Summary
- Tales of the Sword Coast offers engaging side quests separate from the main story of the original Baldur's Gate, allowing players to adventure on their own terms.
- Durlag's Tower in the expansion provides a challenging dungeon experience, emphasizing gameplay over storytelling for a truly immersive RPG experience.
- By building on Dungeons and Dragons lore rather than the base game's narrative, the expansion enhances the world of Baldur's Gate for a more authentic RPG experience, and it's worthy of praise on its 25th anniversary.
As an iconic RPG title which set the tone for the genre in the years that followed, the original Baldur’s Gate succeeded in its engaging interpretation of the Dungeons and Dragons ruleset. Going beyond the tabletop meant that the game was capable of far greater pre-written storytelling, firmly setting it apart from the more open-ended style of play it was inspired by. In an expansion released shortly after the base game, however, BioWare was able to capitalize on the fun of exploring Baldur’s Gate’s side content.
While DLCs such as the second game’s Throne of Bhaal and Beamdog’s Siege of Dragonspear for Enhanced Edition filled in more parts of the overarching story, April 30, 1999’s Tales of the Sword Coast is remembered for completely different reasons. The arc of Baldur's Gate's Bhaalspawn and their relation to the likes of Sarevok is a compelling tale that has gone on to inform the success of BG3 in recent times, as a core appeal of this franchise has always been the ability to get immersed within an adventure of the player’s choosing. This expansion accomplished just that, which is worth celebrating on its 25th anniversary.
Tales of the Sword Coast Was Essentially a Pack of Sidequests
A Set of Refreshingly Irrelevant Locations
Based in its new hub town of Ulgoth’s Beard, this DLC exists in a separate map that connects into several outings. The main commonality between all of these events, whether it be fighting through an icy island prison or investigating a pack of werewolves after being shipwrecked, is that none of them have any ties to the main quest of Baldur’s Gate. It may appear risky as it seems predictable that players would want a follow-up to the game’s story following its landmark success, but the triumph of this expansion is that it delivered on the appreciation fans have for adventuring on their own terms.
Returning to the Base Game is Always On the Table
The inconsequential nature of the content available in Tales of the Sword Coast might make it seem like there’s not any proper incentive to complete it, but the choice is ultimately left up to the player. As long as the “point of no return” hasn’t been reached towards the end of Baldur’s Gate’s story, the freedom to leave Ulgoth’s Beard and return whenever is always present. When considering the highly challenging status of several of this DLC’s battles, that fact can make it an engaging personal milestone to revisit.
The Pitfalls of the Isle of Balduran’s Strict Design
How Tales of the Sword Coast’s Werewolf Questline Betrays Its Greatest Strengths
The only element of the expansion which goes against its generally high quality is the somewhat artificially challenging nature of the werewolf and wolfwere situation on the Isle of Balduran. This quest involves the player searching for Balduran’s ship and ending up stranded on an island infested by wolfweres, one of DnD's more obscure monsters, who live inside its wreckage. Not only does it prevent the player from being able to leave, but the party can eventually end up cursed with lycanthrophy and become hostile if the proper precautions aren’t taken.
Many players have also expressed frustration with the Greater Wolfwere boss encounter at the end of this quest, as it can only be harmed by rare silver weapons and regenerates health at a seemingly imbalanced rate. There is an apparent nuance to the discovery that the werewolves were actually wolfweres defending themselves, but this turned out to be wasted potential since the player has no way of siding with any faction. The Isle of Balduran can at least be skipped in favor of what some view as an antithetical high point of the highly praised original Baldur's Gate.
Durlag’s Tower May Be the Most Authentic Dungeon Experience in the Baldur’s Gate Franchise
A True CRPG Challenge Recommended for Endgame
For some players, the rest of the expansion can mostly feel like a build-up to its main draw, Tales of the Sword Coast's Durlag’s Tower. Sent to retrieve the Soultaker Dagger, the player may be overwhelmed by a dungeon that is filled to the brim with traps, loot, and difficult enemy encounters that can prove fatal even for max-level parties. The sense of danger present in this tower as its underground labyrinth is descended is evocative of what made DnD so compelling to begin with, and it almost completely eschews storytelling.
Minimal Storytelling Can Be the Greatest Immersion Tool in RPGs
There’s practically no narrative to speak of in terms of the room-to-room experience of navigating Durlag’s Tower, but the trials of overcoming its difficulty are capable of becoming the personal story of the player. When encounters are tuned such that advanced Dungeons and Dragon s combat tactics are necessary even with best-in-slot options in use, there is a persistent sense of danger that can make for intense highs and lows that can come to be some of a playthrough’s most memorable moments.
Being Separate from Baldur’s Gate’s Main Narrative Supports Tales of the Sword Coast’s Strongest Aspect
Building From Dungeons and Dragons Instead of the Base Game
The city of Baldur’s Gate was previously mentioned in DnD books, but BioWare expanded the world and lore around it in a novel way that made it a prolific part of RPG history. With the lore surrounding what were previously relatively unremarkable concepts like the influence of Bhaal in the Forgotten Realms having grown around these developments, the studio built a formula which was continued in the game’s expansion.
The prestige that Durlag’s Tower has earned over the years is still likely to surprise new players who learn of its irrelevance to the main plot of BG, but it was built with the same reverence for the source material. In an interview with blog Best cRPGs, lead writer Lukas Kristjanson spoke about the thought he put into this influential dungeon:
"It was our first crack at an expansion, and we wanted something that could plug in and be engaged at almost any point. And since it's Dungeons and Dragons, we wanted to try our hand at a traditional crawl…So we went for something established in Forgotten Realms, but not so detailed that fans would nitpick what we did as 'not accurate'."
Baldur's Gate 3
- Released
- August 3, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
Abducted, infected, lost. You are turning into a monster, but as the corruption inside you grows, so does your power. Forge a tale of fellowship and betrayal, sacrifice and survival, and the lure of absolute power. Caught in a conflict between devils, deities, and sinister otherworldly forces, you and your party will determine the fate of the Forgotten Realms.
THE ULTIMATE D&D EXPERIENCE
Choose from a wide selection of D&D races and classes, or play as an origin character with a hand-crafted background. Adventure, loot, battle, and romance as you journey through the Forgotten Realms and beyond. Play alone or as a party of up to four in multiplayer – and select your companions carefully.
A CINEMATIC STORYTELLING EPIC
Forged with the new Divinity 4.0 engine, Baldur’s Gate 3 gives you unprecedented freedom to explore, experiment, and interact with a world that reacts to your choices. A grand, cinematic narrative brings you closer to your characters than ever before, as you venture through our biggest world yet. Romance, deceive, aid, obstruct, and grow alongside your friends thanks to Larian's next-generation RPG engine.
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Larian Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Larian Studios
- Franchise
- Baldur's Gate
- Number of Players
- 1-4
- Split Screen Orientation
- Vertical Only
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, macOS
- Genre(s)
- RPG
- How Long To Beat
- 100+ Hours
- Metascore
- 96
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- Local Co-Op Support
- 1-2 Players
