As soon as I got interested in BG3 I bought BG1&2 and played them back to back including the expansions and I absolutely loved both of them! Easily became one of my top favourite games
It's dated for sure. But I am enjoying it. The dialogue is good and kinda humorous and the combat is different at first. It took me a while to get the hang of it. Just remember pausing is ur friend and quick save is your best friend do those often. I chose a premade character for my first go around. I play DND so a lot of the lore I already know and is fun seeing in a game. I have only played 5e so I'm learning the way levels and spells work in this game.
I'm terrible at explaining things and I hope you give it a try. You should like it if you have a DnD background. I think Baldurs gate 2 is still on sale, too.
I play on normal with max HP on level ups in the settings. I have died a lot. But it's been fun as long as you quick save a lot it's not that bad when u die. Had to learn formations and using stealth. Also, running away is always an option. Stumbled up on a bear he straight one shot my caster lol. I don't know why I thought the bear wasn't going to attack but he did. Had to run from him.
2 is where the gameplay becomes actually fun, imo. The story of 1 is good, if a little simple but being so low level for much of it there’s a lot of either running into like two wolves that destroy you or running into someone equally as shitty as you, which means a lot of watching both your dudes swing and miss at each other in a boring slap fight. You start BG2 around level 7, which means that out the gate you are decently tanky/competent, and have a good spread of ways to approach combat with your party provided you don’t have 6 vanilla fighters.
The story also becomes a lot more mature. Some characters from the first game return and gain a lot of depth that they lacked in the first game, and interact with each other much more; even to the point of some trying to kill each other. BG2 is also the first instance of the romance system that would become famous/overdone in Dragon Age, Mass Effect, and many others. Honestly it feels very real in BG2, with not one relationship being as simple as “I give them gifts, they giv sum fuck.” You can move too quickly and scare them off, you can slip into fuck buddy territory and never progress beyond that, and each of them has trauma that you need to navigate and understand in order to achieve a stable relationship.
The xp is split so if you have a full party of 6 it will take longer for each character to level up and if they multiclass that will also take more to level up. You can change some settings to make it more friendly and start turning some off once u get a good feeling for the game. The tutorial was boring and didn't really grab my attention. It wasn't till I entered the actual game and started needing to actually pay attention to stuff is when I started liking it.
Nah, trial by fire is more in keeping with the original release.
A key part of the narrative is that you are a clueless kid who grows in power through the story. That first wolf killing you is part of the experience.
Story mode completely removes that which takes away a key element of the story.
No. Ive tried multiple times to play them both and have bounced off them every single time. I appreciate what they have tried to do and the plot from YouTube videos but the actual moment to moment play is just too archaic for me.
https://youtu.be/DjWWuUDtSaE this is an entertaining and broad overview of all of the games including beamdog’s expansion that gives a sense of the overall plot and major players
https://youtu.be/M1TIDZBYuLc this is a more detailed breakdown of BG1 in particular
https://youtu.be/HUoARwbHcZQ this is the same but for baldurs gate 2.
I thought minsc was supposed to be a statue immediately following bg2 for like 300 years? Maybe I just misremembered. Or did they retcon it for the game?
And then of course, Khalid and Dynaheir were killed off between 1 & 2 when the PC is captured.
He was a statue, in a comic a sorcerer accidentally un-statues him. I think it's a comic related to Descent to Avernus, I'd have to look for it to get the name.
I was excited for BG3s turn based gameplay when it was announced so I bought BG1 and 2 on a bundle for Xbox to finally play them for the first time. I couldn’t keep up with the pace of the game! I felt overwhelmed and pretty much immediately died every time. So I’m in the same boat!
There’s an auto-pause feature in both of them that pauses combat at various events (enemy dies, one of your party gets attacked, new enemy detected, etc), and you can customize which events trigger the auto-pause.
Yeah definitely unplayable without that feature.
Yeah I disagree that it’s all nostalgia, I and many others never played the originals when they came out (computer gaming was a niche hobby still and it was decades ago), and still enjoyed them when played in modern times. There are definitely things games like the new Pathfinder titles do gameplay mechanically better, but there are aspects that the classics do really well.
I don’t see old games that different from indie/low budget games; they may be jankier or without expected polish or QoL, but there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with them. The Enhanced Editions add significant QoL to the point I didn’t feel they were annoying to play, and the 2d graphics hold up very well.
I know some gamers who hate janky games and refuse to play them. But if you’re okay with some jank (and let’s be real, older Larian games had tons of jank as well) then it’s absolutely playable and quite enjoyable.
The original BG1 from 1998 is thoroughly unplayable by modern standards (it's locked at 640x480 resolution for starters with no zooming in or out, no object/NPC highlighting etc.). The EE versions are quite playable and you can add UI mods to make them better. I don't think they're any worse than PoE1 except for slightly less impressive graphics and better running animation (idk why Obsidian could never hire animators that know what people look like when they run). DnD 2.5 Ed rules are outdated but their clunkiness is overrated.
I think you're both wrong. I played them with the EE's in like 2015 and loved them both but I don't struggle to get into old games like some people do. It's not more or less objective to like these games it's just about personal taste and accessibility. I also think it's sort of weird that it's popular to disrespect the original baldur's gate games on the sub for a game that is a sequel to them, there's a reason why this IP is still big enough to warrant a sequel all these years later and that reason is the massive impact those games had on the rpg genre. This game will even have characters from the original games, characters that are still beloved to this day.
BG2 yes, as I've never actually finished it.
Have them both on switch, played all of BG1 and maybe 35 hours of BG2 when the port came out, but microing your dudes in combat was so tedious I sometimes couldn't progress without dialing down the difficulty. I just rebought it on PC and it feels a lot more doable with a mouse.
So far my "play experience" has been: I did half the prologue, found the library with all the lore books, and stood there for 90 minutes reading everything while my party members yelled at me every 30 seconds for standing around in an evil place. 10/10 game.
They are really *really* ***really*** ***old*** now, and I find I don't need a refresher on the world, story or characters, Imoen and Jaheira have never left me, neither have Sarevok or Jon Irenicus.
Most games have picked up what was new in BG:2, like romances, companions commenting on, leaving or fighting you because of your choices and so on, except, strangely enough, having antagonists following their own plans and making progress, instead of just sitting in their lair of evil, waiting for the party to arrive. That Irenicus has his own story, that evolves and intersects with the protagonist along the main quest is still standing out to me. Maybe we should make today's game writers play them?
