Hi, I'm not sure if this is the right forum to ask this, but I need suggestions (with reason if possible).

I have bought Baldur's gate 1 & 2, Icewind Dale 1 & 2, as well as Planescape Torment on GOG. The three classic infinity engine games.
I really liked them despite only played just a bit of them in the past when I was younger but never actually finished it and kind of forgot the stories and stuff since it's a long time ago (still remember the mechanic and complicated THAC0 though). Right now they're just sitting there on my library for ages...getting dusty.

I plan to...no scratch that...I vow to play them all since they are the games I really wanted to play before I die.
But I'm not sure which game should I start first and play last for best experience and pace.

Any suggestions / recommendations?

Thanks in advance!

The CLASSIC versions of Baldur 1-2, and then the classic version of IWD, then IWD2 and finally Planescape.

You can absolutely play them in any order that you want. One thing that I might suggest, especially if you're intending to play the original versions (non-EE). The Infinity Engine was evolving together with the games, so it might be a bit strange to visit earlier games that may have some differences. That's why I would suggest to play in the order that the games were released:
- Baldur's Gate
- Planescape: Torment
- Icewind Dale
- Baldur's Gate II
- Icewind Dale II

You may of course play BG and BGII one after another and IWD series likewise, but I noticed that some people seem to burn out going to the sequel directly after the first game, so this order adds a bit of breathing room before going to BGII, or IWDII.

Two people already mentioned doing BG first (btw my version is the classic ones and I think I should use mods. Tutu I guess?)

I support this notion as well.
Is better to have a vanilla experience. Maybe just basic mods for resolution and fixing bugs (those are sticked topics n each forum)

The sequence after the first one can be debated, but I think it's best to start with Baldur's Gate. Of course the Classic / Original version.

For all these games, I too recommend first playing them without mods. Playing the "vanilla" non-modded version will give you the experience that the original designers most meant for you to have. Save the mods for subsequent play-thrus to liven up the repeat, but first play the versions that made these games the legends that they are.

First I would do PST. It is a much slower game (i.e. more story, less combat) than BG and IWD. If you play BG or IWD first, PST might feel too slow in comparison.

Then I would do IWD1. This is the much faster game (less story, more combat) of the bunch.

Then I would do BG1 and BG2. This is the sprawling epic, the king of the Infinity-engine games. Lots of story, lots of combat, lots of everything. And BG2 is a direct continuation of BG1. So after BG1, you will immediately want to see what happens next in BG2.

Last I would do IWD2. By the time this game was developed, the AD&D 2nd Edition rules were discontinued by the pen-and-paper manufacturers, so this game was modified to use AD&D 3rd Edition rules, to stay relevant. After playing the others, it'll be an adjustment playing IWD2 and its mechanics. A good game, but definitely the odd-ball of the group. You wouldn't want this in the middle of the others, imho.

Also, PST, IWD1, and BG1 have the lowest (worst) screen resolutions. So this is the order of how it'll look on your monitor. It'd be painful on the eyes, going from BG2 to PST or IWD1.

If you could sell your Infinity-engine game virginity, it'd sell big, dude!

Otherwise, after all is said and done, we can talk about which you liked the best. I've read many interesting debates over the years on that one.

It's interesting the order that people give. Personally, since I roleplay, I would go with the Forgotten Realms timeline, in which Planescape Torment has no place, so can be placed anywhere. This would be my preferred chronological setting order, based on the year in which each are set (DR == Dale Reckoning):

1281 DR - Icewind Dale (Year of the Cold Soul)
1310 DR - Icewind Dale II (Year of Storms)
1358 DR - The Time of Troubles (Year of Shadows)
1368 DR - Baldur's Gate (Year of the Banner)
1369 DR - Baldur's Gate II (Year of the Gauntlet)
1372 DR - Neverwinter Nights (Year of Wild Magic)
1374 DR - Neverwinter Nights II (Year of Lightning Storms)

Now that is interesting. All this time, I had no idea that the BG and IWD games had official spots on the FR calendar. It's all just so cool. Cheers to Faerûn!

Man what I wouldn't give for an Infinity-engine game using the Ravenloft setting.

Yes, fortunately I bought the games on Gog prior to EE release (but haven't played them). So I have the classic version!

I checked the mod guides in Gog threads and I decided I will try to apply some essential mod like resolution+font and some bug fixes. I am not sure if I have time to replay all them again due to family and stuff, so I guess I'll still use the basic mods. I think my definition of vanilla is more like using 'not essentially game changing' mods.

I'm still thinking whether I should start with Planescape or BG1 first. I remember Planescape is more straightforward (the Nameless One is amnesia if I remember correctly) to start rather than BG1. But I remember BG's combat is better hmm. I never played IWD1 though. IWD2 I think was the mercenary team on docks or something.

Btw, technically I'm not a Infinity-engine virgin. I just sold it a long-long time ago I forgot how the 'sex' feels. LOL.

Note that I'm not opening any walkthrough / guide here so I don't get spoiled too much. To simulate the 'virginity'...you know.

Ah yes Neverwinter Nights. Albeit I have it, it's on my priority bucket list.
(I also played D&D back in the day....if that has anything to do with roleplay)

Most people suggested the vanilla experience. I suggest the same except for playing BG1. "My personal opinion" is that original BG1 engine is ugly and very annoying. You cant pause while checking inventory, it will auto unpause once you visit inventory. I spend half of my time in inventory while playing RPG games so that was annoying for me. Also you cant use TAB to see things you can interact with. I dont enjoy pixel hunting so that was also annoying for me. Finally, the default resolution is 480x 640 which is too small. Install both BG1 and BG2 and play both for a little while and you will see what i mean.

You can use BG:T Mod to play BG1 with BG2 engine. There is also something called BG-TUTU but I have never tried that.

Baldur's Gate.

That's why it's better to play it as the first game. The BG1 engine is fine, it only may become annoying once you get used to easier BG2 engine. Besides, using these mods changes the balance of the game a lot. BG1 engine is not worse, it just plays differently. Funny that you call it ugly, where BG2 character models are inferior to the BG1 ones (paperdolls as well). For the vanilla experience in the first playthrough I wouldn't recommend fiddling with changing the engine.

BGT and TuTu are mostly for people who played BG2 before BG1 and can't get used to the earlier version of the engine. For someone who didn't play either a lot it's completely unnecessary.

As for pixel hunting, well that's what secrets and/or easter eggs are supposed to be - really hard to find. Especially in BG1 you can find some relly powerful items very early in the game and it's up to the individual player to decide whether it's fair, or even cheating to easily obtain these. I remember back in 1999 where together with my friend we were looking for one of those items, because his older brother told him about it. We didn't have the internet back then, so no exact coordinates. It took me some playthroughs to finally find it. I really liked the whole mistery about it, after many failed attempts we thought that his brother made it all up.

No pause in inventory is a feature, not a limitation of the engine (there's pause in multiplayer). It's quite similar to Fallout where you have to use action points in order to access your inventory mid-fight. It forces the player to make decisions that are sometimes a bit tricky - should I get that potion from the inventory, or is it too risky in the middle of a fight. This is also an example how BG2 engine messes up with the balance of the game.

Using widescreen mod + TWM-gui is the way to go, if the resolution is too low.

Sorry for that ramble, I don't mean to be nitpicky (though it may seem as such), I just wouldn't recommend such total-conversion mods for the first playthrough.