Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition

BG is a CRPG, which means: It has a niche.
This game is entirely different to the modern BG3. Don't come with the same expectations.
Why play this?
You want a complex game system (Magic, combat)
You like to experiment with character builds
The story is really good
You like DnD and have that scratch to play a DnD-like game (Check for more games in the CRPG tag, if this is a check for you)
Replayability. The variety of classes and companions make for an entertaining game to replay, where you can test your knowledge of the game, and making op builds, or meme builds
You like to roleplay in-game: The game makes you feel part of the story, it makes a good job to feel relevant to the plot
Why avoid this?
Too much information, it has a high learning curve on the combat system (all class' abilities, spells and system properties like THAC0, may be too much information)
You don't like turn-based ARPGs. Even though the game is real time, all events happen in rounds of 6 seconds, and the pause makes it still a turn-based game.
Art, I understand that as much as I may like the art and look & feel, it is outdated by today's standards and may not be popular.
You don't like dying. In this game you will quicksave often, because you will die often, it is nothing bad, as you will learn and develop ways to deal with situations, but if that stresses you, well... CRPGs may not be for you
Recommendation for a first run
Just choose a race that sounds cool or you want to roleplay as. Choose a class that sounds fun (Spellcasters like wizards or sorcerers may have a lot of information for a first timer if you want to play as a spellcaster. If you want to use magic, I'd recommend half casters like Clerics, it hits hard with melee, and will give you time to adapt to the magic system). Spin the stat die until you get 86+ stat points. SAVE YOUR CHARACTER (Or you will need to respin that die and waste your time). And once you start, just roleplay as your character, learn the system at your pace, it will take time, but if you have patience, you will find a really complex and interesting game, that will entertain you for 100+ hours. Save often (Quicksave with Q).
Any unoptimized build can beat the game on normal/core rules, so there is no need to feel pressured because you aren't min-maxing good enough (And if you feel the game is easy or hard, you can change the difficulty at any moment).

> Play Baldur's Gate for 4 hours
> Save game
> Party of 6 walks into a room
> Singular enemy Dwarf assassin ambushes us
> Watch for a minute as the party struggles to hit even once
> Dwarf lands one hit, instantly kills a party member
> Load quick save
> Repeat 15 times
> Quit
> Contemplate life choices
At least my quick save skills are improving. 10/10

I went into this game completely blind. The roleplay aspects are VERY fun and the setting and worldbuilding are incredibly impressive given that this is a 1998 release. Not to mention the fact that Sarevok is probably my favorite villain I've ever encountered in any game ever. I definitely consider this title to be one of my new favorites and wish I could have played it earlier in life

Fair warning, the game is so hard it sent me into some of the biggest gamer rages I've ever known. There isn't just a learning curve - the game straight up tosses you off a cliffside. I was playing on normal and I felt the difficulty was incredibly frustrating. The idea of playing a permadeath difficulty like Legacy of Bhaal sounds like straight up masochism and I extend my condolences to anyone who's crazy enough to actually attempt this.

I wanted to refund the game at first because I did not understand how the game worked. I could not refund it, so I decided I am going to beat the game. I looked up guides for how to play and suddenly the game opened up to me. Currently going through as a generalist wizard and having a blast. I understand why this game is considered a classic now, highly recommend to anyone who enjoys fantasy rpgs and willing to learn.

Truly, deeply tremendous. This is one of the greatest classic RPG's of all time. Even in 2024, it holds up. You'd be stunned at how simple mechanics like world travel taking days, fog of war, and organically stumbling on quests can make the world feel so massive, dangerous, and alive.

If you're new, find a guide, this was from back in the day where games came with explanatory booklets that you were expected to read, so the systems can be muddy and obtuse. But don't skip this.

One of the all-time greats. A word of advice, even if you heed nothing else: the lack of direction in the early game is a feature, not a flaw. Explore each map, engage with quests and unmarked events, and reach at least level 2 or 3 before engaging with the main quest. Keep a varied party in mind: an archer (particularly equipped with arrows of biting), a thief, a warrior, and a mage of some description will make your life easier. But most of all, make your own character and commit to roleplaying. Baldur's Gate rewards that kind of engagement.

This, combined with BG2, is one of the great fantasy epics. It is, first and foremost, a story. The areas are all hand-painted, so while the overall style is a bit dated the scenery is often lovely to look at.

If the old-school D&D mechanics annoy you, there are options to make the game unlosable (as well as much more difficult if you're into that). It can be a mechanical challenge if you want it to be, or it can be a book. Baldur's Gate works just as well either way.