Imagine for a moment you don’t know anything about Baldur’s Gate and Planescape: Torment. (And maybe you really don’t, they are 20 years old.) But you know they’re games and you know they’re old, and you probably know they’re RPGs. Beyond that, it’s scraps you’ve overhead in conversations. People saying “nothing comes close!” or “philosophical depth!” or “best RPG ever!”. They don’t talk mechanics, they talk themes. They talk about these games as if they were legends. Does it ever really occur to you what they’re like to nuts-and-bolts play?
These games arrive on console tomorrow (15th October) for the very first time – on PlayStation 4, Xbox one and Nintendo Switch – and that’s a pretty big deal. It’s true: these are classic RPGs. In Baldur’s Gate, you have an enormous adventure that takes you from fantasy hero right through to being a god over the course of two games, and in Planescape: Torment you have one of the most philosophically probing adventures I’ve ever played, set in one of the most bizarre worlds and supported by one of the most bizarre casts. And, oh my, what a twist.
Package all that up and it’s a very enticing proposition, particularly as you get more than one game for your money (they are full-price, £40 packages). There are a few permutations of what you can buy. There’s a Baldur’s Gate pack, which bundles the two Baldur’s Gate games plus their expansions – including the recently made Siege of Dragonspear. There’s a Planescape: Torment and Icewind Dale double-pack, which includes expansions, and there’s Neverwinter Nights pack coming 3rd December, which includes expansions as well as the best of the community-made campaigns.
