So how does Baldur’s Gate II, ye oldie, hold up after all these years? Pretty good, actually thanks for asking. Yeah yeah, you know, I’ve done the whole “jaunt through the GOG.com archive” and yeah, those older games are all amazing, but hell if they’re not dated. So you’re probably thinking: oh, this is repackaged 13-year-old game that looks almost identical to its original incarnation? Add in the expansion (which comes free in this package), and you have something to last you a few seasons. It may be rank as one of the longest sit-down sessions of your life (total game time for just one complete play-through clock in around 200-250 hours, though without Steam’s magical playtime counter, I never could verify a decade ago and can’t today, either, because I neglected to get it on Steam wtf). You’ll find trekking difficult without building an A-class team of well-experienced, well-equipped adventurers who’ll follow you across brutal fields of combat and ludicrously entertaining multi-dimensional fetch quests.
It’s a tactical, party-based game, which means you either customize your party members or stumble upon them in unlikely places. The game continues to weave an intricately layered narrative wound in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting (based on the Advanced D&D 2nd edition rule set). The Only Thing That’s Aged is Youīaldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn was originally released in 2000 two years after its predecessor by the defunct-but-now-not-defunct Black Isle Studios.
EVERYTHING TINY BALDURS GATE ENHANCED EDITION SERIES
Having already magicked their way into the hearts and minds of Baldur's Gate fans through their restoration of the original game last year, they've valiantly followed through with the Enhanced Edition for Baldur's Gate II - easily the best of the series (and I'll add my name to those who claim it as one of the greatest RPG experiences in gaming history). It's been a while since I've returned to the shores of the Sword Coast, but Beamdog's latest effort has made the trek a rewarding investment (35+ hours in and I still hadn't even rescued Imoen, reminding me of how deeply satisfying this game is).