Easily one of the best CRPGs to this day and my personal favorite tied with Divinity 2, though it does still have plenty of shortcomings:

Cons:

-Age: the game is over 20 years old, and even an "Enhanced" face lift can't save it from issues that may deter some from playing such as graphics and lack of QoL features like fast travel (back tracking can get excessive).

-STEEP learning curve: I know some DnD, I've played BG2 before around when it was released, and I still don't know EXACTLY how some of the mechanics work in their entirety. BG3 still has all the trappings, but definitely made the whole experience more approachable due to putting metaporical training wheels on the deeper mathematics going on behind the scenes. There is a lot of reading, and likely a decent amount of reliance on outside guides to get the most out of the experience. Even some things in the manual aren't correct such as WIS saves.

-Wildly unbalanced: Some classes are OP, some are garbage, and some take a ton of knowledge to understand how they even function.

-Inventory management is a slog: I feel most WRPGs have this problem where you constantly have to babysit your inventory by taking weight, amount, type, variety, value, etc. into CONSTANT consideration. It's not as bad as BG3 or Starfield (not sure how it's getting WORSE, but here we are), but it's definitely more of a chore than fun.

-Character pathing is mediocre: It's nowhere near as bad as BG1, but your characters will get stuck on each other from time to time or run off in a direction that wasn't intended.

-HUD is information overload: Sometimes you'll need to pause just to see why one of your characters is dead because things go flying by at 1000 kph at times.

-The expansion is a bit lackluster: Throne of Bhaal (originally an add-on) is still fun and provides an excellent conclusion storywise, but isn't quite as consistent and enjoyable as the core game (Shadows of Ahm).

So why do I consider it to be so good?

Pros:

-Story: The overall story is great. That isn't to say their aren't flaws with the writing, but it just does an excellent job of making you feel like an adventurer with a genuine purpose from minute one, like any good DnD or Pathfinder campaign. I'd put the introduction as one of my top 10 intros to any game, period. It does such a phenomenal job developing the villain as you travel through his dungeon of horrors while setting the atmosphere for the entire game.

-Characters: So many fun and interesting characters to choose from. Maybe you want the comical and boisterous Minsc? The mature and burdened Jaheira? The loquacious, turnip-loving gnome, Jan? The most-precious sister Imoen? The conniving, gender-swapping Edwin? There are just so many great and varied choices for any type of player. To me, it felt like the majority of BG3's characters were taken straight from a bunch of narcissistic hipsters and yuppies you'd find hanging out at a microbrewery (Wyll: I call this grotesquely bitter triple IPA, the BLADE OF FRONTIERS!!!!). BG2 neither has that problem, nor BG1's problem of inconsistent character writing due to things such as fourth-wall breaking.

-Excellent gameplay: This one is very subjective but if we're going DnD rules, I prefer the pseudo-RTS style over turn-based. That isn't to say genuine turns can't be very fun (Divinity 2 and BG3 proved it absolutely can be) but this style lends itself better to DnD in my opinion. An example of why I feel this way: further into BG3, battles start getting very big with 15+ enemy units. This makes battles take FOREVER and robs a ton of the fun out of the experience. There are battles with 25+ enemies in endgame of BG2 that fly by in a couple of minutes as you trade a fireworks display of spells and swords with enemy combatants in tense and quick combat as you kite a handful of enemies with a hasted mage with 3HP left in Starcraft-style micro! BG3? Enemy 1: uses blind, Enemy 2: uses blind, Enemy 3: uses stun, Enemy 4: uses blind, Karlach: Miss (due to blindness), Enemy 5: uses blind, Wyll: attempts to open an IPA (DC 2: Fails), Enemy 6: uses blind...

-Great Music: Every piece of music fits and the quality stays consistent throughout the entire experience.

-Timeless art direction: Though the graphics themselves haven't aged that well (think: original FFVII blocky-ness) the locations and art are all meticulously designed with a ton of heart. Every screen, every location, feels like a work of art created for DnD miniatures in an actual campaign. While the first BG felt so sterile and empty, BG2 creates a world that itself feels like a character with it's domed temples, crumbling ruins teeming with monsters, and patron-filled shops.

-Unparalleled freedom: The game starts, you play the great intro, then 80% of the game's content opens up to you to complete in any order you please as if you were a true adventurer. The game isn't "open world" in the modern sense, but it also does what most open-world and modern CRPG games are afraid to do: lets you do what you want, in the order you want. BG3 was bottlenecked into three regions, those regions were bottlenecked further by level expectations on quests within each region, which where then piled on with abstract completion quotas for character development that can easily be missed (Karlach let me down easy because...I didn't do enough long rests in Part 2? WTF? I'm punished for not sucking?).

-Creativity in Gameplay: BG2 by no means has a monopoly on this (Again, Divinity and BG3 do this great as well), but it's pretty cool to control the battlefield in a variety of tactical and cheesy ways that change the entire experience. Ran into an "unwinnable" fight? Send in fodder summons to tank Mind Flayer INT drains. Use a Cloud Kill staff and RUN! Choose different spells that shut down obnoxious mage protections and bum rush that confuse-spamming jerk with a hasted, dual-flail wielding Kensai! There are so many options to every scenario that even the craziest supposed difficulty spikes can be managed in super creative ways if you take the time.

-Some good QoL features added in the Enhanced Edition: Though some QoL is still missing, some great ones were added, like characters being highlighted when you grab an item if they can use it (including scrolls).


After replaying BG2 I'd actually rank the series: BG2>>>BG3>>>>>>>BG1. I know my take will get flaming comments and joker awards from angry, hive-mind BG3 fans, but I am entitled to my opinion (And BG3 is still good, just not Divinity 2 good if we're talking true turn-based). Also, I'll be donating all points from joker awards to the Foundation of Protecting Bears from Bestiality Fanatics...so yeah, you'd just be hurting your own cause.

If the negatives don't deter you, give this one a try! Sale prices can get as low as $5, so you can't beat that for such a classic.

Baldur's Gate II offers a classic role-playing experience set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe, with a rich story and deep gameplay mechanics. Players embark on an epic journey filled with memorable characters, challenging quests, and strategic combat encounters. Despite its age, the game's engaging narrative and character development continue to captivate players, drawing them into its immersive world. The Enhanced Edition updates improve the game's compatibility with modern systems while retaining the charm of the original. Baldur's Gate II remains a timeless masterpiece, beloved by fans of the RPG genre for its depth and complexity.

My favorite game of all time.