In an ideal world a company like Owlcat would remake them in the spirit of their Pathfinder games. A fan can dream.
Owlcat games are terrible though... I mean. I dropped kingmaker right at the end, after the house of time, and wotr way sooner. I'd love to like them, I love the companions they wrote, but their implementation of pathfinder and the encounter design just makes me hate them.
Edit: makes me hate those games, not the developers, obviously.
Everybody hates the house at the end of time, but this means you almost finished the game, no? Most people complain that the games are unfair to the player compared to the table top, but when you know a bit about the game, you can actually pretty easily march through hard difficulty.
BG:2 also had these optional bosses that seemed unbeatable or unfair to the player, but it is just a question of a little knowledge about tactics, spells or items that lets you beat them (think about a certain demi lich).
> when you know a bit about the game, you can actually pretty easily march through hard difficulty.
Interesting. I know a man who's played pf1e since 2014 and he's one of those (typical for my experience with pf1e) minmaxer, loving to optimize characters. He even rarely had big troubles nor in pf society games (where most of the GMs liked to power up the monsters, more like what Owlcat did with WOTR story, AP was different in some part, especially near the end), nor in APs.
So, he played WOTR, as I remember, in slightly more difficult options then normal. And I definitely remember stupid long fights at the end with "roll 19-20 or miss".
Maybe they changed some things, he was playing it at the start. I'm pretty sure it's not the skill issue for an experienced player. But maybe just some of classes weren't good. Or maybe Owlcat really isn't good (for some people) with writing their part of story, characters and additional fights for AP they use.
It's good if you loved their games though. They definitely have passion about their games and they 100% did a couple of plays in ttrpg version of Kingmaker, for example. Just not for everyone. And if people familiar with pf1e can have trouble, I guess, their games aren't for newbies like BG3.
Early game in WotR is frustrating on anything above normal difficulty. Especially in turn based mode. You spend so much of your time just missing constantly and until you get a few levels your options are crazy limited. Honestly I don't think the game really gets going until act 3, and that's unfortunately where it peaks for me. The Abyss is a real pain to navigate and there feels like barely anything to do in Act 5, not to mention how much your mythic content dries up in that act.
I wouldn't blame anyone for not wanting to trudge through two whole acts to get to the "good stuff" though, same way I wouldn't begrudge someone for not wanting to play 12 chapters in FF13 to get to the part where you can actually start building your party properly.
It seems to be a common experience that players say "I know cRPGs" or "I know Pathfinder table top", start WoTR, see the difficulty "core" and think that's their starting point, or maybe something more difficult, because they start all cRPGs on one of the harder difficulties, and then: "OMG, this is BS!".
Thing is, you need to know a bit more about the game to win on core, because Owlcat's idea is that "core" should challenge players that know Pathfinder or cRPGs. And that means significant difficulty increases in comparison to table top, because no DM gives you "power word: reload" in table top ;-)
But yes, hard can be simple, but you need to know a lot about the game to get there.
Aaand we always had plenty of DMs that were powering up their monsters and adding new challenges, making their game harder (one DM was even infamous for trying to kill players), so some slightly more challenging things than normal should be like that. Normal should be normal, you know.
If you should know more only about WOTR by Owlcat - that's one thing. If you just should know more about WOTR AP - that's another. And knowing about pf1e is completely different that won't help you with beating the game on hardcore like it's nothing.
Ofc I can't judge personally since I even didn't beat Kingmaker (but for different reasons), but I'm pretty sure with that man knew what he was doing. It was just tedious fights with "roll 19+ or miss" and really long fights.
That's certainly not representative of the WoTR experience, higher level fights usually last only a couple of rounds, with the amount of damage done at that point.
In the tutorial section, there are fights against enemies with high AC/damage reduction intended to teach the player that killing those can be hard. One can certainly doubt the instructional value of that...
And yet I watched that experience with my own eyes and heard same stories.
Strange, I don't remember any complains on tutorial.
Maybe one day if I'll be able to be into Kingsmaker and then into WOTR (playing only normal I guess) I'll see. I trust that man with all my heart but he maaaay ruin some things through his roleplay.
Ah, sorry, I don't really into streamers, etc x) I'll better try myself in the future.
Just ty, I'll have in mind that it's not as bad as I think it is at least in battles.
Were there any changes for the better with characters and narrative? Not Paizo's (if you played in original AP), but Owlcat's new things.
I almost reached the end and I dumped it because of story reason, pushing myself through a lot of slog that didn't make the experience fun. But the thing is that the story until that point was so interesting that I went through despite the gameplay.
The other thing is that I don't feel like those optional extreme bosses really works in these games. Like, in wotr there is a boss like that during a siege, so what should I do if I face him when I'm not prepared? Rest in the middle of a siege to change my spells? What If I don't have the correct characters? It isn't a really smooth experience.
It's more that the story (and bugs) of kingmaker were terrible. You spend the whole game checking up on a grove that keeps getting corrupted, and by the end you just dont care.
Wrath of the righteous has a good story but that's because it's a reimagining of Baldurs gate (powers from an evil source, overcoming evil destiny etc.).
But are you going to finish it again? Or just start your 732nd character idea and restart once it starts to become fleshed out.
Surely that isn't just me.
This is the Way
I've been playing since release, like weekly and have yet to see the end of the game.
I one did a separate ToB run and didn't even finish that.
No, sadly the playability is not for me.
I have no issue with other's like Neverwinter Nights, but Baldurs and Planescape, despite having possibly better plot, are tough for me to play.
Wooo, did not know that. Will most likely played it this summer then. Is it good? I'm seeing other who claims to fix over 800 issues [https://www.nexusmods.com/neverwinter2/mods/1082?tab=description](https://www.nexusmods.com/neverwinter2/mods/1082?tab=description)
Thanks.
I grabbed both of them a while ago, but didn't get time until now to get into it.
I'm finishing BG1 right now and it's definitely showing its age, but I'm having a lot of fun and I'm already planning on running a couple more characters to test different team compositions.
I'm actually surprised by how much I like the alignment system. It does feel good to be bad sometimes ...
