various abilities. For example, Ascend renders certain physical boundaries obsolete, while the Fuse mechanic serves as a playful solution to what some perceived as an irritating hurdle in Breath of the Wild: weapon degradation.

Both Baldur's Gate 3 and Tears of the Kingdom embrace the potential for complex consequences, allowing players to freely make impactful choices within their respective worlds. This aspect of the games is particularly impressive and truly enhances my gaming experience.

Editor's P/S

As a passionate gamer, I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiments expressed in the article. The ability to make choices and experience the consequences of those choices is what truly elevates a game from being merely entertaining to becoming an immersive and unforgettable experience. Baldur's Gate 3 and Tears of the Kingdom exemplify this principle, offering players an unprecedented level of freedom and agency within their respective worlds.

The sheer depth and complexity of these games is truly staggering. Every decision, no matter how seemingly insignificant, can have far-reaching implications, shaping the narrative and ultimately determining the fate of the characters and the world itself. This level of player empowerment is what makes these games so captivating and replayable, as each playthrough can result in a unique and personalized experience.