There are moments in the story where your character has mysterious dreams and fateful encounters that start vague and small-scale which then slowly, almost imperceptibly, work their way up to being dark premonitions that hint at a more serious, more detrimental past as the current events become more meaningful and consequential.

All of these details are vivid and immediately transport you into the high fantasy world of the Forgotten Realms.īaldur’s Gate opens like many high-fantasy RPGs - after choosing a race and class, you are thrust into a mysterious world that initially begins closed off and mundane until one assassination attempt turns into an investigation of the land's mysterious iron shortage and your character's tie to it. I didn’t even mind dying a handful of times because the hand-painted image shown was beautiful in its simplicity. However, the colors are vibrant and cutscene artworks are full of detail. While colorful, Baldur's Gate doesn't immediately impress in its outward presentation: the environment is static and character models are generic versions of their character portraits, which in comparison are detailed and unique. The way music can switch between large scale upbeat battle themes to gentle nighttime ballads, as well as the vast dialogue options throughout, this feels like a proper RPG in pretty much every respect.

Characters on screen are detailed enough to be discernible without stepping into the era of hyper-realism while the environments take on the homemade, painterly look one might associate with tabletop games. Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition relies on the visual and auditory nostalgia of the CRPGs I spent my free time with as a young teen.

After playing through the original Baldur's Gate in about 40 hours, I can now see why it has remained relevant for two decades.ĭespite being a long time fan of RPGs and tabletop games, this Enhanced Edition is my introduction to Baldur’s Gate and it seamlessly melds those experiences. This series, especially the original, has been often considered as a sort of pinnacle of the modern CRPG since its release back in 1998 and after playing it now for the first time, I can understand why - it’s a strong game with a strong foundation. To mark the 20th anniversary of the first Baldur’s Gate, Beamdog is releasing Baldur’s Gate I & II Enhanced Edition for the Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One.

Baldur&#39;s gate enhanced edition ps4

Baldur's gate enhanced edition ps4