Two Baldur's Gate RPGs Seemingly On The Way To Xbox Game Pass

Hmmm just bought them a few weeks ago so everyone can just thank me….

@AlwaysPlaying thank you for your sacrifice 😂

@AlwaysPlaying thanks AP!

I actually never got on with BG1 on PC. Kept getting smashed by wolves just out of the first area. Didn't have a clue what to do. But I love KOTOR and Mass Effect from the same outfit. Do you have any tips? I would love to have a full playthrough!

Excellent games, had a blast playing them in the good old days, even though Planescape: Torment was the one among big old RPGs, which stole my heart.

Classics. Too bad the new game will be nothing like these two. You cant even roll for stats or explore a world map. Its basically divinity with a d&d skin. Which is fine i guess, just dont get the gall to put a 3 at the end.

The physical version of this on Switch has gone up in price somewhat. I paid around £8 brand new. It’s now selling for up to £70.

@themcnoisy my backlog is a bit large so never played it on the Xbox yet… so I will let you know if it plays well… I was going to warm up before 3 came out… might be a learning curve to figure out all the spells and how to cast using a controller vs keyboard and mouse

@Moonglow @fizban3332 Ewww. Something rubbed me wrong about BG3 from the start, but I couldn't really place what. It seems ok, but something always seemed off. I never really got the hype around Divinity. Always thought PoE was better, which makes sense as it's from the people that made/co-made the old Infinity engine games to begin with. I really have higher hopes for Avowed to feel more "Baldur's Gate" for that reason. But I'll forever have a soft spot for the real Sword Coast environment.

Sweet, now the 3 people that are interested in this style of game but don't already own it can play it.

But seriously, these are some of the best games ever made. Especially BGII.

The only unfortunate thing about playing them on XBOX is you miss out on all the amazing work modders have done over the years.

What do you mean, @evan23? Are there some good mods? I have no idea how to use mods in the first place, but have always been curious.

I've not played the first two games, @Moonglow and @fizban3332, and I get that from a purists point of view that 3 looks, and probably plays, nothing like the first two, but I'm curious what you would prefer, seems as 20 years has elapsed since the second game came out:

1. The location and name is used to further the story of the first two games, even if it does not look nor play like the first two?
or
2. The first two games basically fade into gaming history with no sequel ever to be made (which is the situation that faces us were it not for BG3)?

I'm not saying you are wrong to hold your opinion, just that were it not for Larian's effort, you would not be getting any sort of sequel at all...

I've not played the first two games, though I have been tempted to buy them many times when they have appeared in the Xbox sales. The one thing that has always put me off buying them is the dated appearance and the fact that they involve so much reading. My eyesight is shocking and so I often miss subtitles in games, particularly so when they are too small, and on the screen too briefly. The idea of straining to read reams and reams of text is very off-putting. At least BG3 is fully voiced, which should alleviate that issue...

@Fiendish-Beaver Those games have had an active modding community for over 20 years. There are countless mods available.

There are mods that make small changes and mods that complete transform the game into something else. There are so many mods that there are tools developed to help you find and manage your mods.

I have played BGII over 20 times with various mods in place.

That sounds very intriguing, @evan23. Thank you. Is it a long game?

@fizban3332 Have you tried Solasta from Tactical Adventures? That indeed is a Dnd 5e game, the combat and rules are on point with SRD. Just not much roleplay as the real ttrpg tho.

@Fiendish-Beaver Yes, I would say it is a long game. Although, it depends on how you play it. If you race towards the finish ignoring non-essential quests you could finish it it in less time.

@Fiendish-Beaver There is a lot of text, that is true. However, at least on the PC version, there are controls to configure the size of the text. Also, most text appears in box that waits for you to acknowledge it so it wouldn't be that common that you would miss something meaningful.

@Fiendish-Beaver the original creators of baldurs gate said that throne of bhaal(Bg2 expansion) was essentially bg3 since it ended the bhaal spawn storyline. So far with the larian bg3, the only real connection to the older games are returning characters like minsc and jaheria.

@XMadson Yes I have! Enjoyed it so much on gamepass I bought it. Not the best in terms of visuals or story, but it was still so addicting. Combat was top notch imo.

@NEStalgia i want Gauntlet to make a comeback!! For the time being all i need is Diablo 4. But Xbox does seem to have a heavy focus on RPG’s, so i am sure i will be playing a few of them. BG3 don’t do anything for me tho. Not sure why, i am probably missing a great game, but i will pass on it on both PS5 and Series X next year.

Thank you for the detailed response, @evan23. I'll stop bugging you now... 😂

Thank you, @Moonglow. I have to say that I personally prefer games that have turn-based combat as I find that I often lose track of what's going on, and before I know it, I'm dead! I am intrigued by the original games though, but whether I could cope with all the reading, or indeed the combat, I'm not entirely sure. Now that they're coming to Game Pass, I guess it's definitely a case of nothing ventured, nothing gained...

That's fair enough, @fizban3332. Having not played the first two games, I'm not as invested in the series as perhaps those that played the originals are.

DoS2 is probably my favourite game of all time. I even got the achievement for completing it solo without dying on Honour mode. So, I have very high hopes for BG3 being a game that I will very much enjoy. Truth be told, I would probably have preferred the game to have been Divinity Original Sin 3, but I guess then it would not have used the 5th edition rule set of D&D. I guess the game being linked to the Baldur's Gate universe will bring added interest to the game that maybe a new IP would not have done. Regardless, I'm hoping that Larian knock it out of the park...

That's cool, @Moonglow. I'm definitely up for giving them a go...

@Fiendish-Beaver I believe BG1:EE and BG2:EE have a setting to enable auto-pause to essentially give you turn based combat but I don't remember the exact options in that menu.

Ideal. Thank you, @evan23. Now they're coming to Game Pass I definitely up for giving them a go.

@Moonglow I can't place why, but Divinity just never really did it for me. It may have been expectations, I expected the second coming of the Black Isle/Bioware (Obsidian...) games and it just wasn't it. It's always been a game that I've felt I'm supposed to love but for reasons I can't identify, just don't.

@HonestHick Yeah, IDK, I mean I'd rank BG2 as one of my top 10 favorite games of all time. Is that colored by nostalgia 90's PC rose tinted (cathode tube illuminated) glasses? Maybe. But I just can't quite get into BG3 hype at all. Nothing seems "wrong" about it, but nothing's getting me excited, either.

@HonestHick Gauntlet was a genre defining moment that all RPG use in some way… no Diablo or BG3 without it… what a quarter waster in the day!

@evan23 @fiendish-beaver 150-200 hours to 100% both games according to howlongtobeat.com - double that for me the old guy…

@AlwaysPlaying you are so right about all of that. I don’t play as many RPG’s these days. But Diablo is an all time top 3 game franchise for me. I already have close to 200 hours into Diablo 4. With another 3-4 coming tonight after work. I do hope Xbox get’s well known for its RPG’s tho. That could be a big win for the brand even if i only play a few of them.

@NEStalgia sometimes it just happens that way. Not all games speak to me the way they do others and even sequels sometimes don’t excitement me as much if they change something or it just ain’t vibing to me. I am sure you are hardly hurting for things to play. Heck between Diablo 4 and Street fighter 6, i am not even sure what the next thing will be that i pick up and play or even buy.

Thank you, @AlwaysPlaying. I'm the same. I like to look everywhere and do everything, so it'll likely take me considerably longer than that to complete both. Oh, well, who needs a social life anyway... 😂

I saw the notification too I’ll definitely try them

@AlwaysPlaying At least you keep your progress and can continue when it leaves Game Pass. This has happened to all of us at least once. LOL