Baldur’s Gate Retrospective

Capitalizing on the release of Dragon Age: Origins, Resolution Magazine has put together a quick retrospective of the game that officially put BioWare on the map – Baldur’s Gate.

Narrative is vitally important in RPGs, and while Baldur’s Gate certainly has a well-paced, imaginative and interesting plot, it’s the characters that really drove it and made it as memorable as it remains today. Baldur’s Gate allowed inter-party relationships to dynamically evolve throughout the adventure, making for a much deeper and immersive experience than many similar titles at the time – and even now. As a result, the story remained interesting and dynamic, text dialogue was enhanced by its delivery, and players became attached to certain characters and personalities – none more so than Minsc and Boo, two of the most inspired characters to ever grace a videogame. Minsc’s demeanour and attachment to (giant miniature space hamster) Boo made them both household names, loved by players more so than their own created characters. While everyone in Baldur’s Gate had unique and well-written dialogue, Minsc’s quotes tread the line of genius and insanity with such unsteady footing that they live on, even to this day, as classics, and are a testament to the creative prowess of the BioWare team.

Achieving successes at release is a sign of a good game. Maintaining that success on a level that’s so much more than just nostalgia is an achievement only obtained by timeless classics. Baldur’s Gate proudly belongs to this exclusive club.

So will Dragon Age: Origins be looked back at this fondly in 10 years?