The second of two Baldur’s Gate II titles, this one released by Interplay in 2001. Throne of Bhaal is a real-time Role-Playing Game, based on the BioWare Infinity Engine, and it completes the main plot of the Baldur’s Gate series of games.

Baldur’s Gate II: Throne of Bhaal uses a licensed Wizards of the Coast Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) 2nd Edition ruleset, set in the Forgotten Realms fantasy world.

After generating a party the game begins inside a city under siege, with the occasional gigantic explosion going off nearby, due to incoming artillery fire. Which is quite exciting for about five minutes. After which it’s just annoyingly loud. Moving onward is then a matter of talking to the right people. These are usually found by initiating dialogue with various characters that you encounter as you explore. As the story progresses you’ll then find a temple and a quest to kill off a local giant and his crew. Plus many more quests which are there for the taking.

In terms of an overall package: there’s a multi-levelled dungeon, called The Watcher’s Keep, to take on; a higher level cap; a further, refined Infinity Engine; and a lot of new weapons and items to play around with, so a lot of good content in Throne of Bhaal. Not to mention a storyline that ties itself up (if you’re following it). This so-called “expansion” could be the best game in the series.

There are so many Infinity Engine games available in total that it is easy to dismiss them as “mainstream” adventure fodder, but every single one remains close to their hardcore tabletop RPG roots and are decent enough and entertaining level-grinders in their own right. This final Baldur’s Gate game pushes the series about as far as it can go on that front and is well worth a play.

Both this, and its predecessor – Shadows of Amn – are available together (alongside The Black Pits II) in Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition.

Note: These grabs are from the enhanced remake, first released in 2013.

More: Baldur’s Gate II: Throne of Bhaal on Wikipedia
Steam: Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition on Steam
GOG: Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition on GOG.com