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Version used for review: 1.0.

While Baldur’s Gate II is one of the most complete and satisfying RPG experiences one can have, it can’t be denied that Throne of Bhaal turned out to be somewhat lackluster for many. High-level D&D combat can be a chore more than it is a challenge, and the expansion is very fast-paced opposed to what a player may have been used to in the game leading up to it.

As much as I love the atmosphere and tone of Throne of Bhaal, it does come out as my least favourite part of the saga, due in large part to the way that the leadup to the ending is handled. While there are other mods that change the ending in certain ways, Crucible is a mod that introduces a 1-3 hour gauntlet prior to the final confrontation with Amelyssan, and it does much to enhance the final portion of the expansion.

Calling it a gauntlet is doing it a disservice, really. Crucible places you on the first layer of Gehenna — Khalas — where Bhaal’s Throne of Blood is located. It’s combat heavy, and also surprisingly lore heavy. Crucible is bold with its content, for better and for worse.

What cannot be denied, however, is that Crucible is a beautiful looking mod. Gehenna is fantastically gross, and the approach into Bhaal’s territory puts you into these wonderfully imagined environments that I was in total awe of the entire time I was playing it.

The unknowable geometry of this hellish plane is just as twisted and bloodied as those that inhabit it. It certainly doesn’t look like a very pleasant place to live in, what with all the spiky rocks, depressed statues, and desecrated corpses of mysterious beasts.

I really enjoyed the area design all throughout Crucible. Each location — of which there are about a dozen — is exciting to explore and has a distinct feeling of danger associated with it. My favourite location in the entire mod is the last one that you’ll stand in before venturing into the Mana Forge, where the final battle of the game takes place. I never really understood what the Mana Forge was. It’s a floating boss arena with a big beam in the middle, and that’s fine, but seeing that actual place that one is meant to enter it from recontextualises it in a way that I appreciated.

There’s also a decent amount of new enemy variations, and depending on your difficulty settings, they can be grueling. If you’re the type of person to play with all the difficulty mods enabled, Crucible is something of a balancing force for the massive spike in difficulty that you get in an SCS-Ascension-fueled final battle — with which Crucible is fully compatible with.

I wish that I had nothing but praise for this mod, because it does so much right: it’s paced well, it has good musical cues, it has powerful items with good balance, the art is wonderful, and the writing is, overall, very solid.

However, Crucible is fully voice-acted using generative AI tools. Now, I am not looking to cause a debate on the ethics of AI technology — it can be used to great effect in the creation of mods, and I’ve seen it done well. Crucible specifically utilizes ethical AI voice acting, opting not to replicate the voice of any pre-existing characters.

No, my issue is not that it’s wrong, it’s just that it doesn’t sound good. At least, not yet. Thankfully, due to the author’s speedy work, the voice acting is now completely optional, save for the opening scrawl, which I actually quite enjoyed anyway. If you want to try out the AI voices, go for it. If you’d rather steer clear, then the option is there.

In its current form, the voices sounds wooden, unnatural, and jarring around 80% of the time, while the other 20% is actually workable. I don’t mind having the occasional line here and there, provided it sounds good — and there are lines in Crucible that sound good, but I found the rest of it incredibly distracting. There’s a character that uses an Australian accent, and there’s nothing in this world that pulls me out of an experience with more visceral shock than a computer badly replicating my own accent.

While playing Crucible, you’ll notice some familiar faces. A potential friend or foe from Durlag’s Tower, of all places, returns in a very minor role, and it’s always nice to see Tales of the Sword Coast get recognition in some form outside of its own content.

You’ll also encounter Viekang at one point, and I believe — for some reason — this is an attempt to very subtly tie Baldur’s Gate II into the ‘canon’ sequence of events that occur in Murder in Baldur’s Gate, wherein Viekang slays Gorion’s Ward, resulting in Bhaal’s revival. I was initially opposed to this with every fiber of my being. I audibly groaned. My blood ran red hot with fury. I was not born with hatred in my heart, but this awoke something deep inside me.

All turned out fine, however, because the mod very generously offers you control over Viekang’s fate, and it does nothing to suggest that Viekang will one day rise up and attempt to kill you. I think it actually makes sense that he’s here, because we know he’s not dead. His appearance isn’t unwelcome, and it doesn’t last that long. Well played, Crucible.

