Made for the Fingers
Sun Jul 26 2015 BillCarsonAny old school top down RPG or point & click style game feels right at home on iOS! Instead of dragging a cursor around it feels very intuitive to simply point and have your commands met. In lieu of keyboard shortcuts, I actually find this method more enjoyable. The writing here is still the best aspect of the game; funny, engaging, and deep. The entire game has depth, don’t expect to be godlike your first time round - but the fun is deciphering the D&D gameplay mechanics! The only feedback i have preventing BG from getting 5 stars is the lack of iTunes File Sharing. Yes, you are able to export saved games to play on computer & iOS interchangeably. However, on the computer I have several custom portraits I’d like also transferred to iOS. Its not a deal breaker, but sometimes it does pull me out of the story not seeing the characters as I see them in my head. I’ve already purchased the portrait pack, but I like to have NPCs looking unique as well. This was enabled pre 8.3 update, but since it’s been blocked. Enabling the iTunes File sharing for this would be amazing! Overall, thank you Beamdog & Overhaul for giving us the ability to play on the go. Prepared to get hooked, & good luck in Faerûn!
Perfect.
Tue Aug 11 2015 fiercey13I played through Baldur's Gate when it was originally released many years ago and played it again five years later and then yet again five years later. Unfortunately, my old computer went toast and I swore off PC gaming forever because of the ridiculous costs and hassles of keeping a computer up to date. I had long thought the iPhone and iPad could make perfect platforms for some old classic games.
And here it is-- Baldur's Gate, in full iPad glory. Zooming made easy, click with a finger, and you can see all containers easily. I just finished it tonight and I'm a completionist, which means I look in every container and in every nook and cranny for content. There were zero problems and many old bugs fixed. [I do wish they would've fixed the old character scripting issue for thieves set to "Thief Aggressive" where pathing is interrupted whenever the thief automatically attempts to hide in shadows and/or a failure of shadow hiding, but alas...]
A friend bought this game for me... I didn't know of its existence on iPad prior to then. Now I'm downloading BG 2 and then Icewind Dale. I do hope Icewind Dale 2 AND Planescape: Torment are in the works!!
Almost 5 stars on the iPhone
Fri Oct 19 2018 Van VorstI’ve now purchased this game three times! First, upon the original PC release, the updated PC release, and iOS. I really feel like there is so much more opportunity to port old RPG games to iOS... (Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss, anyone?) I’m playing this now on the iPhone XS Max. I am LOVING it, but a few interface tweaks could really improve it. Obviously it is not optimized for iPhone X and above, so there is some wasted horizontal screen space. Also, though I know the game was designed for tablets, it is fantastic to bring it around in my pocket, and really the challenge on iPhone for me is just discerning some of the icons, specifically spell icons. Also if the game was programmed to fade the iPhone’s home bar that would be nice - I think there’s some precious vertical space lost there. Anyway, thanks to the developers for realizing the continued value in these classic older games! My opinion is that a pinch of iPhone optimization might get you a whole new batch of players.
Should be rated higher
Thu Apr 26 2018 Frank29460This is as much a review as a love letter to Beamdog. Thanks for porting those games. I’ve rolled five characters and played through these games repeatedly. I’ve racked up countless hours in gameplay and many times that much in thinking about ways to explore the game mechanics.
I’m sad to see so many bad reviews because it’s “too small for the phone”. I’ve played it on my iPad but honestly prefer playing it on my phone for some reason. I’m glad Beamdog didn’t restrict it to only iPads for fear of getting the occasional bad review from people with sausage fingers. I rarely hit the wrong buttons and don’t know why so many people seem to have a problem with that...
Beamdog did a great job correcting issues I had with this port in the past (e.g. collapsing side bars, save importing, etc). My only hope now is that they find a way to port some of the Neverwinter Nights titles someday. Trent said it would be a challenge and presume that means even more than the formidable challenges they faced in getting BG titles out the door, so I’m not holding my breath. Thanks for the memories either way.
Takes me back to high school
Tue Mar 25 2025 Zorke RaineyWow, I remember getting the original bauldurs gate on pc with 8 cd roms to run(bg1 seems so small now!) Now the thing fits on my iPad. Admittedly the touchscreen is a compromise, but once I got the hang of it, I was off. There is a tremendous wiki for the games and still boasts an active community at the time of this writing. I really wanted planescape to be a better game (how do you wind up with a linear adventure on the great ring?) but that’s no fault of the folks who ported this stuff. I’ve had immense enjoyment from this entire bundle, with a replay I’m doing for the third time now. Taking characters from the core 3 games is very easy and extremely satisfying to the power player who understands the game mechanics. Thanks for the blast from the past from the superior in every way, ADnD 2e. (Sorry you 5e wimps, this is challenging on even core rules, and spoon feeds nothing to you. Also there are no half dragon/tiefling/goliath bard-paladin-sorcerer-artificer-there’s play tested balance for a reason.)
