Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition Reviews
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Shacknews goes scoreless:
A new standalone combat arena known as the Black Pits proves to be a worthwhile addition to the game. Using six characters, players face off against an array of foes thrown at you by the drow Baeloth. As with other horde modes, the premise is thin: you have been kidnapped and only by winning these battles can you earn your freedom. Being able to quickly test strategies and builds against tough groups of opponents in this standalone mode is appreciated, but otherwise leaves little reason to come back once you have waded through all 15 fights once.
IGN gives it an 8.1/10:
The clue's in the name. Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition isn't a remake of the famed RPG classic; instead, it acknowledges the many improvements modders have created over the years while seasoning the content with some worthwhile content additions. Despite a dearth of immediately obvious changes, Baldur's Gate has aged well, and new players will find many hours' worth of fun if they approach it with an understanding of its increasingly antiquated framework.
GameZebo gives it a 4.5/5:
Since I first played Baldur's Gate all those years ago, RPGs have morphed beyond all recognition into a genre driven by action and story, mutated to the point where the line between them and even frantic shooters has become blurred. Many of the modern games are brilliant. But this Enhanced Edition is a gentle reminder that just because the model they left behind is old doesn't mean it has no value. Stat crunching is good. Slow paced combat is good. Dungeons & Dragons is good. And combining all three seamlessly together remains very good indeed.
Ars Technica does the scoreless thing, too:
The fog of war, rare in RPGs but common in strategy games, and the contiguous nature of the map are possibly a unique combination in RPG history. That seems odd because they work very well together. It's possible to crawl through the world of Baldur's Gate and explore every nook and cranny, feeling confident that you've mastered the Sword Coast. At its best, Baldur's Gate ties narrative progression, geographical progression, and character progression together better than any role-playing game before or since. That's enough to recommend Baldur's Gate as a game in and of itself, but it's a pity that it can't always be at its best.
Eurogamer gives it an 8/10:
However, here's a postscript that serves as both a warning to new players and a reminder of the importance of keeping multiple saves. Before writing this review and in the interests of being thorough, I gave the new tutorial a quick play, hoping that it would serve as a better introduction to the esoteric and somewhat antiquated Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition rules that Baldur's Gate is built upon. I found it a little unsatisfactory and I don't think it properly prepares players for such eccentricities as the concept of THAC0.
Jay is Games doesn't score it, either:
The end result is a subtly refined experience that feels clean and fresh without drastically changing anything that would upset purists, unless you were really married to the old cinematics. You can still find everything from your Golden Pantaloons to the small, unmarked stuff like the ridiculously tiny hidden diamond in the first area after Candlekeep. If you were expecting (hoping) for a drastically different jaunt into the realms, maybe one where all the major boss battles were 80s style musical dance-offs or Imoen has been replaced with something less annoying, like a perpetually yappy and shivering chihuahua, Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition might not offer quite enough in the way of change for you. If what you're looking for is a bit of extra spice and shine to something you already love, or curious about picking up the game for the very first time, then Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition is an easy recommendation, and something that will keep you busy for a long, long time.
Uproxx takes the same scoreless path:
Some things, oddly, were not fixed. The AI pathfinding is just as bad as you remember it being; you'll still be retrieving party members humping trees and rocks. Similarly, your ranged characters require a close eye because they won't automatically switch to the next ranged weapon with ammo when their one attack runs dry, but instead wade in with a melee weapon.
