Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear

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2.6/5

( 299 Reviews )

2.6

299 Reviews

English & 6 more

Posted on: February 26, 2017

hgarde

Games: Reviews: 2

A surprisingly nice return to the BG setting

I have played essentially all the IE games and newer games in the same genre such as Pillars of Eternity. I write my first review on GoG as a consequence of seeing the many 1/5 star reviews; this expansion deserves far better. Disclaimer: I did not read any reviews before playing the expansion, therefore these are my experiences with the game as of early 2017. The story and gameplay of SoD is very much in the spirit of the Baldur's Gate games. The game picks up right after BG1 with the same main character. Many of the beloved companions return, including much of the original voice cast, and the story ties BG1 and BG2 well together with sufficient mystery and foreshadowing (finally giving meaning to the BG2 beginning). There is less exploration compared to BG1, however there are still plenty of optional characters, quests, and events (including fighting a well after dropping a weapon, rather than gold, into it, and also there are secrets that can only be found using infravision). Your expectations going into the expansion should be, exactly that: it is an expansion to BG1, i.e. not a full BG-game in the series. For this reason the game length is about 25h, and most of the mechanics are identical to those of BG1. This is also the reason I give it 4/5 as it is only an expansion. So, why are there so many bad reviews on GoG? Well the initial reviews seems to be good, however there has been a sh**storm involving a transgender character and possibly some out-of-character remarks by Minsc. It seems that the developers have patched the game to reduce the controversy: http://www.pcgamer.com/baldurs-gate-siege-of-dragonspear-mod-cuts-transgender-reference/ Regarding multiplayer I cannot give any feedback as I always play these games in singleplayer. I can only comment on how I experienced the game long after many of the reviews here, and I did not notice any tacked on political statement (I was not aware that I was "supposed to" be offended even if there were some remnants left after that patch). So, if you are not involved in the SJW/anti SJW debate (good for you!) and you want more BG story, then this expansion is a lovely return to the characters and setting we all love. By the way, Chris Avellone was also positve about the expansion before the whole sh**storm, so I guess that also counts for something.

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Posted on: May 23, 2020

DuneRunner

Verified owner

Games: 267 Reviews: 16

Potential

DS is best equivalent to ToB meets IWD 1. -If you can ignore some terrible voices, and some sjw garbage here and there, you will find an actually fun mini campaign that unnecessarily sets up BG2. -The Good: What DS does well is gameplay + The new gear, items, equipment, and weapons are fantastic, either by random or standard placing, the new additions feel right at home and do improve the overall game. + DS has done a great job with introducing new enemies, enemy variants, and adding in enemies from different Infinity Engine games like Planescape, IWD, and BG1/2/ToB. + The maps and art are another area of good. They have done well here with level and map design, art looks great and there is even good interactivity with several areas - The Neutral: + The story of DS is alright, nothing about it is groundbreaking. The biggest weakness lies in it being a mini campaign in-between a much better game and story of BG2. Like I stated, DS unnecessarily sets up BG2 which is unneeded. It reminds me of PoE2 in the vain of a character on a "divine" quest. + The returning VAs; those who do return to reprise their roles do a decent if not well job. The last time they had taken up these roles were the late 1990s so it is understandable if they may sound a tad off. + The difficultly was fine for me, there may be a few spikes but if you have played BG before it is nothing new. DS is better when you playthrough the game again, not a first run. - The Bad + The most notable negative aspect is the terrible new voices, not all are bad and some are fine but many of these new voices and new characters sound awful. I much prefer the charming early 1990s inhouse voices than where ever these nerd VAs came from. Think fan films. + last but not least, the forced SJW agenda content, it is small but annoying and not needed. My final verdict, Beamdog has alot of potential here, but it would have been better just to make a new game in the same engine than a DLC for BG1

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Edited on: October 17, 2025

Posted on: February 28, 2023

Adam_Phillip

Games: 15 Reviews: 2

underrated gem - great in its own right

I can explain the bad reviews: Baldur's gate 2 is probably the best CRPG of all time (my personal favourite) and the fans have all loved it for 20 years. Comparing Siege of Dragonspear to BG2 (an incomparable masterpiece) is just stupid. Nothing will match BG2 in terms of story-telling and immersion. BUT if you've played BG/Icewind dale and love the style, the gameplay, the visual aesthetic, its all here. They mixed up the combat and items and created a game experience that doesn't try to be the original, but still let me relive some of its glory.

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Posted on: July 21, 2020

Faldang

Verified owner

Games: 2620 Reviews: 51

So far so great

After about 4-5 hours into the expansion, I'm having tons of fun with it. It's been almost a decade since I beat the original saga, and it feels good to be back. I'm actually surprised by all the reviews. As far as my experience goes, I haven't encountered any bugs so far, the party banter is brilliant, Corwin is an interesting character, and the dialogs are well written. Combat in DnD-based games was never my forte, so I like the new difficulty options. I also like the increased stack size for ammo and other items. I might revisit this review once I finish the expansion, but so far I like it a lot.

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Posted on: May 7, 2017

mldame

Verified owner

Games: 23 Reviews: 1

A Worthy Expansion on the Original Games

I just played this for the first time, and the bugs that seemed to have been prevalent upon first release are mostly gone as of Spring 2017. The game crashed for me twice (both time while loading a cut-scene), but the auto save retained the content-- meaning there was no loss of progress and no problems other than momentary irritation. Some of the criticisms of the game seem fair: it is more linear than either of the two main games; there are sections with trivial runaround quests; and I understand why the ending (after the completion of the main quest) could seem like an anti-climax to some (it serves as transition material between the first and second games). That said, it is still the best expansion in the series (and, yes, that includes Throne of Bhaal), and it was fun to re-visit the Baldur's Gate world. I started from the original Baldur's Gate and worked my way up to the expansion, and I will probably go ahead and take the same character through Throne of Bhaal for old time's sake. I would recommend you do the same (at least the starting from the beginning part), as the experience will be much more satisfying. If you also remember that this is an expansion-- and not a sequel, you are more likely to come away impressed, rather than be disappointed. I would also suggest recruiting the Goblin shaman M'Khiin. She is by far the most interesting new character, and she is more powerful than she first appears (eventually filling a valuable niche in the party). As to some of the other complaints (there is a transgender character, and you don't have the option to be nasty to her; the female characters have more agency than in the original games; and there is the possibility of homosexual romance): the less said about these, the better. Some people can only feel big by trying to make others feel small. Overall: if you're a fan of the original games, it's worth your time (though not essential)

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