There was a lot of missing in Baldur's Gate. Most of this would be since there's no halfway blocked-by-armour, instead armour/AC makes you miss so you only saw the hits. The enemies missed a lot as well so it balanced out in a way. Early on magic, like magic missile, was a powerful option since it gave guaranteed hits unless the enemy was immune to missiles or resistant to magic.
It did make having front line fighters annoying, since you'd see them swinging away, taking damage which you'd need to heal while they struggled to deal with 1 kobold out of 10. Taking bows and slings helped increase your attack output while spells like bless increased your to-hit chance.
It was frustrating but I did enjoy the difficulty presented. Early battles would sometimes require multiple tries due to bad rolls but there were options like retreating, splitting the attackers up into smaller groups and dealing with them that way, buying blessings from temples or a potion of firebreath.
It is easier than Pool of Radiance which pits your level 2-3 characters against a room of about 5 trolls and an ogre, or random tavern brawls that involve about 15 thieves.