Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition Reviews

very good, the new style of combat was an interesting change of pace (in a good way)

A bit like pulling teeth at times, but still a solid game all these years later. The start is ROUGH (but it only gets easier)

Amazing game, got it back when it 1st game out, have purchased every version of the game release on multiple platforms.

Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition is a masterful reimagining of a classic role-playing game that has stood the test of time, offering both nostalgia and modern refinement for new and veteran players alike. Originally released in 1998, the game has been lovingly remastered by Beamdog, incorporating updated graphics, quality-of-life improvements, and additional content while preserving the core essence of its rich storytelling and strategic gameplay. From the moment you launch the game, it’s clear that every detail has been thoughtfully considered to enhance the experience without overshadowing the beloved original. The game’s art style now features higher-resolution textures and character models, bringing a vibrant yet faithful aesthetic to the fantasy world of the Forgotten Realms. The soundtrack, which was already iconic, has been remastered to sound clearer and more immersive, further immersing players in its epic narrative. The gameplay of Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition remains as compelling as ever, rooted in the Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition ruleset. Players assemble a party of characters, each with their own backgrounds, skills, and personalities, and embark on a sprawling adventure filled with intrigue, combat, and exploration. The strategic depth of combat is a highlight, requiring players to carefully consider positioning, spell usage, and party composition to succeed against a variety of enemies and challenges. The game’s interface has been improved for modern systems, making party management and menu navigation smoother and more intuitive, which significantly reduces the frustration often associated with older RPGs. Furthermore, the addition of new content, such as the expansion modules “The Black Pits” and “The Black Pits II,” along with new characters and quests, adds significant replay value and fresh experiences even for seasoned players. One of the most compelling aspects of Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition is its storytelling. The game’s narrative is intricate, layered, and driven by memorable characters who each contribute to the overarching plot of political intrigue, ancient prophecies, and personal quests. The writing is sharp and often humorous, with dialogue choices that can influence relationships and story outcomes, encouraging multiple playthroughs to see different endings. The depth of character development and the moral complexity of decisions lend a sense of agency and immersion that few RPGs can match. The game’s world-building is exceptional, with detailed environments, lore-rich texts, and a compelling soundtrack that enhances the sense of adventure and discovery. Multiplayer options and mod support further extend the game’s longevity. The multiplayer mode allows for cooperative adventures with friends, and the robust modding community has created a wealth of custom content, from new quests and characters to graphical improvements and gameplay tweaks. The developers have supported the game post-launch with patches and updates, demonstrating a commitment to maintaining and improving the experience. Although some might find the interface and mechanics dated compared to modern RPGs, the enhancements and the timeless quality of the narrative make Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition a must-play for fans of classic RPGs and newcomers eager to experience a cornerstone of fantasy gaming. Its combination of refined visuals, expanded content, and enduring storytelling ensures that it remains not just a nostalgic relic but a vibrant, engaging adventure that continues to captivate players decades after its original release. Rating: 9/10

2e is a little hard to get used to but overall a very fun game and if you like bg3 id definitely recommend playing bg1 & 2

I understand the nostalgia many players feel for Baldur’s Gate. But not all old games age the same. Some age like wine, others like milk. Take Planescape: Torment - its gameplay is admittedly clunky, outdated and potentially as irritable, but its atmosphere, music, writing, and overall emotional impact remain powerful even today. By contrast, Baldur’s Gate hasn’t aged quite as well. Its mechanics and pacing weigh it down, aesthetically (I know how separate graphics from aesthetics) its not impressive either, especially the early locations, and without the benefit of nostalgia, its flaws stand out much more sharply. The combat in Baldur’s Gate is a real stinker. It’s not just that it’s slow, unbalanced, and clunky - you’re constantly punished for exploring, for casting the wrong spell half a second too late, or for not standing in the exact right formation. Magic battles often devolve into trial and error, and enemy mages can wipe your party before you even react (f*** Cloudkill). Only Baldur’s Gate 3 has managed to redeem this kind of dice-roll-based system, turning it into something enjoyable, dynamic, and full of player agency - something that makes luck fun rather than frustrating. BG1, sadly, feels more like a chore than a challenge. This feeling of doing chores also applies to quests and endless walking/traversing locations with nothing happening. One of the biggest letdowns in Baldur’s Gate is how companions are handled. Despite having a wide cast of potential party members, most of them function more like strategic tools than living characters. I'd compare their differences and impact to Heroes you hire in tavern in HoMM games. They exist primarily to fill roles in your combat roster, not to engage with the world, with each other, or meaningfully with you. You rarely get real banter or personal story arcs in the way modern RPGs - or even BG2 - later offered. They’re numbers with swords, not people with motivations. Yeah, some have companion quests, which is nice, but do not expect the same feeling of 'party' you may get in Dragon Age of Mass Effect games. This turns party-building into an exercise in tactical optimization rather than emotional investment. I am one of those who primarily builds party on character and interest, not gameplay utility. There is a central plot thread that gives you a reason to keep pushing forward, but it’s paper-thin compared to what follows in Baldur’s Gate II. The first game largely serves as an extended prologue - an introduction to a world and a few beloved characters. The real narrative substance begins with Shadow of Amn. In BG1, the story ultimately boils down to “bad guy lost,” with little of the moral nuance or emotional stakes that define the sequel. BG3, BG2, BG1 spoilers: [spoiler]I also had hoped the first two games will explore more in depth the implications of sharing the tainted lineage of Bhaal - I enjoyed the Dark Urge story in BG3. Here, unfortunately, it is quite shallow and underexplored. Only by Throne of Bhaal expansion in BG2 they realized it is a worthwile area of narrative creativity[/spoiler]. There’s a telling irony in the fact that Baldur’s Gate includes a 'Story Mode' that renders your party immortal. It feels less like an accessibility option and more like a quiet admission that the game’s difficulty curve is broken and that combat is not particularly fun.

