One of the best RPG's from when I were a kid, :)

old as ♥♥♥♥ but still really good tbh

Age is BG1's biggest enemy and even the Enhanced Edition can't keep it relevant and genuinely enjoyable. I'd skipped BG1 when I was younger and went straight to BG2. I always regretted it, so that's why I finally decided to give the first game a try. Apparently I'd made the right decision all along. There is some value here though:

Pros:

-Core battle system, class system, and party building are still solid after all these years.
-Atmospheric music (exactly what you might use in an actual dnd game!).
-Voice acting is solid, especially for the time.
-QoL updates to the enhanced edition are very nice (like easily visible health).
-Great use of DnD Lore. I laughed when I realized BG3's third act is stolen from this game. Not similar, plagiarized. I won't go into here why I think BG3's story is overrated...but, c'mon Larian. You're better than stealing old stories from 20+ years ago. There are homages and then there is literally the same thing with a big brain attached.

Cons:
-Learning curve is super high if you aren't a DnD wiz. Everything is hard to understand without a guide or a ton of previous knowledge.
-Save scumming is excessive. Not that this has been fixed in DnD, BG3 still has it, but here its with combat rather than dialogue rolls. Enemy lands a confuse or hold spell? That's a party wipe, you just won't know it until a minute later.
-Pretty much all characters are obnoxious. You may be thinking, "But what about MINSC!!!?" All characters that are likable in BG2 aren't likable here. They're whiny, their voice lines are obnoxious, and they break the fourth wall like they're Deadpool. They fixed SO MUCH in this regard in BG2.
-The world feels like a set from the original Star Trek when they go to an alien world: very sparse and plain with randomly contrasting colors. It just feels so empty and kills the immersion.
-Tons and tons and TONS of narrow-path dungeons. In other genres, this can actually be a great tool to raise tension and increase variety. In a CRPG with awful AI pathing and a fixed camera, its a nightmare. Your characters will get stuck on each other often, which will lead to consistent frustration.


I can see why this game was praised originally. It's an impressive piece of gaming history, but it unfortunately doesn't hold up even when compared to BG2....which I'm now on my way to play! Hoping it holds up to my nostalgia. I know BG3 wasn't anywhere near as good as...no, no, I promised I wouldn't bash it too much in a BG1 review. It's a good game. it's good...JUST GOOD, NOT GREAT. OK, I'll stop.