Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear Review

I played on: Mac
I paid: £16.75 on Steam
Available on: Windows, Mac, Linux, Ios, Android, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
Notes: You can find my Baldur’s Gate 1 review by clicking here.

The Siege of Dragonspear is without a doubt the most interesting expansion to the original Baldur’s Gate. This expansion was released 18 years after its base game. It was also developed by Beamdog, not BioWare, for the Enhanced version of the game. That means if you have a physical copy of the original Baldur’s Gate, this expansion is not compatible with it. When playing Siege of Dragonspear you can tell that this wasn’t the original team behind the first game. It’s not that it’s bad, because it’s not, it’s just a very different feel to the first game. Far more linear with much larger set pieces and climatic moments. So, let’s dive deeper into this fascinating piece of Baldur’s Gate history.

Like my review of ‘Tales of the Sword Coast’ I won’t be going over the gameplay of the Baldur’s Gate base game. If you’re interested in that then you can read my full Baldur’s Gate 1 review, it’s linked above in the notes.

The Siege of Dragonspear is set between Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2. It aims to smoother connect the two games. Sarevok is dead, his plans of war with Amn have been averted and the Iron Crisis has been ended. Meanwhile to the north of Baldur’s Gate sits Dragonspear castle. In the past this site has seen two battles between the forces of Faerûn and the devils of the Nine Hells. A holy crusade is currently being waged within the area of this castle by Caelar Argent. She has become better known as the ‘Shining Lady’. She claims to be able to free the souls of those that died in the previous battles of Dragonspear from their torment within the Hells. If she opens a portal between Faerun and Avernus then there is no knowing how much death, destruction, and chaos may be brought upon the Sword Coast. Even if this ‘Shining Lady’ means well, she must still be stopped.

Meanwhile your character, the hero of Baldur’s Gate, has been finding themselves restless. You’ve been haunted by nightmares of a hooded figure wanting to tap into your potential as the child of Bhaal. You have no idea who he is. Eventually Caelar Argent makes an assassination attempt on your life. Hoping to discover the root of these nightmares and stop the Shining lady from bringing ruin to Faerûn you agree to travel north. 

The story is one of the best things about this expansion. It does a lot to tie various parts of Forgotten Realms lore together. It connects Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2 much more effectively than they were originally. It even manages to correct a few plot holes, such as explaining why you’re unable to simply return to the land north of the Cloud Peaks during Baldur’s Gate 2. Then it connects the games to the Avatar series of novels. We even get to visit iconic location from those books. This was a real treat! We also get a connection to Avernus and the never-ending Blood Wars of the Nine Hells. This helps to connect all the Baldur’s Gate games together. While she only has a small role, we’re also introduced to a transgender character within this expansion. She is refreshingly open about her gender. I do love to see representation within my games.

While the story and plot are amazing, I found that the world building suffered. This is because the area you can explore is much more limited than before. During Baldur’s Gate 1, after you leave Candlekeep, you’re free to explore the world any way you want. While you’re told it might be best to head north to the Friendly Arm Inn there is nothing stopping you from instead heading south or any other direction. This is lost in Dragonspear. Each chapter will see you start in a hub area and then you’ll have at most, 2 extra areas to explore. The advantage is that each one is much denser than in the base game. You can barely walk 5 feet without someone needing help or having a side quest for you. The issue is that the solution to this quest is often right next, or just down the road, from the person asking for help. It makes the world feel small. Baldur’s Gate’s base game felt massive, sprawling, and rewarding to explore. The Siege of Dragonspear in comparison feels restrictive and limiting. I felt like a caged animal, longing for the freedom of the outside world.

There is one thing that the Siege of Dragonspear undoubtably does much better than its base game. That’s the battles and set pieces. During one part of the story, you must take control of Boareskyr Bridge from Caelar Argent’s forces. I was being overwhelmed by maybe 20-30 enemies. All felt lost, I was preparing to reload my last save, when suddenly about 20 Flaming Fist soldiers came in to back me up. This was a massive battle between 50ish NPC’s along with my 6 party members. I think if BioWare had tried this back in 1999 then their computers would have burst into flames. This set-piece was itself then dwarfed by the final battle at Dragonspear castle where there were too many NPCs on screen to count. It was amazing seeing what this dated engine was truly capable of given modern hardware. These moments are without a doubt some of my favourites of the entire series. 

The Siege of Dragonspear is a fascinating piece of additional content. Released 18 years after its base game by a completely different team. It almost feels like an entirely different game. An amazing story, with jaw-dropping set-pieces set in a world that sadly felt a little too restrictive. Well worth playing, just don’t expect the same freedom of the base game. This is without a doubt a more linear bit of storytelling. It was a story worth telling and that makes this a great, if not perfect, piece of content. I’d say it’s worthy of the Baldur’s Gate title.

Recommendation Rating: 8 out of 10.