Completely agree, I love the gameplay and I think it does a really good job of letting people live out their D&D fantasies with the combination of dice rolls, skill checks and multiple approaches to quests. I'm really enjoying it.

I'm only in Act 2, and the overall story so far has been serviceable, in my opinion. An adequate vehicle to drive the gameplay and put you in contact with various content. The whole "tempting you with power from a dangerous corrupting source" plot feels a little derivative of Bhaalspawn powers, but I'm hoping the Illithid story develops beyond that eventually.

My biggest gripe has been the characters, so far. BG2 had a fantastic cast of memorable companions with numerous internal relationships, great interactions and surprisingly deep romances, especially for its time. Most BG3 companions I've recruited so far have felt much flatter, blander and less interesting. Even the voice acting, while not bad per se, hasn't felt like it has the same amount of character and distinction.