Baldur's Gate 1 leads you through a world where everything seems ordinary while also conveying a constant potential for the extraordinary. It puts you in the role of a nobody, who compelled by mysteryous reasons, is forced to leave his cloistered life. And so it goes: you're unexperienced, vulnerable and clueless, roaming through a land that is as broad as you are free to explore it. Your relevance in this world is evident — you're the protagonist after all —, but you know nothing about it and will affect your surroundings initially by means of small, trivial deeds — but also the occasional heroic ones. The game is slow-paced, almost disorientingly vast and rather empty, but its emptiness makes every discovery intriguing and every encounter suspicious — a child looking for a pet may or may not be what it seems. Still, in spite of its vastness and vagueness, the game feels very organic, nothing's ever out of place. The story does not want to be ambitious and this is where it shines. You'll mainly face the everyday problems of common people, some of whom have been affected by a major local political and social crisis. All of them contribute to bring life and credibility to this universe you're set into. And eventually the plot will scale. Companions are very simplistic and lack greater dept, but being archetypal they're easily understandable and relatable — the loyal childhood friend, the young warrior who seeks only justice, evil wizards and greedy thieves. Much like everything else that seems vague about the game, their simplicity is meant to be completed by the player's imagination (this is a roleplaying game, after all). Beamdog's Enhanced Edition made the game playable without the need of mods, while also adding new content, which not at all offends the original game. It's true some of the encounters are forced upon you, but Baldur's Gate II is full of forced interactions. The new characters add variety to the game and are very likeable. A lovely videogame.
