Great nostalgic game similar to the Baldur's Gate games of the past. I like the graphics, it's much more refined than I first thought and so far am enjoying everything. Nothing beats the classics, and anything that emulates them will get my money
I find this fine to play on my PC and with a keyboard and mouse. The graphics are great, there are no major bugs, just a few aesthetic ones that don't really make a massive difference to gameplay, such as you can see the outline of plants sometimes that comes through on the graphics, and little glitches that are more funny than anything game paralyzing. I am sure these will get ironed out in due time, its the first release. I think these days you need to expect a few months of ironing out. This isn't the 8-bit game era, these games are huge on a massive scale and you can see that detail in the game. The actual gameplay is fun. You are challenged with combat and have the option of stealth, cybernetics, and smart weapons in your arsenal. I enjoy the progressive leveling where each area you choose to use you gain experience in. Right now I am low on blunt weapons experience, so I have been beating everyone with an electric police baton. The detail is insane, the game has a lot of open-world content and I can't imagine the time it would take to build something on this scale. I'm hoping later in the game you can customize cars and deck them out with tech and weapons
This game made me realize I really prefer infinity engine games. Like the divinity games, this was extremely similar and I brought this expecting Baldurs Gate, but I got Divinity. It's my own fault, I guess the signs were there that it would be like Divinity, but I waited so damn long for another Baldurs Gate I had tunnel vision. I still play Baldurs gate 1 and 2 regularly and it's still relevant. Yeah, graphics could be nicer, but I like the simplicity of what it offers at face value but the complexity of its underbelly. It makes for an enjoyable game. This game felt much more complicated at the face value, such as the environments, items, characters ect almost to the point where they are distracting, but then much more simplistic on the systems, such as spells, leveling, combat ect. To me, that waters down the experience and I felt like I spend more time distracted by things I wasn't interested in while looking to find a game that challenged me and awoke something in me. I couldn't really get into this. To me, everything felt linear and I wasn't engaged to dig deeper into the world, or the characters. I think I will give it another solid go when it goes on sale, but for now, I got a refund as I lost interest in playing it.
This game is now much better than the original, modding included. I have played both many, many times, and modded both, and I must say that using the EE starts you off with the best foundation, and in conjunction with the Big World Mod, you get everything, and nows so simple to have it modded. The Big World Mod auto installs most mods available, has all the latest patches, updates, and makes sure they work seamlessly together. This all works with the latest patch, and the has an active community of updates. The problem I had with modding the original Baldur's Gate, is that you always had to run around getting new updates, and one incompatible mod that clashed with another mod, would ruin your game entirely, and you would have to re-install and start all over again, being super careful of what mods would glitch out, or completely stop your game. It was a massive amount of time wasted. EE at least starts you off with widescreen, relative combat info, zooming function, easier UI functionality etc. You now only need to download the Big World Mod to have them all, and it makes sure that they all work seamlessly together, so they don't clash- this alone is a life saver. You also don't need BG2EE to run this mod, and can just start with this game first if you want. This is the first time playing, where I have zero glitches, it's modded to the teeth, and the game runs 100% smoothly. There has never been a better time to play Baldur's Gate, and it rivals, if not exceeds Pathfinder: Kingmaker, POE etc.
This is an amazingly intricate game, with so much freedom, choice, and the ability to replay countless times. It has packed so much more in since POE1 and has build upon almost everything from that game in new and creative ways. Much more than I ever expected. This is awesome to see as it adds to the appeal and fun of replaying it, and it hasn't just dragged along all the same systems from POE1, which I was almost expecting to be done, as with BG1 to BG2. This feels like its own game in its way, and is a testament to the hard work of the people who made this and their drive to improve and offer as more. There is so much good to speak about for this game, as everything is finely polished from the voice acting, to the story line, combat, or the enhanced graphics since POE1. I am very much a fan, and am looking forward to replaying this again and again, and for all the the future updates, and DLC's. The only difference I felt in this game, was that it can take you a little time to get your feet, as tasks / quests will be coming at you from all angles and some may be out of your experience to handle straight away. This was a little overwhelming at the beginning, as their was no clear path laid out, and I was diving into areas of the game I probably shouldn't have been while at a lower level. The more I played however, the easier it became to navigate and I think this comes naturally for each persons playing style. The game doesn't hold your hand however, and you should expect to fail, die, replay, and constantly refine your own methods of playing - this is one of the greatest things about this game however, as it offers such a fantastic level of complexity that anything is possible.
This game is a masterpiece. Through and through. In any scenario you can play the game in a million different ways, with a million different outcomes, and still be learning new things. The powerful D&D backing gives this games a complexity that you can take to unlimited creative limits, while at the same time you marvel at the simple things that make this game a benchmark masterpiece, like the quirky voice overs that become timeless, a compelling and expansive story line, and characters that draw you in. It really had all the elements of an amazing game that you could play again and again and never get bored. In fact since paying as a kid, when I replay now, I am still learning new things, exploring side quests I have never done before, or finding new characters, all the while learning new tweaks to enhance my stats or learning a new spell casting strategy that I never thought of before. I think a lot of game developers should take note of the seamless way that this game ultimately connects with its users. Let Baldur's gate be a reminder of how simple and complex can intertwine in such a way as to create a timeless experience that will capture the hearts of its players in the most amazing way.
