When I first heard about this game back when it was in development that I was shocked people still cared about this aesthetic that has long since passed. I can see that some of these new generation of teenagers have grown to have appreciation for the past which puts a smile on my face. This game as it is described does indeed capture the retro feel, but with some modern advancements such as the type of music, advanced spriting details, and while still capturing the past at the same time. Sometimes it is good to mix retro with modern techniques if done correctly which this game successfully done. The story itself is very linear, but with some side-content sprinkled here and there. The one letdown I had with this game was the lack of endgame content, but from my understanding there was update that included new dungeons which I didn't get a chance to tackle and endgame content I was about to give a bump down, so now I must give 5 stars to reflect the new changes to this game. The Battle System is probably one of the hardest I've played due to the way you have to chain your attack patterns for maximum damage. On lower difficulties this isn't too much of a challenge, but on higher settings that one wrong move can end your party. In a way this works because most monsters once defeated never re-spawn unless you use that one program for training purposes, so this can be very rewarding for some people. The only real cons with this game is that the Character Portraits could use a bit of polish, and WHY ISN'T THERE A DAMN SEQUEL? This World the devs created has potential!
So this review is much like my review of BG1E; the game itself with the current patch has made this game a very fun experience, and I enjoyed most of the new additional content and along with the much needed bugfixes which a lot of new players would have never casually known about unless you went digging into the game's coding (such as the Bugged Jaheira Romance at the time when this game first released and a bunch of side-content that had to be fixed as well). However once again the new areas being technically locked behind alignment should not have been the way to go, and can lock a player out of a chunk of the new content. A good guy route would have been nice for people who don't particularly like to play a evil character just to experience it. BG2E much like the original still suffers from the Chapter Walls where certain sidequests can be locked out forever if you're not careful, and I suggest you do the certain content before you head into the Underdark. Though in a way I suppose this is a consequence as a Adventurer if you don't pay attention. Part of me wishes that Beamdog could have added a Epilogue chapter after the final boss just so we could see what happened after the final battle, but the original ending is good as it can be.
I played this game with the current patch that is out, so my experience will be different compared to others. I actually didn't come across any bugs (that were noticeable) when I first played this, and thoroughly enjoyed my uninterrupted experience. This review doesn't take into account of the controversy due to a certain writer during a very toxic time that was affecting a lot of the Entertainment Industry. I think a lot of these reviews I'm reading on here have clouded the reality concerning the quality of the game itself (aside from the bugs that has since been patched), and only because of that one major issue which I addressed. With that said. The Interquel is a interesting addition to the Baldur's Gate Series, and one filled with many things that is homage to the original game. It sets up a different tone where in the original game it was about exploration and the life of adventurer while trying to solve the mystery in regards to the plot. Here that is stripped away, and much more linear with a sense of urgency considering how the plot evolves into that. Though it works pretty well in many sections, but sometimes the player can easily miss optional content if he/she doesn't look in the right place. Though in a way I enjoy that aspect because that is what exploration should be about, but the game can unexpectedly lock you out of the area when you least expect it. (Fun fact if you use the cheat command to get back into the locked areas, and you'll find small but interesting content you would never normally see; I wonder what the devs had planned)? The final area and boss of this game was a pleasant surprise. There is actually one additional scene at the very end of the game, but requires a mod to turn it back on (the scene is used as a bridge for BG2 and that is all I will say on it). This game didn't really leave a bad taste in my mouth, and I believe the Beamdog Devs did very well despite the toxic circumstances.
This review is based off from using Windows 10 + Laptop with NVIDIA to play this game: So I played this revision of the game with the current patch implemented, and far as I can tell this game runs smooth like butter and I enjoyed it thoroughly when it came to the main original campaign. The new technical stuff offer more options to play with though one of which I really didn't like too much such as the new look for the characters which I automatically turned off. I also recommend mods that restore original content that didn't quite make it into BG1 Enhanced Edition, but adds a couple more hours to the game's overall average playing time. As for any other optional mods I leave it up to the person reading this, but always make sure to research each mod thoroughly before installing it (as some still have some major bugs). The Cons - Though I do like the new content to a certain extent, but I felt a couple of the new scenarios seemed kind of rushed which doesn't quite reflect the same quality to the original game. The areas that are locked behind a alignment check (technically) seems like a major letdown because these areas should as least be given a good-guy route instead of being forcibly evil to participate in it. I had to use the cheat commands just to see what these areas were all about due to my alignment. For now it will probably be up to modders to remedy this as I'm sure Beamdog as moved on since then to work on other projects. The Pros - The game runs smoothly as it can ever be thanks to Beamdog's patches; I understand that coding computer games can be a real challenge whether your a small or big studio and some of these previous reviews seem rather unfair though justified in their experience at the time. I like some of the small extra additions they made with this game that just improves the overall experience.
