Baldur's Gate 1 is one of the blandest and boringest RPGs ever made. I don't see why it's so popular, especially considering the fact that every other Infinity Engine RPG is better: BG2 has better quests and atmosphere, PST has better story and writing, IWD games have better combat.
The only noteworthy thing about BG1 is the fact that it's the first game using that engine, and it has the reputation of resurrecting the genre after the mid 90s stagnation. But other than that?
Encounters are mostly filler. The exploration consists of walking through mostly empty wilderness areas filled with generic goblins, bandits, and xvarts or whatever they're called. Little story encounters usually consist of some dude approaching you, saying some generic stuff, then walking away - no choice and consequence in the dialogue, not even any relevant information, just pointless fluff that feels incredibly generic. Visually the game looks extremely generic too, pseudo-medieval fantasyland with no real identity. Everything about the game feels like "my first D&D campaign" designed by a first-time DM and intended for first-time players. Several of the dungeons are utterly terrible mazes that fuck up the pathfinding of your 6 character party, the hallways are way too narrow for an isometric game... it's like someone designed them for an Eye of the Beholder game, where these narrow hallways would be appropriate.
Even the Gold Box games felt more interesting in their writing, and were leagues better when it comes to combat (RTwP for D&D isn't even half as fun as proper turn based) and encounter design.
If you do enjoy the combat, then the IWD games offer you a much better experience, and BG2 is also way more interesting when it comes to encounters: more cool shit, less boring generic filler.
BG1 is one of those games where the popularity can only be explained with nostalgia.