Nostalgia, Does this generation really have more ADHD than me?
Tue Nov 17 2015 JnshortyI read a couple of the reviews, and I will preface this one by saying I played ( although didn't finish ) the game when it originally was released on PC. There was not a tutorial at that time, and the game was an awesome experience. Apparently, today it looks as if most the poor reviews are from people that did not play the original ( and likely were not alive when it was released ) as the beginning area in this game provided more guidance than I remember of most games at that time.
Ok so I have rambled long enough, if you played games in the mid to late nineties, you will like this game whether you ran across this one or not. If you are accustomed to more recent games with integrated and in depth beginning tutorials, you will find this game difficult to get started with. I recommend buying it, and sticking with it. I find it is much easier to play on my iPhone than it ever was on my PC.
Didn’t play the pc version
Sun Mar 15 2020 stscovLooking for a good iphone DND game, I gave this a try. I am still giving this a try, but it is a hard slog. I probably have to change my combat tactics, but for the novice this game appears to highlight all of the worst parts of actual role playing games (yay! Let’s walk across a giant map for 5 minutes! Let’s click though countless menus trying to organize our inventory! Let’s struggle to walk through doorways! Let’s accidentally cast the wrong spell because one rock icon looks just like any other rock icon!). Meanwhile, the part of DND that most folks find enjoyable, combat, happens in a muddled flash. I have tried modifying the scripts, but the characters have yet to behave sensibly. So, we spend 15 minutes traversing a forest landscape, then 15 seconds getting killed during a random encounter. I’m sure I am missing something, but it has not been super enjoyable trying to figure this game out.
Not bad, here’s a hack to help!
Sat Apr 26 2025 david7613Game is exactly as the old one, really. But the controls and the icons are so small! Well, there’s a workaround: go to setting, accessibility, and zoom. Turn it on, turn on follow focus, and zoom controller.
Tap the directional pad when you want to bring up the options, and change to window zoom when playing the game. You get a little window that you can control the size, location, and magnification of. Put this over your pause button when not using it. When you need it, change the size and zoom accordingly and move it around the screen for those hard to click icons, the inventory menus, or to interact with the environment. This thing is the only way I can play this game, and it’s proven worth it, even if it is a bit of a hassle until you get used to it.
UPDATE!
Fri Sep 29 2017 MikeH24Update #5: THANK YOU! It’s sad that it’s so rare nowadays that a developer actually listens to their customers, but Overhaul has done it. Restoring the appropriate rating to this gem of a game. 5 stars, and well worth every cent! Thanks guys!
Update #4: While all the other Apps got an update (I already updated my reviews back to 5 stars), this one still hasn’t! What’s the hold up? You updated the sequel, but not the original? I’m still trying to beat IWD before I even begin on this one, and what’s the point of playing the second before the first?? Waiting....
Update #3: Still nothing, yet I added one more star to my rating because, according to the website (as of the 5th of July 2017), an update is "on the way" for BG:EE and BGII: EE (they added in ID:EE as an afterthought, so hopefully there as well), but no ETA. I'll update my rating IF this app gets updated.
Update #2: Still nothing. $10 for a game that won't even play correctly on the newest iOS devices (or anything after 2015). Instead of updating this and their other apps (the 2nd BG and Icewind Dale), they just release a NEW game for $10. Sorry Devs, but you won't be receiving any of MY hard earned cash until you start UPDATING your games.
Please, for the love of GOD, could you update this game! I paid good money for this!
Great game, hard game
Sun May 22 2022 SdhbeyioqwGreat game, MAKE SURE you get baulders gate 1 and not the 2 or 3rd as its a continuation of the story scaled to higher lvs, not a better version. in the starting area before you leave theres a shopkeeper in the north of the villige. and for making your character only certain races can use specific classes, try a different race if you want to be something else ( human can be most any class.) reroll stats a few times to get some good stats for your first playthrough. You will die alot, this is an old pc game, and as such its a steep learning curve. And a biggy is to remember that all the xp you get is split between your party so dont just recruit everyone you find, as youll have trouble leveling your main characters. (Get a healer) ~And above all ——REST to recover health/ spells often——
