Well, why not? ;-) Challenge accepted!
Baldur's Gate 1 is one of those games which I always tried to play but which somehow never really worked out for me. Nevertheless, I really want to know why it is considered to be one of the genre's greatest titles.
Previously, I used a modded gog-version which combined Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 into one giant game, but decided some time ago that I want to try the titles seperately. I play the classic versions, not the new enhanced editions.
Therefore, I have used some of the recommended, non-game-changing mods from this thread.

I will keep you updated!
Cheers!

There are not so many football matches to watch any more and so I've picked up my assigned games again.

I completed Grim Fandango Remastered and here is my final impression from the "Games finished in 2016" thread:

The strengths of the game are definitely the story, the humour and the unique characters (even supporting characters are likeable and have their own personality).

Puzzle design was ok most of the time, but there are also some puzzles that were annoying or even unfair (you shouldn't have to do an action over and over again when there's no hint that the outcome might change after several tries).

I also had to use a walkthrough several times, just because the camera perspective is very weird in some places and because of that it's easy to miss a location or an item.

Besides that I really liked the game and the time I've spent with Manny and his friends (and also his foes). The remastered version worked fine for me, I didn't find any bugs and I think the improved graphics looked great (much better than the original ones). It's just a shame that they didn't improve the cutscenes as well.


Progress update on Stardew Valley:
Not that much progress, but I have a lovely wife now. Think I should build a nursery soon, so we can have kids (which is impossible without a nursery of course ;)).
I think I also should do some more mining to get access to gold ore, which will make farming much more easy (good sprinklers will spare you a lot of time).

Wow, I totally forgot about this thread! I took a couple of stabs at defeating the end boss in my game and got frustrated at it and gave it a rest for a while, tried again a few times with same results and then just forgot about it. Still have it installed though, so I should give it another crack one of these days. Would be nice to stroke it off the list and uninstall it, plus I could really use the free disk space to make room for other games and beta testing. :)

Congratulations on finishing Grim Fandango Remastered!
Do you wish for another assignment now or will you focus on Stardew Valley?

Well, well, then onto the task, I may say ;-)
Or would you like an assignment for the side?

I could need another assignment. Any ideas for something short from the GOG catalogue (ten hours or less)? But no adventure please, I don't like to play two games from the same genre in a row.

If no one has a good idea, I will post a list of games later on.

Naw, GOG beta testing is keeping me busy mostly ATM. :) Might be a while until I tackle my game here, this is going to be a rather busy month.

Hm... that leaves mostly platformers and the like, I think. I can strongly recommend Hotline Miami, if you haven't played it yet. Although it may take more than ten hours to complete. Or maybe Odallus - The Dark Call or VVVVVV, which I both have yet to play ;-)

Sounds interesting! What kind of beta-testing do you do for GOG? Is it related to Galaxy?

Nice suggestions, but I've already played (and completed) Hotline Miami and VVVVVV and I down't own Odallus - The Dark Call.

So here's a list to choose from:

Second Sight (might take a little longer than 10 hours)
Tiny and Big: Grandpa's Leftovers
Mutant Mudds
Unmechanical Extended (just the new content)
Snapshot
Incredipede
Retro City Rampage
Lucius
99 Levels to Hell
Zafehouse Diaries (I'm not sure how long it is)
Driftmoon
Reus
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
The Adventures of Shuggy
The Lords of Midnight
World Rally Fever (not sure how long, but I assume one can play it in between more complex games)
Race the Sun
Surgeon Simulator 2013
Outlast
Giana Sisters: Rise of the Owlerlord
Sang-Froid: Tales of Werewolves
Shelter
Long Live the Queen
Octodad: Dadliest Catch
The Swapper
Tales from Space: Mutant Blob Attacks
Teslagrad
American McGee's Grimm (probably longer, but it seems to be a number of short episodes)
InFlux
Stick it to the Man!
Mark of the Ninja
Schein
Fractured Soul
Clarc
Mousecraft
Reprisal Universe
Anomaly: Warzone Earth
World of Goo
Metrocide (no idea about the length)
The Fall
Rebuild 3: Gangs of Deadville
Gurumin: A Monstrous Adventure
Apotheon
Anodyne
The Last Tinker
Lula: The Sexy Empire (I had the retail version and I think it was quite short for a management game)
Never Alone
Card City Nights
Another World: 20th Anniversary Edition
80 Days
Pony Island
Deadbolt
Duskers (probably longer, but it seems like a good game to play a mission once in a while)
Bit.Trip Beat
The Westport Independant

How about World of Goo? I personally liked it.

I'd recommend these 2:
Mutant Mudds
Teslagrad

Ok, I will play World of Goo next. :)
Thank you for the recommendations. I will play Teslagrad once I've finished World of Goo. :)

First progress update on World of Goo:

I've completed the first chapter and the first level of chapter two and so far I like it. The game is very well designed and relaxing.

I have to admit that I'm pretty bad at it though. Most of the time my structures are not very original and except fot the very first level the OCD award is completely out of reach for me.

Progress update on Baldur's Gate: The Original Saga
Assigned by yoshino

Story time: this game is actually the reason I joined this site. Two years ago, I asked a friend where I could buy this title, as I had a sudden itch to play it - even though I never really played it properly. I had a basic retail version without the expansion for years, but I never made more progress than the Friendly Arm Inn.
After buying this game - I remember it being the very last hour of the Summer Sale back then - I installed it but let it rest there for a little while longer, while I was busy playing Dungeon Keeper 2 ;-)
Then I played it for some time, but couldn't progress at some point. I remember leaving some mines, when I was being ambushed by assassins who proved to be superior to my party. Well, well...

Being regarded as a groundbreaking and, with its successor, one of the best cRPGs ever made, I am naturally curious what all the fuzz is about. ;-)

So far, I am at my usual end-point: the Friendly Arm Inn. The assassination attempt beforehand is still as difficult as I recall it as a kid, but I managed to overcome this obstacle. I chose the creative male human fighter as my main hero, who is being accompanied by Imoen, Khalid and Jaheira. I left Xzar and Montaron at the Inn, they're just crazy...

Cheers!

Progress update on Baldur's Gate: The Original Saga
Assigned by yoshino

My party left the Friendly Arm Inn and reached the City of Beregost. There, I picked up Garrick as a new party member, as I killed his previous employer Silke, who apparently was some kind of evil mage.
I picked up some rumors that some crazy evil "monster" called Bassilus causes havoc in the area and therefore decided to investigate this. On my way I picked up the ranger Kivan for my party and met a talking chicken... which was an apprentice mage who accidentally polymorphed himself using stolen bracers of his master Thalantyr of High Hedge.
After resolving this situation, I found some Hobgoblins who wanted my money but met the pointy end of my blade. A fate which Bassilus and his undead "family" also met. This fight was pretty tough, but then I found that there was a dialogue option which kills all his minions, which made things way easier.
Currently, my party is around level 2 and I decided to explore the new areas a little bit more to fulfill some sidequests, maybe I will also find some treasure and definitely more monsters ;-)

I also have a question: I read that the new content of "Tales of the Sword Coast" blends seamlessly into the main game. Is this mostly designed for high-level characters or is Ulgoth's Beard worth exploring at an early stage of the game?

Cheers!

Ancient Chinese secret. :)