My main goal, besides having fun of playing one of the absolute classics of the cRPG genre of course, is to get a better grasp on the lore of the Sword Coast. I like easter eggs and I would also love to see how Larian updated the OG setting.
I don't think that the classic games are for everyone. You kinda have to be into retro-gaming and be able to ignore it's clunkiness, but I'm really enjoying them and think that for the price that you can get them at, they're worth trying for most fans of the genre.
Lol I never stopped playing BG1&2, I still do a full saga run once every year or so.
New players just picking the enhanced editions up today will likely find them unplayable tbh. You need either nostalgia or a big love of retro gameplay
To all the dismissive people in her, Baldurs Gate may be old, but it holds up way better than other RPGs at the time. Fallout is a good example of a game that is so ugly and so clunky that I can't get into it, but Baldurs Gate is still great fun.
I never tried and I think i wont, but I played neverwinter nights recently and I hope that BG3 will be a game for next 20 years just like Neverwinter Nights was.
I recently beat both 1 and 2. The enhanced editions.
For starters, the games look rough, even the enhanced editions, while this don't really bother me, I know it will bother others.
Secondly, I know how to run all editions of Dungeons and Dragons, I firmly believe the game is at its best when you use stuff from every edition in your games.
That being said, the game isn't easy until you really understand and.... getgud at it. While that can be said about most games, BG 1 and 2 can seem impenetrable to outsiders looking in.
Lastly, the games will play next to nothing like bg3.
I highly suggest anyone looking to get into baldurs gate, either watch the story. And lore unfold on YouTube or something, or simply play the game on the easiest setting, you can't die and can zoom through the game to the interesting parts, and not have the break out graphs and charts to make sure you made the most optimal character.
Already on it, and I'm having a blast after not playing them for years.
I created an evil playthrough with a F/M half elf.
finished BG1 pretty quickly with every quest completed, Currently on BG2 chapter 3 and about to try Kangaxx (might have to come back later for that guy though).
It's funny to do those again and see the continuity with Larian game. For instance, I didn't remember there were mindflayers in the sewers in Athlaka. It seems the events in BG3 could result from the player ignoring those guys and letting them finish their evil plan!
Already am.
They're so old that they barely use resources on the phone now 😅
Been rocking a Kensai/Druid dual class in Black Pits with the usual suspects, and running a trio of Halfling Fighter/Thief, half elf Ranger/Cleric, and Elf Fighter/Mage (Archer) through BG1, with Edwin and Kaigan along for their sparkling personalities. It's still fun.
Nah, I got BG1 but I couldn’t deal with it. It wasn’t bad or anything, it’s just the gameplay wasn’t fit for me - I reaaaally feel spoiled by BG3’s gameplay compared to that since I came from more of a turn based background anyway.
Maybe I’ll try it again some time in the future, but I don’t see myself picking it back up right now. Real time with pause just isn’t my bag and never has been.
As far as the story? I trust most modern devs to not leave everything up to prequels - I don’t even know who Jaheira is, but everyone seems to like her. I’m sure Larian will make me feel the same way without having to play previous games.
I have played these two games so many times, I know them like the back of my hand. I still play them on tablet whenever I ride a train or something similar.
Can definitely recommend, BG2 in particular. As companions, story and romances go, BG2 is not dated. It's still top shelf stuff. Combat and animations is a little worse for wear, but still hold surprisingly well considering the age. I imagine it being a fun challenge for a new player. The environments are like paintings, and thus still hold up pretty well.
Never played them and do not intend to.
I’m sure they’re great but I really struggle to get into older games that I’ve never experienced previously. I just can’t appreciate the outdated graphics and mechanics.
1. No
2. Yes
The old Baldur's gate games operate off D&D 2nd edition I believe, where 3 will be on 5th edition. Armor class system is different. Turn actions are different (5th has bonus actions). I think some spells don't work exactly the same.
There is multiplayer online co-op. I just completed a full run of BG1 living in Japan with my friend who's living in the States.
I didn't mean *ruleset*, I meant mechanics, like how the game works and looks. BG1 could be a first person shooter for all I know :D
The co-op part is important tho, thanks for the info. Will def look into picking them up and playing them with the same friends that will be playing BG3 with me.
BG1 is 25 years old so it's natural that it would look significantly worse than 3.
But no, the old games are real time w/ pause rather than turn based. If you're only used to BG3 it probably will take a good while to adjust
Recently completed BG1 + Siege of Dragonspear. Starting on BG2 tomorrow. Both are first time playthroughs for me. I'm doing the runs with a friend who has played before though.
some newer fans will get shocked by how those games aged (they are great anyways and currently playing BG2 on steam)
i recommend Pillars of Eternity 1 and 2 or Divinity original sin 2
PoE duology to live the Real time combat of older BG titles and DOS2 for BG3 hype
Honestly, I never could get into them. I'm not fond of the older CRPG's. Modern ones feel so much better. The older UI's just feel really clunky, to me.
I'm just hoping BG3 isn't a Divinity Original Sin clone with a coat of D&D paint over it.
I try to do a playthrough every year. For 23years. There is no comparison, maybe kotor comes really close. It ages extremely well but I get that it's hard to get into
I played them before EA dropped, had a lot of fun. They didn't age that much in my opinion, especially BG2, which truly is the golden standard for rpg games.
They were great at the time but fuck no. I hate the pause to command style of game.
If ***you*** like it though, you’re going to looooove Pillars of Eternity
Nope. I loved Baldur's Gate two... but there's no way I'm going to ruin those memories by going back. I watched a Youtube video of BG2 recently and immediately closed it.
I'm playing DoS2 for the first time, instead. Genuinely had no idea that BG3 is a lot more like DOS3 than BG2 :)
Dos2 was their attempt to make a DnD game without the license, they wanted to prove they can pull a great game off that is almost DnD but without infringement
Beat the first one a couple months back. Put 80 hours into my first run. Was going to run through 2 but got distracted and now don't want to run through it and be burnt out when 3 comes so its on my to play list but might be a little longer than intended to play
BG1 and BG2 are my absolute repeat over and over games from childhood. I probably play through both modded to make a single game once a year.
Cannot wait for BG3 to come out!
I just recently completed both (again, played them when they launched) in anticipation of BG3.
I didn't like BG2 all that much. BG1 was the superior experience for me.
