So I just finished playing Baldurs gate 1 and 2.
Honestly i think if I played these games when they came out I wouldn't shut up about them. Like theyd be my Harry potter basically. Cause they still hold up [well about 90% of it does] decades later. I think id put them up with Deus Ex in terms of quality back then, although I think Deus Ex holds up a little better now.
I really like that the devs managed to pull off high level combat too. Even modern dnd struggles to deal with parties of level 20 players, and BG2 increases the level cap to 40. While some [like the imprisoned one and Abazigal] were a bit disappointing [not too much, just a bit short] because they were single targets [basically, if you have one big enemy, have your mages cast anti-defense spells like breach, ruby ray, spell strike, etc.], then a lot of their defenses go down and can be hit with melee and killed quickly. [Although I will note i got access to Carsomyr because i played a paladin, which made a lot of fights a lot easier because it dispels on hit]. Sendai and the final boss are honestly two of my favorite bosses in the entire saga.
I do have my criticisms [romances are the first time bioware ever did romances so theyre...okay, and annoyingly buggy. Like I legitimately had to access the console and change variables in order for Jaheira's to progress. BG1 makes you so squishy that I cannot see myself playing on higher difficulties, unlike bg2. Also I know this was due to a change in editions but I really appreciate cantrips making mages useful without their spell slots, since in bg1 a level 1 mage was basically dead weight. Lastly, i do wish they had the time to make Throne of Bhaal its own seperate game. Its actually baffling they were forced to rush that out as a dlc.]
Im gonna be moving on to BG3 now and, while it does mean im definitely late to the party there, I think having that connection to the first two games is definitely worth it
