'Baldur's Gate 3' became the surprise hit of 2023 by upending conventional wisdom about what gives video games broad appeal
- Written by James Dawes, Professor of English, Macalester College
The role-playing game has sold millions of copies since its August 2023 release and is one of the highest-rated video games of all time.Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesFew predicted that the smash hit video game of 2023 would feature old-school game mechanics, hours of brooding cutscenes and a vexing learning curve.
Yet...

