GamingPickz
Game vs game · side by side

Baldur's Gate 3 vs Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition

Baldur's Gate 3 is an RPG strategy game from Larian Studios (2023) while Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition is an RPG strategy game from Larian Studios (2017).

Baldur's Gate 3

2023 · Larian Studios

9.2GamingPickz Score

$59.99

Steam: Overwhelmingly Positive

Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition

2017 · Larian Studios

8.8GamingPickz Score

$44.99

Steam: Overwhelmingly Positive

What each one is

Steam files Baldur's Gate 3 under RPG and Strategy. In contrast, it files Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition under RPG and Strategy.

Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur’s Gate 3 is a story-rich, party-based RPG set in the universe of Dungeons & Dragons, where your choices shape a tale of fellowship and betrayal, survival and sacrifice, and the lure of absolute power.

Description from its Steam store page

Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition

The critically acclaimed RPG that raised the bar, from the creators of Baldur's Gate 3. Gather your party. Master deep, tactical combat. Venture as a party of up to four - but know that only one of you will have the chance to become a God.

Description from its Steam store page

At a glance

Baldur's Gate 3Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition
GamingPickz Score9.2/108.8/10
Steam ratingOverwhelmingly Positive (97%, 855,414)Overwhelmingly Positive (96%, 205,637)
Critic aggregate96/10093/100
Price$59.99$44.99
Install size150 GB60 GB
Steam Deckverifiedverified
Released20232017
DeveloperLarian StudiosLarian Studios

Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.

Baldur's Gate 3 vs Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition, point by point

Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.

  1. Genre and premise

    Baldur's Gate 3RPG strategy game
    Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive EditionRPG strategy game

    What each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.

  2. How it plays

    Baldur's Gate 3RPG, Character Customization, Choices Matter
    Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive EditionTactical RPG, RPG, Turn-Based Strategy

    The tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.

  3. Reception

    Baldur's Gate 3Score 9.2 · 97% on Steam · 96 critic
    Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive EditionScore 8.8 · 96% on Steam · 93 critic

    The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.

  4. Content and scale

    Baldur's Gate 3855,414 reviews · 2 add-ons · 150 GB
    Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition205,637 reviews · 3 add-ons · 60 GB

    Reach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.

  5. Price

    Baldur's Gate 3$59.99
    Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition$44.99

    Read live from Steam and subject to change.

  6. On a Steam Deck

    Baldur's Gate 3Verified
    Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive EditionVerified

    Valve's own Deck compatibility rating.

Across the rounds a number can settle, it is level at 1 each. Which one is "better" is the part no figure decides, so we leave it to what you want from the two.

The two on the grid

Compare the whole catalogue

Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.

2 games have both

01000100PlayersPopularity

Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.

Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.

  • PC

Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.

See the whole grid

How positions are decided

No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
  • Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
  • Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
  • No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
  • A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
  • Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.

Which to pick, by what you want

  • The higher-rated of the two: Baldur's Gate 3 (GamingPickz Score 9.2)
  • The cheaper right now: Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition ($44.99)
  • Lighter on storage: Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition (60 GB)
  • The safer bet by weight of reviews: Baldur's Gate 3 (855,414 reviews)

What they have in common

Both are tagged by Steam players with:

RPGCharacter CustomizationChoices MatterStory RichCRPGFantasyRomanceStrategy

Where they differ

Baldur's Gate 3 is also

Turn-Based CombatDungeons & DragonsAdventureSexual ContentOnline Co-OpMultiplayer

Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition is also

Tactical RPGTurn-Based StrategyExplorationParty-Based RPGStrategy RPGPvP

Tags players apply to one game and not the other.

Difficulty and who each is for

By the tags players apply, Baldur's Gate 3 is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.

System requirements, side by side

Baldur's Gate 3Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition
Minimum GPUNvidia GTX 970 / RX 480 / Intel Arc A380 / Qualcomm Adreno X1 (4GB+ ofNVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 550
Minimum CPUIntel I5 4690 / AMD FX 8350 / Snapdragon X EliteIntel Core i5
Minimum RAM8 GB4 GB
Install size150 GB60 GB

Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Baldur's Gate 3 · Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition.

Accessibility features

Steam store pages declare 10 accessibility features for Baldur's Gate 3 and 1 for Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition. A declaration is a floor, not a review.

If you like one, also try

Common questions

How different are Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition in scope?

Baldur's Gate 3 has drawn 855,414 Steam reviews, ships 2 add-ons and installs in 150 GB. Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition has drawn 205,637 Steam reviews, ships 3 add-ons and installs in 60 GB.

Is Baldur's Gate 3 or Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition better?

By the GamingPickz Score, Baldur's Gate 3 rates higher (9.2 to 8.8). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.

Which is cheaper, Baldur's Gate 3 or Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition?

Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition is cheaper right now at $44.99, against $59.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.

Do you rank one above the other for a fee?

No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.

How we compare, and what we will not do

The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.

More on each