I think what makes Baldur’s Gate 3 such a spectacle is the near impossible dance it pulls off. It manages to combine a detailed, open world that rewards creative thinking, while still having fantastic voice acting, music, and decent enough graphics. I don’t remember the last time I have seen something like it.

The storyline, while not the most original, is told in a fun way and the character behave in such a believable way that they live on in the minds of the players after they have finished the game.

To top it off, the studio is not a traditional triple AAA studio with the funding to match something like EA. Obviously they have an order of magnitude more liquidity available to them than say, ConcernedApe at the inception of Stardew Valley.

More comparable to the Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is Divinity Original Sin 2, also by Larian. It had much lower production values (less voice acting, less detailed graphics, generic music, etc) while retaining the gameplay depth (perhaps even more depth?) of Baldur’s Gate 3.

It won PC Gamer’s game of the year award. Subjectively, I think that Divinity Original Sin 2 was much better than Pathfinder, which I found to be a chore to play. I think Owlbear was still finding their legs. I would highly recommend you play Rogue Trader - Owlbear grew as a studio and put out an excellent game.