Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition

If you're into those deep, story-heavy RPGs, you might want to give this a shot. The graphics are kind of a mixed bag—the environments and characters look a bit old, but the artwork in the cutscenes is actually really well done and detailed. They've also thrown in some new features, like better targeting and more options for creating your character, which is pretty handy. Plus, there are new characters to meet, which is a nice touch if you've played the original. All in all, Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition is a solid way to dive into a classic RPG with some modern tweaks. It's not perfect, and it definitely has that old-school vibe, but if you're into rich stories and don't mind spending some time getting into it, it's definitely worth checking out. Just be ready to invest some time—it's a big game!

It's a game I didn't have the chance to play when it came out and now I'm enjoying it like a kid.

Haven't played this game in 20 years. Until now. Still one of my favorites!

First thing's first: I didn't grow up with this game. I know that GOG has this funny habit of giving every game they remembered playing as a kid a 5/5 and turning every CRPG on this site from the last 40 years into a 10/10 GOAT CLASSIC, but this isn't that. That said, I love this game. I bought the 2E books just to better understand this game. I ended up running 2E for my friends (still my preferred edition). You don't need any of that though. It is about as distilled down as the zero-to-Hero power fantasy gets. Romping through dungeons and getting magic loot that actually feels better, traveling a mostly contiguous openworld map with little if any handholding, managing a party of up to 6 from a roster of like 30!? It starts to feel more like fantasy Jagged Alliance 2 than a CRPG sometimes. You'll start killing rats in Candlekeep and end up battling the (hopeful) Avatar of a dark god below the bowels of a major city (and if you take your character through to BG2 and Throne of Bhaal, the stakes become even higher and the reward of completing the journey even more satisfying and epic in scope). That said, I go back to this one more than BG2 or 3 on any given day. Story is there but largely unintrusive, class mechanics and spell lists are small scale enough to not be a headache to manage 6 separate ones, its fast and furious and fun. As far as EE vs original goes, just get the fanmade Nostalgia UI and Sprites pack from the beamdog forums and the original videos to replace beamdog's honestly embarrassing tweened animations. Done, you've now get the best version of one of the best RPGs of all time.

I came back for another Sword Coast playthrough and decided to grab the EE several months after release. I must say overall the remake held up surprisingly well over my last modded playthrough. I found Neera and Rasaad to be quickly forgettable, however enjoyed both Dorn and Baeloth for my evil-aligned party. The changes to the UI felt adequate and when compared with my old save felt like a decent upgrade over the widescreen mod. I didn't encounter any earth-shattering bugs however there still were some present, which is a bit of a shame and shatters that selling point somewhat. Multiplayer worked well when tested however it was not he main focus of my time. The Black Pits was a bit iffy, and I quickly went back to the main game, but it may appeal to those that like arena style gameplay. Overall the EE is a solid product that performs as advertised. Is it worth the asking price? For someone who already owns BG, probably not. But for a newcomer who has not experienced the Sword Coast, this seems like a good bet. Afterall, it's still the same epic tale, and I had the same amount of fun with my 60+ hours with the EE. Give it a shot!