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You must gather your party before venturing forth.


Introduction

Baldur's Gate is a 2D isometric CRPG from the golden age and critically acclaimed as one of the best of its genre ever made. With the original hailing from 1998, the game needed some work. The enhanced edition provides several updates, such as native support for current high-resolution monitors and over 400 improvements to the original experience.
But does this time-worn classic have what it takes to stand amongst the pantheon of current CRPGs, or has it been slain and left in the dust?


🟩 Positives
🟥 Negatives


🟩 A lengthy and well-written story sprinkled with plot twists, betrayal, difficult decisions and companionship. You will be hard-pressed to find a more immersive journey.
🟩 Character customisation isn't visually substantial, but there are quite a few class options and character-specific details that you can augment to make them your own.
🟩 There are over 25 companions you can potentially recruit to your cause, all with unique personalities, motives and morality. You can't hope to align yourself with them all, so decisions make a difference not only with the story but also with who will choose to follow you into it.
🟩 The map is substantial for its age, and there are a lot of places to discover and explore, with incredible rewards awaiting those diligent and powerful enough to wrest them from their hiding places.
🟥 The 2nd Edition Dungeons and Dragons ruleset. For a whole heap of reasons.
🟥 There are few skills to turn the tide of combat, especially as a melee character.



Story

Having spent your entire life behind the thick and sturdy walls of Candlekeep, you have little experience of the world beyond them. Your foster father, Gorion, has done everything in his power to keep you out of harm's way, but as mysterious circumstances unfold, fate forces you to flee and leave your friends behind.
It is here beyond the walls of your former home that tragedy befalls you both.
Now alone, you, "Gorion's Ward", as the game refers to you, are drawn into a conflict that threatens to plunge the entire Sword Coast into war. With little more than vague directions from Gorion, your journey begins.
Baldur's Gate is one of the few games that captivated and enthralled me within the story for the entirety of the campaign. The narrative is well-written, the conversations feel honest and realistic, and the general world-building brims with impeccable detail.

Gameplay Analysis

Your life ends here.
Combat encounters in this game are a double-edged sword. All of them are engaging and story-driven moments within the world-building, but they can become incredibly tedious due to the 2nd Edition ruleset. I won't cover the ruleset in great detail, but quite a few resources online explain it far better than I can under such character limitations.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3039637204
Engagements begin upon encountering an enemy, and usually, there is a frontal dialogue to detail the reason for the fight with your new enemy before the battle begins. There are very few abilities to utilise here, especially for melee characters, and they will tend to engage and swing at the enemy until it dies. Casters are more complex and require a little more prep work to be effective in encounters. You need to memorise spells from scrolls and then rest overnight to be able to use that spell, but once they learn the magic, it is theirs forever, and they will only need to rest to replenish its uses.
Buffs for your party are critical within Baldur's Gate because many enemies are immensely mighty, and the odds are often heavily stacked in their favour. Buffing your party with haste, armour, and stat increases will help level the playing field, providing you with a fairer position to fight.
There are s-so many places I would rather be.
As with any RPG, regardless of its format, exploration is critically important to improving your character through experience and rare loot. Baldur's Gate 1 is no exception, as the best items are hidden off the beaten path and usually in the hands of deadly foes. The diligent explorer will comb the world for these items and attain rewards for their prowess with riches and powers beyond description. Steel yourselves, as these enemies won't hand over their treasures without a fight.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3039636862
Yes, oh, omnipresent authority figure?
There are over 25 companions to choose from within the world. Each of them is unique in that they have their own personalities and moral compass and may choose to accept or decline your invitations based on what they know of you, and may even decide to leave you if you deviate too far off their moral compass. There are clear synergies to factor in, as some group dynamics work better than others, and that should be considered before inviting someone new to your team. But it's all about experimentation, and as a worst case, if you decide they aren't a good fit you can ask them to leave, but be aware if you do ask them to leave, they may leave for good.

Audio and Visual

Baldur's Gate isn't going to blow you away with cutting-edge visuals and a crisp resolution, but it does, however, look exemplary for its age. The environments have a clean visual style that doesn't overwhelm your senses but lets you appreciate the world around you. The improvements of the Enhanced Edition did a lot to bring this game into the current era. But with that said, the camera is static and isn't freely controllable, so you will have to accept that what you can see is all you have.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3039637366
The above is also true of the audio, where many tracks have been lovingly restored or recreated to deliver a very nostalgic experience with a far more modern edge. Having the original soundtrack remastered is excellent because this has to be one of my all-time favourite soundtracks.

PC Performance and Specifications

This title is originally from 1998, and I will safely assume everyone with a modern system will run this game flawlessly. There are no graphical flaws or issues to report.

Final Thoughts - Excellent

Review chart here.
Baldurs Gate is defined as one of the greatest CRPGs ever developed, and rightly so. It is everything you want it to be and more, allowing you almost true freedom to complete objectives how you desire to and providing substantial consequences for those decisions. With a likeable retinue of characters and a dense, well-written storyline, Baldur's Gate has well-earned its crown and I look forward to seeing the games that try to contend with it. This game is worth its already discounted price, and if you're a fan of the genre this is one you cannot miss.
Sharpen your blades, embody your armour and venture forth into the sprawling wilds of Hell, Purgatory and Paradise where every review is a journey worth taking.