The last familiar face doubles as a character you may have barely heard of. I won’t spoil who it is, exactly, but I will say that it’s extremely meta in a way that I didn’t enjoy. Crucible will, as ridiculous as this sounds, reveal to you the true identity of Noober and all his counterparts. You’ll also be told that the reason you can find hidden items in Baldur’s Gate — e.g. the ankheg armor in Nashkel — is because Tymora, the goddess of Luck, turned her eye upon you.

Maybe it’s just me, but I think the idea of a character telling you that “the reason why you found easter-egg items in the last game is because GOD has FAVOURED you!” is inherently hilarious, and the fact that it’s being read out with as much earnestness as a computer can muster only adds to that hilarity. This occurs almost right before the final battle, by the way.

Noober is hilarious. We all know it. But that doesn’t mean he needs to be anything more than a gag. To make a relevant analogy, imagine if all of Stan Lee’s cameos in the vast Marvel film catalogue were twisted into some sort of deus ex machina reveal. It’s hard to take seriously.

Personally, I think the Noober experience peaks in Dorn’s quest in Lunia, which is the funniest joke that the writers at Beamdog have ever written, and ever will write — not a slight on their skill, it’s just that good of a joke.

Perhaps the only reason I’m being so critical is because I love what Crucible is trying to do. Criticism comes from a place of passion, and my passion runs deep for this 1-3 hour adventure. There are a lot of things that it does marvelously, but as I will reminds you time and time again: I am a nitpicker and a pedant, and I hate having fun.

Also there was a window in a building that reminded me of the dream sequence in Monkey Island 2.

Anyone? No? Okay, just me then.

One of the things that I really appreciated about Crucible is, oddly enough, the worldbuilding. There isn’t a lot of official lore on Bhaal during the time which he was mortal, but Crucible takes what is there and runs with it, and does a very good job in doing so. It’s presented by an exceptionally old fellow for whom Cespenar used to work for. He’s a charming character.

Cespenar is here too, given the destruction of your Pocket Plane, and he can create a new item for you, depending on how thoroughly you’ve explored Gehenna. There’s also an additional Eye of Tyr, in case you wanted to upgrade both Carsomyr and The Purifier to their enhanced versions, which is neat. The new items here are standard fare for Throne of Bhaal. Nothing downright game-breaking, but generally powerful and worth using, provided that they suit your build well enough.

There are also some referential threads created between Crucible and Baldur’s Gate 3, though it doesn’t go much farther than Karsus being brought up more than once. Given that the Netherese empire is an important aspect of Forgotten Realms lore, this doesn’t exactly raise eyebrows.

We also have a closer look into the machinations of Bhaal’s inner circle. Bhaal, of course, had many loyal followers who continued to live while he was rotting in the dirt, and they’ve been carrying out their last orders for the last few decades: to prepare for their lord’s return. Some have given up hope, while others have allied themselves with Amelyssan.

There’s a point in which you have to break the hard news of Bhaal’s death to one of his loyal followers who has been in stasis for as many years as the god has been dead. He seems incredibly torn up about it, but as soon as he hears that Amelyssan is plotting to become the new god of murder, he immediately decides to kill her and take her place. It gave me a good laugh, and it’s totally on brand for the type of writing that Baldur’s Gate II exhibits.

Crucible functions as a lot of different things, and thus it will likely appeal to a lot of people regardless of what you look for in a mod. It’s a difficult combat challenge that can be extremely punishing on higher difficulties, it’s a fantastic new quest with good writing, and it’s a fun lore dive into some less touched on aspects of Bhaal.

Now that the AI voices are optional, I don’t think I see myself playing Throne of Bhaal without Crucible in the future. It’s just a phenomenal addition to the saga, on par with content from the original game.

Despite what my whining would have you think, I enjoyed Crucible a lot, and I strongly recommend it to people like me who enjoy mods that blend in well with the unmodded experience. It is, genuinely, one of the best mods I’ve ever played. If Throne of Bhaal had been allowed more development time, I can definitely see something roughly equivalent to Crucible making it into the final game.

Thanks for reading.