Both games are currently on sale on Steam for about the same price ($59.99 CAD vs $58.49 CAD). I’ve never played either. I know they’re both supposed to be excellent games. My question is, for those who have played both, which do you prefer?
I don’t think I’ve got a ton of experience with similar games, though I don’t know for sure. I mostly play Souls games and Elder Scrolls games (Elden Ring and Skyrim are my two favourite games of all time). I don’t think there’s much carryover there but I could be wrong.
Hopefully this post could also help someone else who’s curious about the two games.
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I personally like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 more than Baldur‘s Gate 3. I didn’t play BG3 until like 10 minutes into chapter 2. It’s just not appealing to me. I also didn’t play Skyrim beyond exploring and the main quest.
You could get GamePass and play Expedition 33 at a cheaper price.
Also, three examples you quoted are both first person based, while BG3 is not.
They’re very different, so you need to figure it out for yourself. Both are great, but we don’t know your tastes. I would recommend BG3 though, for what is worth.
However, if you’re strapped for cash, I would recommend playing indie games. They’re often more interesting than these larger budget games (though these two are exceptions to large budget games being shit), and they’re usually like $20 max. Most people can get more out of Factorio or Dwarf Fortress, for example, than they can out of these games, at a much lower price.
And tbh since OP said they’re generally more into Soulslikes and such, Silksong comes out in 2 days for $20
Yeah I read about that after posting. I’ll probably pick that up honestly, but these two games are both super tempting too.
I’d make it depend on the length. Expedition 33 is shorter. So if you want an experience that you can finish quickly you should choose that. If you want to spend weeks to months on a game choose BG3.
Both are great. Maybe play E33 first and go to BG3 after that.
Baldurs Gate 3
I completely and utterly loved both of those games, but if I had to choose I’d go with Baldurs Gate 3, simply because it gave me many many more hours of gameplay while keeping things fresh enough for multiple playthroughs and is very fun multiplayer with up to 4 people, though also fun single player. Expedition 33 is a lot of fun but strictly single player and for 1 playthrough, replays are just the same but a little harder.
Highly recommend both when you can, each will consume a nice part of your life
If you mostly play Souls games, I have to lean towards E33 due to the real-time parry mechanic. Both games are amazing and you won’t regret playing either.
I enjoyed both, but members of my family who are into souls like games enjoyed E33 more.
That’s where I am. I loved bg 1&2. For some reason 3 just isn’t clicking for me. I can’t get past the first goblin cave and have the difficulty low. I’m no slouch either as I’ve gone through every single one of the fromsoft library. I even beat pre patch balteus ffs. I know there’s something simple I’m missing but bg 1&2, icewind Dale, shit even planescape never gave me a problem! I’m absolutely love Clair obscura though. It’s giving me huge ff VIII vibes which I loved.
I didn’t care for BG3 at all, don’t understand all the hype. Expedition 33 is genuinely great though.
If you’re strictly speaking about how many hours of playtime you will get out of it, than BG3. Both games are awesome though (in totally different ways).
do you have access to a console? can you rent games from the library? put in a hold for clair obscur at the library now, buy baldurs gate now. buy clair obscur later. I have been listening to the music from clair obscur even when not playing it’s so good. bg3 is good, but i’ve gotten distracted from it more than a few times. it has more replay value, but clair obscur is going up there in my top 5 of all time. bg3 is top 10, but not top 5.
I’m not usually a fan of turn based games.
Baldur’s Gate 3 hooked me. It was one of my favorite gaming experiences ever. I played through it two and a half times, consecutively.
I couldn’t get through Expedition 33. It’s very well done, but the story itself never hooked me. It just felt too abstract, like it never got me emotionally invested.
And the gameplay was too narrow. I’m sure it opened up after a while, but it would still be the same kind of turn based combat the whole time.
The story gets better, but it’s paced really weirdly and has some major issues. There’s a lot that’s not explained and the characters often just don’t react to what’s happening. The visuals and music are GORGEOUS though.
It just felt hard to relate to. The core premise is intriguing like I want to see where it goes, but it’s not intriguing like I feel personally invested in it.
Baldur’s Gate just had this perfect buildup, where you’re trying to solve a personal problem, and then it just keeps growing until you’re killing gods.
I think bg3 just went on sale.
If you’re worried about it, bg3 will give you more bang for your buck. Easy to get near 100 hours in the first playthrough and it has a ton of replay value. 33 you’ll prob get 20-40 hours depending on side content you do and it doesn’t have much replay value.
Speaking as someone who loved both and got 100% achievements in 33. Should do both though.
I got about 30 hours doing most stuff. The thing is that there is more of the game after the story is done, about double the content or so i have read. I did not do that part myself so can’t say much about it.
Ironically much like BG3, the third act of E33 is a mess. There is a ton of important side content with character moments and lore, particularly relating to Clea but also the whole Maelle relationship quest. But the pacing is completely off, it’s all presented as optional and it just feels very rushed. A “Definitive Edition” type patch or DLC that retools and restructures Act 3 would do E33 a world of good.
Agreed. The game was an 11/10 for me until I got to the third act and spent an hour going “what now?”
Up until then the pacing and level design was immaculate.
Expedition 33 is very good at what it does. It’s a great experience, well worth the money (though I found combat to be repetitive over time) and as others have already explained, a lot more artistic.
BG3 however was a mind-blowing game for me. The amount of choices you have at every point was something I’d always wanted, and I’d always been let down.
I still think about E33s story often after my ~20h playing it, but for BG3 I really wish I could play it again for the first time, after having played over 200 hours already.
my first walkthrough of E33 took 183 hours, there’s pretty huge world to explore and some optional bosses are quite challenging
That first big bad nevkron was like the asylum demon in dark souls for me. Yeah, he kills you in one hit but he’s not impossible. Also I didn’t know you could just not fight them again. I though I was stuck cause the failure screen just gives you two options of retry and something else. As a souls player I saw “retry” and nothing else. Took maybe six tries, but the combat was more intuitive afterwards(at least the parry)
which one? first chromatic or pink ball?
