Baldur's Gate

 PC
Metascore
91

Universal acclaim - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. Adrenaline Vault
    100
    Baldur's Gate is not a computer role-playing game...it is THE computer role-playing game.
  2. Quandary
    100
    It's been a long haul, more than two months of solid game-play, but I have been absolutely engrossed by every minute! Very few games earn such an accolade from this reviewer.
  3. Game Revolution
    100
    This is, without a doubt, the closest thing out there to actually getting together with a bunch of your friends on a Sunday afternoon, taking your characters into a dungeon, and using you own BOO to find out if that bottomless pit was actually bottomless.
  5. Computer Games Magazine
    100
    If you play through the entire thing, side quest after side quest, and if you take advantage of the immense amount of replay-value, you may not need another game this year, except perhaps the expansion pack. Don't desert us now, BioWare.
  6. PC Gamer
    94
    This is the best roleplaying game you can buy. Period. [Apr. 1999, p.94]
    All this publication's reviews
  7. IGN
    94
    Not only has the game shown that you can build a statistics heavy game without making it boring or confusing, but it has shown that it's possible to build them with style and beauty.
  8. Game Over Online
    93
    With true AD&D rules, emmersive gameplay, incredible depth of the story and graphics to beat, this is definitely one RPG worth playing.
  9. PC Gameworld
    92
    While it doesn't exactly bring anything new to the genre it is a genuinely good CRPG which brings the Forgotten Realms to life.
  10. TotalGames.net
    92
    That's the great thing about Baldur's Gate, not only does it look "the dog's," it provides the player (and multiplayers) with a living, breathing world complete with specific rules which must be adhered to. Now that's magic!
  11. GameSpot
    92
    With its thoroughly addictive gameplay and meticulous attention to detail, largely manages to meet, and even surpass, gamers' high expectations for this ambitious game.
  12. Yahoo!
    90
    Offers an amazing amount of control over how the game is played in a game session. It is very easy to set up a multiplayer game, and just as easy to join one in progress over the Internet or LAN.
  13. GamePro
    90
    It’s a huge, sprawling, wonderfully involved game that makes you feel as though you’ve read a fantasy trilogy by game’s end.
  14. Electric Playground
    90
    Everything that fans of AD&D have always wanted in a computer game. The only thing that will prevent it from being perfect for everyone is the very fact that it follows the AD&D rules so faithfully.
  15. All Game Guide
    80
    Interacting with characters is where your charisma and party's reputation really pays off.
  16. Happy Puppy
    80
    The only drawback to the graphics would be the lack of a rotatable battlefield, as it is sometimes hard to figure out where you can and cannot go in cramped quarters, canyons and towns.
  17. FiringSquad
    80
    Despite our nitpicky issues with "graphical cleanliness" and clunky multiplayer, Baldur's Gate simply shines.

Awards & Rankings

4
#4 Best PC Game of 1998
5
#5 Most Discussed PC Game of 1998
4
#4 Most Shared PC Game of 1998

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 849 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 751 out of 849
  2. Mixed: 64 out of 849
  3. Negative: 34 out of 849
  1. DantheMan
    Mar 18, 2011
    10
    'Legendary' is a term much bandied about these days but this game is one than genuinely deserves the adjective. Many people consider this'Legendary' is a term much bandied about these days but this game is one than genuinely deserves the adjective. Many people consider this game to have single handily have saved the single-player RPG genre on the PC just when it looked dead. It represents a definite turning point in the history of gaming. This can be hard to appreciate today because even I'll concede that the graphics are dated. But the truth of the matter is that RPGs have never been about graphics anyway. What made Balder's Gate innovative it was the first RPG to actually use NPCs to advance the story in a mission critical way. It put their stories, their personalities, their goals on a footing that was equal to your own. What made it show-stopping was the nature of those personalities. They were all different, all unique, and they all didn't necessarily care about you. You had to not just manage combat but manage people if your little band was going to finish the game.

    Yes, the combat can be unbalanced at times. There are a few bugs. But if you cannot laugh when Minsc shouts, "Go for the eyes, Boo" there is something wrong not with the game but with your life. If you want, you can break this game down and find all it's flaws; they exist. But if you don't cheer sitting in your chair when Minsc shouts, "Butt kicking for Goodness!" you have no heart. This isn't just so much a game as it is an experience. That, it seems to me, is what an RPG is all about. It's about creating experiences; it's about making memories. It's playing your role to the hilt and loving it. Baldur's Gate might not have been the best, some people argue the sequel is better, but it was the first to offer that immersion in a way no other game had up until that point in time. If you haven't played this game you should. Because this is where it all began.    … Full Review »
  2. Orctownorc
    Oct 7, 2012
    9
    This game demands a SERMON from the grot: Reverance for this game is NOT nostalgia. Aside from the fact that the graphics settings do notThis game demands a SERMON from the grot: Reverance for this game is NOT nostalgia. Aside from the fact that the graphics settings do not scale properly with modern monitors, this game still earns a healthy 9/10 in 2012 on the basis of brilliant design. This game has great writing, great art, great style, great writing, and FANTASTIC character development. How many modern gamers have even played dice and pencil D&D with a good Dungeon Master? Baldur's Gate brought the core experience into the digital age. It will soon be released again, in open sale competition with Diabolo 3 and Guild Wars 2. Enough said. Newer games do it different, but very few have done it better. The real mystery is how after 14 years no team has had the ability to better this game. Maybe someone will finally realise that it is a whole lot of fun to have a class system that allows about 30 completely different builds. Maybe they will also note that when each characters can be built in 30 ways and you have 6-8 characters in a party, that the possible combinations, will naturally be LIMITLESS. Those who would fly need an open sky. Designers all, heed this profound observation and learn from it. Diversity eliminates the possibility of boredom. Simplifiying games cannot make them better, because the human mind is a bright and curious thing, that demands higher challenges. It's not perfect. It's not the best D&D based computer game. Low level D&D is not always fun. So it scores 9?10 not 10. Despite that this game holds many secrets as to how much better games could be made if designers studied here. If they learned the secrets Of Baldur's Gate and improved on them. So we pray! So may it be!… Full Review »
  3. Kirase
    Jan 1, 2012
    10
    One of the best 2D Dungeons and Dragons RPGs ever made.

    If you like the genre and you think you can overlook the slightly outdated 2D    One of the best 2D Dungeons and Dragons RPGs ever made.

    If you like the genre and you think you can overlook the slightly outdated 2D graphics (Just look at some screenshots or videos) than you should really give it a try. Its simply brilliant.    … Full Review »
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