I've played original game back in "97 countless of hours and still today it warms my hearth! With this game I've also learn English very well since English is not my primary language with help of dictionary of course. Story telling and game play is just perfect. Beside Diablo and Half-Life franchise this is 10/10 game.

If your system locale is not set to English, avoid this game. If your Documents folder in your user directory is named anything other than the English characters "Documents," you cannot save your game. It will display a message saying, "Not enough disk space to save the game." Renaming the Documents folder risks corrupting its contents. In my case, it contains over 10 GB of save data from other games, which I cannot risk losing. The developers are very lazy, and they didn't bother to resolve this issue in the past 10 years. I seriously can't recommend this game.

[h1]Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition[/h1] I just replayed the original Baldur's Gate over a few days. Why? Honestly, I’m not sure—I had a sudden urge to revisit a game I loved and beat as a kid but never fully understood mechanically. I figured I’d create a character (Half-elf Conjuror) and bounce off it after an hour or two, due to its age. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself locked in for hours. It’s kind of amazing how well this game holds up, considering it’s 27 years old (!). That says a lot about the staying power of the CRPG genre—and the quality of the original. The Enhanced Edition (2013) (“EE”) deserves credit here, too: it allows for modern resolutions and quality-of-life tweaks that make a big difference. The hand-painted backdrops and stylized sprites still look charming enough that the dated visuals never pulled me out of the experience. I’ve always had fond memories of the characters—Minsc, Jaheira, Imoen—but I was surprised by how little dialogue or interaction they actually have in the first game. Most companions have 2–3 lines and then more or less fade into the background. Still, they’re strong archetypes, and their personalities come through clearly from their introductions. I realized that a lot of my emotional connection to them comes from Baldur’s Gate II, which gives them far more depth. However, their presence here is still meaningful, especially if you’re planning to move on to the sequel. Gameplay is where the experience really clicked for me. I remember the game being tough back in the day—but this time, playing on Core Rules, I found it quite manageable. Understanding the AD&D ruleset and knowing how to build a party made a huge difference. It’s extremely satisfying to use the right buffs, counters, and spell combinations at the right time. That said, it’s a slow burn. Early levels can feel restrictive—my Conjuror could only slightly contribute to most fights until I hit level 5. But once I had access to level 3 spells and the Ring of Wizardry, everything opened up. With a solid party (Dynaheir, Jaheira, and others), I could buff, debuff, and nuke with confidence. From that point on, combat felt genuinely rewarding. Tip: The game runs slowly by default. You can edit the .ini file to raise the framerate cap from 30 to 45 or 60 FPS—it makes a huge difference in pacing and responsiveness. The Enhanced Edition adds new companions and the Siege of Dragonspear expansion (released in 2016 by Beamdog, not Bioware) that bridges the story between BG1 and BG2. I tried the new companions when EE launched and they never quite fit—they felt tonally off compared to the originals. So I skipped them this time. As for Siege of Dragonspear, it kicks in right after the final cutscene of BG1. I gave it about an hour, but I had the same reaction—something about the writing and atmosphere didn’t feel quite right, so I’d rather move on to Baldur’s Gate II. Maybe it’s just me, but it lacked the charm of the original. I always felt that the story didn’t need “bridging” between BG1 and BG2. Was this playthrough nostalgia-fueled? Probably. But it was also fun—about 45 hours of it. Baldur’s Gate remains a landmark title, and even with its slower early game and some light companion content, it still delivers a rich, strategic, and surprisingly immersive experience. If you're a fan of isometric RPGs, tactical combat, or D&D-style systems, this game is absolutely worth a visit. Just be patient at the start, tweak the framerate, and embrace the magic. [b]Verdict: 8/10[/b] Still a gem. Not perfect, but damn satisfying - especially if you want to continue into Baldur's Gate II.

Bought for nostalgia. Started today to play for maybe 15 minutes and move on to something else. I'm like 4 hours in... It's not just nostalgia, they really did use to make them way, way better than now.