Baldur's Gate 3
PLAY ITby Larian Studios
Last verified September 12, 2026
💬 — ask a question or share feedback →Yes — Baldur's Gate 3's critical acclaim is real and independently verified through actual Game of the Year wins at multiple major award shows, not just marketing. A real but separate controversy involved some players review-bombing it on Steam after a different game lost to it for GOTY.
Baldur's Gate 3 was widely marketed and received as one of the best RPGs ever made, going on to sweep Game of the Year awards at The Game Awards 2023 and the Game Developers Choice Awards 2024.
The critical acclaim is real and independently verified — actual Game of the Year wins at multiple major real award shows, not just marketing claims. A real, separate controversy emerged afterward: when Black Myth: Wukong lost Game of the Year to BG3, some Chinese players review-bombed Baldur's Gate 3 on Steam in response — a genuine fan-reaction controversy, but one about audience behavior toward the award outcome, not a flaw in the game itself. Larian's own founder has also publicly and repeatedly said the industry shouldn't treat BG3's success as the new baseline expectation for scope and budget, a real and unusually honest statement from a studio downplaying its own win.
The acclaim holds up under scrutiny — real GOTY wins across multiple independent award bodies, not a marketing-only claim. The review-bomb episode afterward says more about parts of its fanbase's reaction to an awards outcome than about the game itself, and is worth knowing about without changing the underlying verdict.
Did Baldur's Gate 3 actually win Game of the Year?
Yes — it won at both The Game Awards 2023 and the Game Developers Choice Awards 2024, real, independently judged award shows.
Why was Baldur's Gate 3 review-bombed on Steam?
Some Chinese players review-bombed it after Black Myth: Wukong lost the Game of the Year award to it — a real fan-reaction controversy about the award outcome, not a reported flaw in the game.