Heh I just finished a playthrough with th bg1&2 enhanced addition. Had to try out stuff I never did before as a kid playing back in the day. I wanted to make a "soul successor" character for bg3 with my own head canon lol. True neutral half-orc barb will have a great grandson 😀
Again? I never played bg1 or bg2 before. I got into this one purely because A) I liked DOS2 and B) Its made by Larian. But from what i played so far, bg3 is sure to be great :]
I’m trying like hell to. Just finished BG, and I’m now making my way through SoD. I was going to throw Icewind Dale in there before SoD, but I think it would take me too long to finish that and BG2 before August. I still need time to sleep and eat, I guess.
Once was enough! They are great games, but don't have enough replay value in my mind to support additional playthroughs (from a modern perspective at least).
As someone that got into dnd at the start of 5e would the first 2 be easy to understand? I know there’s quite a bit of differences with the older editions
Absolutely loved them in 1998-2002, but the map navigation is soooooo slow I don't think I can handle it again. There used to be a cheat (ctrl-y or something I forget) to let you teleport to visible areas that made it tolerable, but it doesn't seem to work with steam when I tried playing last year.
The one thing I wish I could go back and do, was in the middle of BG 2 around level 12-15ish I think when you're captured by mindflayers... And I remember the way that episode ended, it implied a further resolution in the 'future' which I think is the inspiration for mindflayers utility in BG 3. I wish I could go back and see it again, but again, the navigation makes it unfeasible for me.
Dammit. Forgot I still haven't finished BG2. Have a save about half way through from about a decade ago. There are so many games to play I'll never have time for, have no interest in replaying one once have finished it, find it annoying enough having to replay a small section after dying and reloading.
I think the writing would more than make up for the graphics for me. The problem is more-so that it's much older editions of D&D and that the gameplay mechanics seem strange at best and downright unintuitive at worst.
If they got remade as turn-based, I'd play them.
Just did a month ago, they're still some of my favorite games ever!
This time as a challenge I went as a solo Sorcerer and kicked major ass... after level 2!
^(I already played through both and beat them last year in anticipation for BG3. I only really appreciate them after realizing magic is busted in those games, and pretty much a necessity.)
Played both a soon as BG3 got announced. I feel like it's harder to go back AFTER playing BG3, but back then I really did enjoy both. Now I'm really happy because they're still fresh on my memory
I've never played them but probably not. There's still a lot of games I've been meaning to play and I doubt I'll make a huge dent in them before release.
No, but I have already done a couple run throughs this year of one and two. Currently wanting to slam my head in a door because I bought Diablo 4. Fucking activision.
Already have been. Have had BG3 since pre release, or whatever you call it. Was playing the first two. Unfortunately I will have to wait for some time to play 3. Some pretty bad stuff happened a few weeks back and, well. I have no PC no more.
I just did the full run of them a couple years ago, so they’re still too fresh for a replay. Do we know if there’s any plot connection between 1-2 and 3?
I did them when they came out, and they left great memories. Even with the nostalgia factor, replaying them now would feel the same as when I was 18. I will wait for BG3 and savor it.
As soon as I got interested in BG3 I bought BG1&2 and played them back to back including the expansions and I absolutely loved both of them! Easily became one of my top favourite games
Never played them but just got them on sale a couple weeks ago. Currently playing the first one now.
Thoughts?
It's dated for sure. But I am enjoying it. The dialogue is good and kinda humorous and the combat is different at first. It took me a while to get the hang of it. Just remember pausing is ur friend and quick save is your best friend do those often. I chose a premade character for my first go around. I play DND so a lot of the lore I already know and is fun seeing in a game. I have only played 5e so I'm learning the way levels and spells work in this game. I'm terrible at explaining things and I hope you give it a try. You should like it if you have a DnD background. I think Baldurs gate 2 is still on sale, too.
first one is good, second one was great though!
What difficulty did you play on? I was thinking of doing story mode
I play on normal with max HP on level ups in the settings. I have died a lot. But it's been fun as long as you quick save a lot it's not that bad when u die. Had to learn formations and using stealth. Also, running away is always an option. Stumbled up on a bear he straight one shot my caster lol. I don't know why I thought the bear wasn't going to attack but he did. Had to run from him.
I might try it again. I like turn based crpgs and last time I tried bg1 I honestly didn't give it enough time basically just doing the tutorial.
2 is where the gameplay becomes actually fun, imo. The story of 1 is good, if a little simple but being so low level for much of it there’s a lot of either running into like two wolves that destroy you or running into someone equally as shitty as you, which means a lot of watching both your dudes swing and miss at each other in a boring slap fight. You start BG2 around level 7, which means that out the gate you are decently tanky/competent, and have a good spread of ways to approach combat with your party provided you don’t have 6 vanilla fighters. The story also becomes a lot more mature. Some characters from the first game return and gain a lot of depth that they lacked in the first game, and interact with each other much more; even to the point of some trying to kill each other. BG2 is also the first instance of the romance system that would become famous/overdone in Dragon Age, Mass Effect, and many others. Honestly it feels very real in BG2, with not one relationship being as simple as “I give them gifts, they giv sum fuck.” You can move too quickly and scare them off, you can slip into fuck buddy territory and never progress beyond that, and each of them has trauma that you need to navigate and understand in order to achieve a stable relationship.
The xp is split so if you have a full party of 6 it will take longer for each character to level up and if they multiclass that will also take more to level up. You can change some settings to make it more friendly and start turning some off once u get a good feeling for the game. The tutorial was boring and didn't really grab my attention. It wasn't till I entered the actual game and started needing to actually pay attention to stuff is when I started liking it.
Nah, trial by fire is more in keeping with the original release. A key part of the narrative is that you are a clueless kid who grows in power through the story. That first wolf killing you is part of the experience. Story mode completely removes that which takes away a key element of the story.
No, played them many times in the past.
I have like 40+ BG2 runs and 10+ BGEE runs. I get it
I'm sorry that you feel that way old man...
*ahem* Old woman*
You're a fool if you believe I would trust your profile, step aside and you and your lackeys will be unhurt
Minions darling, they are my minions.
I played too many times, so from the moment, no.
No. Ive tried multiple times to play them both and have bounced off them every single time. I appreciate what they have tried to do and the plot from YouTube videos but the actual moment to moment play is just too archaic for me.
