Rating
Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition
Kidnapped. Imprisoned. Tortured. The wizard Irenicus holds you captive in his stronghold, attempting to strip you of the powers that are your birthright. Can you resist the evil within you, forge a legend of heroic proportions, and ultimately destroy the dark essence that haunts your dreams? Or will you embrace your monstrous nature, carve a swath...
Details
- Released
- November 15, 2013
- Developer
- Overhaul Games
- Genres
- Role-playing (RPG) · Strategy · Adventure · Open world
- Publisher
- Atari, Inc., Beamdog
How it plays
Up to 6 players
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Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition Reviews
Professional reviews from gaming critics
It's hard, it's obtuse. It's big, it's beautiful. It's cruel, it's arbitrary. It's an adventure.
And if you’re relatively new to gaming and haven’t had the chance to play this game yet, then jump to it. It’s as close to canon as games come.
The original game is a classic. The "Enhanced Edition" is a near-clone, with some additional content. If you haven't played it before, or would like a deep RPG to put on your tablet, this is a good buy. It is $20 for the Enhanced Edition vs. $10 for the original + mods (some assembly required) – give these guys your money so they can make "Baldur's Gate 3".
All the convenient and nice additions in the world wouldn’t matter though if the core game wasn’t so damn brilliant, which it still is. Baldur’s Gate II lives up to its reputation as one of the all-time best RPGs, and if you’re looking for a no-fuss way to play it, Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition is exactly that.
Combined, these four games carry over 400 hours of some of the most well written RPG storylines I’ve ever played. The Enhanced Editions provide a wealth of quality of life improvements that make them bearable for new platforms. While there is bafflingly no touchscreen support for Switch, and the multiplayer is AWOL, there is simply no better way to take these wonderful RPGs on the road than the Nintendo Switch.
I consider myself both a CRPG fan and a retro enthusiast, but the experience of trying to play Baldur’s Gate on Switch is a frustration that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. I’m not saying you shouldn’t play a Baldur’s Gate title in your lifetime; I just don't recommend you get it on Switch. This is an experience that is meant for a PC and the prospect of having in it on the go is not enough to overcome the poor implementation. If you really need to play these games portably, I recommend purchasing a laptop.
The new content is fun and adds to the experience, but let’s not forget that we’re talking about Baldur’s Gate II here. While balls-hard and requiring a lot of patience if you’re prepared to take it on you’ll discover what is arguably the best and deepest RPG of all time, that many people believe represents Bioware at their peak. That there’s a version updated for modern systems with excellent widescreen support (without having to fuss about with mods), improved UI, new characters...