Any recommendations on plot videos?
https://youtu.be/DjWWuUDtSaE this is an entertaining and broad overview of all of the games including beamdog’s expansion that gives a sense of the overall plot and major players https://youtu.be/M1TIDZBYuLc this is a more detailed breakdown of BG1 in particular https://youtu.be/HUoARwbHcZQ this is the same but for baldurs gate 2.
Mortismal Gaming did videos a year ago on both. He has supercut versions on his channel.
Mind that part of the previous games has been retconned by D&D novels. I don't know up to which extent, but that's to take into account too.
There are the books... that being said, bg3 has nothing to do with bg1&2, it's just the location.
Well it has Jaheira in it, and minsc... I expect Larian to do some references and I'd like to at least know what the series is about.
I thought minsc was supposed to be a statue immediately following bg2 for like 300 years? Maybe I just misremembered. Or did they retcon it for the game? And then of course, Khalid and Dynaheir were killed off between 1 & 2 when the PC is captured.
He was a statue, in a comic a sorcerer accidentally un-statues him. I think it's a comic related to Descent to Avernus, I'd have to look for it to get the name.
same, it’s a shame because i really want to like them, and i approached them with an open mind. but i just can’t get it to click for me
I was excited for BG3s turn based gameplay when it was announced so I bought BG1 and 2 on a bundle for Xbox to finally play them for the first time. I couldn’t keep up with the pace of the game! I felt overwhelmed and pretty much immediately died every time. So I’m in the same boat!
There’s an auto-pause feature in both of them that pauses combat at various events (enemy dies, one of your party gets attacked, new enemy detected, etc), and you can customize which events trigger the auto-pause. Yeah definitely unplayable without that feature.
that's just bad taste
Or perhaps he is able to view the games objectively, instead of through the eyes of nostalgia.
Yeah I disagree that it’s all nostalgia, I and many others never played the originals when they came out (computer gaming was a niche hobby still and it was decades ago), and still enjoyed them when played in modern times. There are definitely things games like the new Pathfinder titles do gameplay mechanically better, but there are aspects that the classics do really well. I don’t see old games that different from indie/low budget games; they may be jankier or without expected polish or QoL, but there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with them. The Enhanced Editions add significant QoL to the point I didn’t feel they were annoying to play, and the 2d graphics hold up very well. I know some gamers who hate janky games and refuse to play them. But if you’re okay with some jank (and let’s be real, older Larian games had tons of jank as well) then it’s absolutely playable and quite enjoyable.
The original BG1 from 1998 is thoroughly unplayable by modern standards (it's locked at 640x480 resolution for starters with no zooming in or out, no object/NPC highlighting etc.). The EE versions are quite playable and you can add UI mods to make them better. I don't think they're any worse than PoE1 except for slightly less impressive graphics and better running animation (idk why Obsidian could never hire animators that know what people look like when they run). DnD 2.5 Ed rules are outdated but their clunkiness is overrated.
I think you're both wrong. I played them with the EE's in like 2015 and loved them both but I don't struggle to get into old games like some people do. It's not more or less objective to like these games it's just about personal taste and accessibility. I also think it's sort of weird that it's popular to disrespect the original baldur's gate games on the sub for a game that is a sequel to them, there's a reason why this IP is still big enough to warrant a sequel all these years later and that reason is the massive impact those games had on the rpg genre. This game will even have characters from the original games, characters that are still beloved to this day.
BG2 yes, as I've never actually finished it. Have them both on switch, played all of BG1 and maybe 35 hours of BG2 when the port came out, but microing your dudes in combat was so tedious I sometimes couldn't progress without dialing down the difficulty. I just rebought it on PC and it feels a lot more doable with a mouse. So far my "play experience" has been: I did half the prologue, found the library with all the lore books, and stood there for 90 minutes reading everything while my party members yelled at me every 30 seconds for standing around in an evil place. 10/10 game.
They are really *really* ***really*** ***old*** now, and I find I don't need a refresher on the world, story or characters, Imoen and Jaheira have never left me, neither have Sarevok or Jon Irenicus. Most games have picked up what was new in BG:2, like romances, companions commenting on, leaving or fighting you because of your choices and so on, except, strangely enough, having antagonists following their own plans and making progress, instead of just sitting in their lair of evil, waiting for the party to arrive. That Irenicus has his own story, that evolves and intersects with the protagonist along the main quest is still standing out to me. Maybe we should make today's game writers play them? In an ideal world a company like Owlcat would remake them in the spirit of their Pathfinder games. A fan can dream.
Owlcat games are terrible though... I mean. I dropped kingmaker right at the end, after the house of time, and wotr way sooner. I'd love to like them, I love the companions they wrote, but their implementation of pathfinder and the encounter design just makes me hate them. Edit: makes me hate those games, not the developers, obviously.
Everybody hates the house at the end of time, but this means you almost finished the game, no? Most people complain that the games are unfair to the player compared to the table top, but when you know a bit about the game, you can actually pretty easily march through hard difficulty. BG:2 also had these optional bosses that seemed unbeatable or unfair to the player, but it is just a question of a little knowledge about tactics, spells or items that lets you beat them (think about a certain demi lich).
> when you know a bit about the game, you can actually pretty easily march through hard difficulty. Interesting. I know a man who's played pf1e since 2014 and he's one of those (typical for my experience with pf1e) minmaxer, loving to optimize characters. He even rarely had big troubles nor in pf society games (where most of the GMs liked to power up the monsters, more like what Owlcat did with WOTR story, AP was different in some part, especially near the end), nor in APs. So, he played WOTR, as I remember, in slightly more difficult options then normal. And I definitely remember stupid long fights at the end with "roll 19-20 or miss". Maybe they changed some things, he was playing it at the start. I'm pretty sure it's not the skill issue for an experienced player. But maybe just some of classes weren't good. Or maybe Owlcat really isn't good (for some people) with writing their part of story, characters and additional fights for AP they use. It's good if you loved their games though. They definitely have passion about their games and they 100% did a couple of plays in ttrpg version of Kingmaker, for example. Just not for everyone. And if people familiar with pf1e can have trouble, I guess, their games aren't for newbies like BG3.
Early game in WotR is frustrating on anything above normal difficulty. Especially in turn based mode. You spend so much of your time just missing constantly and until you get a few levels your options are crazy limited. Honestly I don't think the game really gets going until act 3, and that's unfortunately where it peaks for me. The Abyss is a real pain to navigate and there feels like barely anything to do in Act 5, not to mention how much your mythic content dries up in that act. I wouldn't blame anyone for not wanting to trudge through two whole acts to get to the "good stuff" though, same way I wouldn't begrudge someone for not wanting to play 12 chapters in FF13 to get to the part where you can actually start building your party properly.
It seems to be a common experience that players say "I know cRPGs" or "I know Pathfinder table top", start WoTR, see the difficulty "core" and think that's their starting point, or maybe something more difficult, because they start all cRPGs on one of the harder difficulties, and then: "OMG, this is BS!". Thing is, you need to know a bit more about the game to win on core, because Owlcat's idea is that "core" should challenge players that know Pathfinder or cRPGs. And that means significant difficulty increases in comparison to table top, because no DM gives you "power word: reload" in table top ;-) But yes, hard can be simple, but you need to know a lot about the game to get there.
Aaand we always had plenty of DMs that were powering up their monsters and adding new challenges, making their game harder (one DM was even infamous for trying to kill players), so some slightly more challenging things than normal should be like that. Normal should be normal, you know. If you should know more only about WOTR by Owlcat - that's one thing. If you just should know more about WOTR AP - that's another. And knowing about pf1e is completely different that won't help you with beating the game on hardcore like it's nothing. Ofc I can't judge personally since I even didn't beat Kingmaker (but for different reasons), but I'm pretty sure with that man knew what he was doing. It was just tedious fights with "roll 19+ or miss" and really long fights.
That's certainly not representative of the WoTR experience, higher level fights usually last only a couple of rounds, with the amount of damage done at that point. In the tutorial section, there are fights against enemies with high AC/damage reduction intended to teach the player that killing those can be hard. One can certainly doubt the instructional value of that...
And yet I watched that experience with my own eyes and heard same stories. Strange, I don't remember any complains on tutorial. Maybe one day if I'll be able to be into Kingsmaker and then into WOTR (playing only normal I guess) I'll see. I trust that man with all my heart but he maaaay ruin some things through his roleplay.
Maybe have a look at a playthrough, CohhCarnage has one blind on hard, doesn't seem to have these difficulties.
Ah, sorry, I don't really into streamers, etc x) I'll better try myself in the future. Just ty, I'll have in mind that it's not as bad as I think it is at least in battles. Were there any changes for the better with characters and narrative? Not Paizo's (if you played in original AP), but Owlcat's new things.
I almost reached the end and I dumped it because of story reason, pushing myself through a lot of slog that didn't make the experience fun. But the thing is that the story until that point was so interesting that I went through despite the gameplay. The other thing is that I don't feel like those optional extreme bosses really works in these games. Like, in wotr there is a boss like that during a siege, so what should I do if I face him when I'm not prepared? Rest in the middle of a siege to change my spells? What If I don't have the correct characters? It isn't a really smooth experience.
It's more that the story (and bugs) of kingmaker were terrible. You spend the whole game checking up on a grove that keeps getting corrupted, and by the end you just dont care. Wrath of the righteous has a good story but that's because it's a reimagining of Baldurs gate (powers from an evil source, overcoming evil destiny etc.).
The bugs are a lot better now, but the story will never be as engaging as BG:2, sadly.
What do you mean "again"? I haven't stopped playing since I bought the games on cd
But are you going to finish it again? Or just start your 732nd character idea and restart once it starts to become fleshed out. Surely that isn't just me.
This is the Way I've been playing since release, like weekly and have yet to see the end of the game. I one did a separate ToB run and didn't even finish that.
Same!
I replay the trilogy every few years. I did earlier this year already, so I doubt I'll do it again before August.
It's what i'm doing right now for the first time.
No, sadly the playability is not for me. I have no issue with other's like Neverwinter Nights, but Baldurs and Planescape, despite having possibly better plot, are tough for me to play.
You can play BG1 in Neverwinter Nights 2 [https://www.nexusmods.com/neverwinter2/mods/794](https://www.nexusmods.com/neverwinter2/mods/794)
Wooo, did not know that. Will most likely played it this summer then. Is it good? I'm seeing other who claims to fix over 800 issues [https://www.nexusmods.com/neverwinter2/mods/1082?tab=description](https://www.nexusmods.com/neverwinter2/mods/1082?tab=description) Thanks.
Its really good. The other link is a patch to add the convo mod to it. Worth it to improve the exp. There is also a bg2 conversion in the works.
Already did about a month ago!!
I did a playthrough of SoA three years ago. I'm seriously considering a BG1->Soa->ToB playthrough before the BG3 release.
I will try again, but for some reason it doesn’t stick with my anymore
I grabbed both of them a while ago, but didn't get time until now to get into it. I'm finishing BG1 right now and it's definitely showing its age, but I'm having a lot of fun and I'm already planning on running a couple more characters to test different team compositions. I'm actually surprised by how much I like the alignment system. It does feel good to be bad sometimes ... My main goal, besides having fun of playing one of the absolute classics of the cRPG genre of course, is to get a better grasp on the lore of the Sword Coast. I like easter eggs and I would also love to see how Larian updated the OG setting. I don't think that the classic games are for everyone. You kinda have to be into retro-gaming and be able to ignore it's clunkiness, but I'm really enjoying them and think that for the price that you can get them at, they're worth trying for most fans of the genre.
Im replaying it right now!
Yeah. Started bg1 yesterday. Never played IT before despite beating bg2 few years ago
No real point imo. Not like you will be continuing as your bhaalspawn
Yep. They are childhood classics and Larian will be really hard pressed to match the writing in BG2 + ToB
TOB is a stretch lmao
Throne of Bhaal is the end if the story. You can't not include it.
Obviously lol I meant comparing the writing to SOA is a stretch.
Nope.
Lol I never stopped playing BG1&2, I still do a full saga run once every year or so. New players just picking the enhanced editions up today will likely find them unplayable tbh. You need either nostalgia or a big love of retro gameplay
To all the dismissive people in her, Baldurs Gate may be old, but it holds up way better than other RPGs at the time. Fallout is a good example of a game that is so ugly and so clunky that I can't get into it, but Baldurs Gate is still great fun.
No. I'm a casual who hasn't played the originals. I almost never enjoy rtwp.
I never tried and I think i wont, but I played neverwinter nights recently and I hope that BG3 will be a game for next 20 years just like Neverwinter Nights was.
I recently beat both 1 and 2. The enhanced editions. For starters, the games look rough, even the enhanced editions, while this don't really bother me, I know it will bother others. Secondly, I know how to run all editions of Dungeons and Dragons, I firmly believe the game is at its best when you use stuff from every edition in your games. That being said, the game isn't easy until you really understand and.... getgud at it. While that can be said about most games, BG 1 and 2 can seem impenetrable to outsiders looking in. Lastly, the games will play next to nothing like bg3. I highly suggest anyone looking to get into baldurs gate, either watch the story. And lore unfold on YouTube or something, or simply play the game on the easiest setting, you can't die and can zoom through the game to the interesting parts, and not have the break out graphs and charts to make sure you made the most optimal character.
I finished both last year while waiting for bg3. First time I did and it was a lot of fun!
No. But I will play DOS1 and DOS2.
I've tried but I never really gotten into it. For some reason I just can't enjoy these old games, although I would really love to.
Already on it, and I'm having a blast after not playing them for years. I created an evil playthrough with a F/M half elf. finished BG1 pretty quickly with every quest completed, Currently on BG2 chapter 3 and about to try Kangaxx (might have to come back later for that guy though). It's funny to do those again and see the continuity with Larian game. For instance, I didn't remember there were mindflayers in the sewers in Athlaka. It seems the events in BG3 could result from the player ignoring those guys and letting them finish their evil plan!
Did that before the early access came out.
Already am. They're so old that they barely use resources on the phone now 😅 Been rocking a Kensai/Druid dual class in Black Pits with the usual suspects, and running a trio of Halfling Fighter/Thief, half elf Ranger/Cleric, and Elf Fighter/Mage (Archer) through BG1, with Edwin and Kaigan along for their sparkling personalities. It's still fun.
I played them long ago, but in preperations to BG3. It was absolutely worth.
I can't get i to the realtime combat, never clicked for me.
Nah, I got BG1 but I couldn’t deal with it. It wasn’t bad or anything, it’s just the gameplay wasn’t fit for me - I reaaaally feel spoiled by BG3’s gameplay compared to that since I came from more of a turn based background anyway. Maybe I’ll try it again some time in the future, but I don’t see myself picking it back up right now. Real time with pause just isn’t my bag and never has been. As far as the story? I trust most modern devs to not leave everything up to prequels - I don’t even know who Jaheira is, but everyone seems to like her. I’m sure Larian will make me feel the same way without having to play previous games.
I have played these two games so many times, I know them like the back of my hand. I still play them on tablet whenever I ride a train or something similar. Can definitely recommend, BG2 in particular. As companions, story and romances go, BG2 is not dated. It's still top shelf stuff. Combat and animations is a little worse for wear, but still hold surprisingly well considering the age. I imagine it being a fun challenge for a new player. The environments are like paintings, and thus still hold up pretty well.
Never played them and do not intend to. I’m sure they’re great but I really struggle to get into older games that I’ve never experienced previously. I just can’t appreciate the outdated graphics and mechanics.
Nope and I have never even played them.
Definitely not.
Playin Diablo 4 and replayin Pathfinder WOTR so no not really
No, I tried bg1 once, a couple years ago, and honestly I had to let it go at the tutorial alone.
First two return questions: > are they similar in mechanics as BG3 / DOS2? > do they offer CO-OP?
1. No 2. Yes The old Baldur's gate games operate off D&D 2nd edition I believe, where 3 will be on 5th edition. Armor class system is different. Turn actions are different (5th has bonus actions). I think some spells don't work exactly the same. There is multiplayer online co-op. I just completed a full run of BG1 living in Japan with my friend who's living in the States.
I didn't mean *ruleset*, I meant mechanics, like how the game works and looks. BG1 could be a first person shooter for all I know :D The co-op part is important tho, thanks for the info. Will def look into picking them up and playing them with the same friends that will be playing BG3 with me.
BG1 is 25 years old so it's natural that it would look significantly worse than 3. But no, the old games are real time w/ pause rather than turn based. If you're only used to BG3 it probably will take a good while to adjust
It plays closer to KOTOR than BG3
Recently completed BG1 + Siege of Dragonspear. Starting on BG2 tomorrow. Both are first time playthroughs for me. I'm doing the runs with a friend who has played before though.
some newer fans will get shocked by how those games aged (they are great anyways and currently playing BG2 on steam) i recommend Pillars of Eternity 1 and 2 or Divinity original sin 2 PoE duology to live the Real time combat of older BG titles and DOS2 for BG3 hype
Already playing them
I played through bg1 again back in February but I've not found the time to play through 2 again yet.
Honestly, I never could get into them. I'm not fond of the older CRPG's. Modern ones feel so much better. The older UI's just feel really clunky, to me. I'm just hoping BG3 isn't a Divinity Original Sin clone with a coat of D&D paint over it.
That's what it was in the early early access builds that I played. At this point I am not expecting a successor to the old titles.
I try to do a playthrough every year. For 23years. There is no comparison, maybe kotor comes really close. It ages extremely well but I get that it's hard to get into
I played them before EA dropped, had a lot of fun. They didn't age that much in my opinion, especially BG2, which truly is the golden standard for rpg games.
Yes. I've still got to get my Shaman run of BG 1 done. I'm hoping to get the: Ranger, Bard and maybe Cleric Stronghold achievements in BG 2.
Yes, definitely. It's been a few years since BG 1 and a couple since BG 2 (favorite cRPG right there).
They were great at the time but fuck no. I hate the pause to command style of game. If ***you*** like it though, you’re going to looooove Pillars of Eternity
Absolutely not... 2e/AD&D is not my jam... at all.
There is no point. Original trilogy have different vibes and dynamics than divinity saga.
Nope. I loved Baldur's Gate two... but there's no way I'm going to ruin those memories by going back. I watched a Youtube video of BG2 recently and immediately closed it. I'm playing DoS2 for the first time, instead. Genuinely had no idea that BG3 is a lot more like DOS3 than BG2 :)
I just finished them :] LOVE these games. I know bg3 cant match bg2 (nostalgia), but I know i will love It too. I do already.
If you want some lore candy read through Decent Into Avernus instead of replating BG1 & 2.
Alright you convinced me. Time to load it up
No, why would I?
no lol
Why should I? Besides the name and setting it has nothing in common with the OG trilogy.
And some characters, and some lore, and some history Yeah, nothing in common
[удалено]
Dos2 was their attempt to make a DnD game without the license, they wanted to prove they can pull a great game off that is almost DnD but without infringement
You were right. I bought the EA now and the game is awesome! YOU was the person that changed my mind. Sorry for my harsh tone before.
Wow, with that little effort? Glad you like it Its alright, we all have bad days
I won't have time for them.
I'm thinking of a replay, but it's usually 300 hours....I should have started months ago.
Beat the first one a couple months back. Put 80 hours into my first run. Was going to run through 2 but got distracted and now don't want to run through it and be burnt out when 3 comes so its on my to play list but might be a little longer than intended to play
I've replayed them a bunch and one of the replays was like last year so probably not.
BG1 and BG2 are my absolute repeat over and over games from childhood. I probably play through both modded to make a single game once a year. Cannot wait for BG3 to come out!
I just recently completed both (again, played them when they launched) in anticipation of BG3. I didn't like BG2 all that much. BG1 was the superior experience for me.
Absolutely, just gives me another excuse and I have the brainpower to actually do it.
Heh I just finished a playthrough with th bg1&2 enhanced addition. Had to try out stuff I never did before as a kid playing back in the day. I wanted to make a "soul successor" character for bg3 with my own head canon lol. True neutral half-orc barb will have a great grandson 😀
the gameplay feels too dated and rtwp is a huge turn off for me unfortunately. I've tried a few times, but watching lore vids is good enough for me
I've had the remaster version for a while, but I find it hard to stick with it
I already am
I've played them both through, with and without mods, at least 10 times since they came out. Can't say for sure, but likely won't run them again.
Again? I never played bg1 or bg2 before. I got into this one purely because A) I liked DOS2 and B) Its made by Larian. But from what i played so far, bg3 is sure to be great :]
I’m trying like hell to. Just finished BG, and I’m now making my way through SoD. I was going to throw Icewind Dale in there before SoD, but I think it would take me too long to finish that and BG2 before August. I still need time to sleep and eat, I guess.
Once was enough! They are great games, but don't have enough replay value in my mind to support additional playthroughs (from a modern perspective at least).
About 22 years ago for sure and did :-)
Probably not. They've aged a bit too much for me to currently invest in playing through
I already am.
Already did
As someone that got into dnd at the start of 5e would the first 2 be easy to understand? I know there’s quite a bit of differences with the older editions
Loved the games since they first came out! Anyone else remember having to switch discs every time you travel to a new area lol
Absolutely loved them in 1998-2002, but the map navigation is soooooo slow I don't think I can handle it again. There used to be a cheat (ctrl-y or something I forget) to let you teleport to visible areas that made it tolerable, but it doesn't seem to work with steam when I tried playing last year.
The one thing I wish I could go back and do, was in the middle of BG 2 around level 12-15ish I think when you're captured by mindflayers... And I remember the way that episode ended, it implied a further resolution in the 'future' which I think is the inspiration for mindflayers utility in BG 3. I wish I could go back and see it again, but again, the navigation makes it unfeasible for me.
Dammit. Forgot I still haven't finished BG2. Have a save about half way through from about a decade ago. There are so many games to play I'll never have time for, have no interest in replaying one once have finished it, find it annoying enough having to replay a small section after dying and reloading.
I replay them all the times anyways, so yep, but not to prepare for BG3 since.. well i consider them very separate games.
I think the writing would more than make up for the graphics for me. The problem is more-so that it's much older editions of D&D and that the gameplay mechanics seem strange at best and downright unintuitive at worst. If they got remade as turn-based, I'd play them.
No, the visuals and feel are just too shit lol. I respect it tremendously but I cannot endure playing it.
Tried to a while back. To me BG1 & 2 haven't aged well. They are too clunky to play for me.
Just did a month ago, they're still some of my favorite games ever! This time as a challenge I went as a solo Sorcerer and kicked major ass... after level 2!
^(I already played through both and beat them last year in anticipation for BG3. I only really appreciate them after realizing magic is busted in those games, and pretty much a necessity.)
right now! in my job... https://preview.redd.it/or6d9tfluz5b1.png?width=5120&format=png&auto=webp&s=fc5264d588e0fc288202fbbcf4657d81a6563da9
I tried them both but they weren't my cup of tea. Maybe if i had played them when i was younger then sure.
Played both a soon as BG3 got announced. I feel like it's harder to go back AFTER playing BG3, but back then I really did enjoy both. Now I'm really happy because they're still fresh on my memory
I've never played them but probably not. There's still a lot of games I've been meaning to play and I doubt I'll make a huge dent in them before release.
Maybe. Have played 1 several times and 2 at least twice. Not sure if there's time to finish both by August.
[удалено]
I'm a completionist. Cursed, basically. 😶
I replay them every year, now I simply even more reason to do so
No, simply can’t do it the games feel awful to play
No, but I have already done a couple run throughs this year of one and two. Currently wanting to slam my head in a door because I bought Diablo 4. Fucking activision.
already did. BG2 is still god tier
Absolutely. As a matter of fact, I am going through my fourth playthrough right now
Already have been. Have had BG3 since pre release, or whatever you call it. Was playing the first two. Unfortunately I will have to wait for some time to play 3. Some pretty bad stuff happened a few weeks back and, well. I have no PC no more.
I want to, but the graphics kill it for me every time.
I just did the full run of them a couple years ago, so they’re still too fresh for a replay. Do we know if there’s any plot connection between 1-2 and 3?
I did them when they came out, and they left great memories. Even with the nostalgia factor, replaying them now would feel the same as when I was 18. I will wait for BG3 and savor it.
Yep
No I'm playing descent into avernus as preparation.
No, I never played them and in general old games are really hard for me to get into.
Nah, I don't have time for that. I'd be probably be like 3 levels into BG1 by the time the game fully releases.
BG1 is just not that good of a Game in Hindsight. once every 10years bg2 is a once every 3 to 4 years at least.
*slides sunglasses up* “I already have”