Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition Review (PC)

very good
key review info
  • Game: Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition
  • Platform: PC
  • Show system requirements
  • Gamepad support: No
  • Reviewed on:
Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition cover

If you played Icewind Dale when the game was first launched, then you’re an older person. If you’ve played the new version launched by Overhaul Games, you must love the RPG genre very much.

I find myself in both categories, as I grew up with games like Icewind Dale and Baldur’s Gate. It was a period of my life during which I played D&D during the day and continued my adventures in Black Isle Studios’ games through the night.

They are among my most treasured games I have ever played, regardless of the issues and bugs they might still have after all these years. They are the main reason I feel more attached to the RPG genre than to any others in the gaming industry, which is why I was so hyped when Beamdog announced they would be making an enhanced version of Icewind Dale.

Having played both Baldur’s Gate games in their improved editions, I was curious to see how Overhaul Games, a division of Beamdog, would make the original Icewind Dale more appealing to the new generation of players.

Story

Icewind Dale is northern region that appears in R.A. Salvatore’s fantasy trilogy with the same name. However, the events in the books aren’t depicted in the game, so aside from the flavor and the fact that it’s set in the same Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms campaign settings, it has nothing to do with Salvatore’s books, which I strongly recommend you read if you haven’t done that already.

Like in many D&D games, you start by creating your party of up to six adventurers who will help you overcome some of the toughest challenges the harsh environments and the wild life of Icewind Dale will throw at you.

Your adventure begins in Easthaven, a small townsfolk community that’s about to run out of food and other much-needed provisions. The mayor of the town, a veteran warrior, entrusts you with the mission of discovering what happened with the caravan that should have arrived in Easthaven carrying valuable supplies.

Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition does not have a complex story behind like the Baldur’s Gate series. You won’t be recruiting any NPCs or witness unexpected events, instead your will hack your way to hundreds of side missions in order to level up your heroes and get better gear that will help you in your main quest.

Pomab's Emporium
Pomab's Emporium

Gameplay

Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition, just like the original game, is based on the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition ruleset, which is now completely obsolete.

I do not pretend that the rules by which the game is played are simple to learn, but if you like the RPG genre, you will definitely want to know everything about it.

I recommend newcomers to the Icewind Dale series to start with the pre-generated party of characters or at least, if you decide to make your own characters don’t go for less than 5.

It’s true that the fewer the members in your party, the faster your characters will level up and become more powerful early in the game.

Make no mistake, Icewind Dale is not an easy game. Depending on the number of characters you choose to start with, it can be easier or harder.

The Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition ruleset is brutal when it comes to combat and a single hit from even the weakest enemy can kill one of your spellcasters that usually start with very low HP.

In case you just want to play through the whole game without caring too much about combat, you can choose the newly implemented “Story Mode” difficulty setting, which will allow you to experience all of the story without any of your characters to die. That would be something like a “god mode,” so I strongly recommend against using it.

Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition offers multiple dialog choices, which qualifies the game for multiple playthroughs. It’s very important which character starts a quest because depending on class, race and abilities you can get more experience for solving it.

Experience is very important in Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition because you need quite a lot to level up your characters. The combat is real-time, but you can pause the game with the space bar and give orders to your adventurers.

It’s a pretty neat system that many game developers have tried to emulate into their games, but few really managed to do it right.

Graphics and audio

For those who don’t know the original Icewind Dale was launched back in 2000 and runs in Infinity Engine, which was one of the best looking for RPG titles at that time.

In fact, the Infinity Engine aged well and 14 years later people are still playing the original versions of Icewind Dale and Baldur’s Gate without complaining about graphics too much.

When you plan to make an “enhanced edition” of a cult game that’s been released more than 10 years ago, I expect some improvements in the graphics department as well.

Unfortunately, Icewind Dale Enhanced Edition brings only minor improvements when it comes to graphics. The good news is developers managed to salvage some never-before-seen content and added it to the enhanced edition. That includes new spells and items, new kits and classes, various equipment and quests.

Some nifty features and tweaks have been included in the Enhanced Edition as well, such as the option to zoom, though I’m not sure why anyone would want to do that considering how terrible the game looks at when zoomed to the max.

Then there’s the option to make fonts larger or skip dialogs. Another welcomed improvement is the fact that developers have included the Heart of Winter and Trials of the Luremaster expansions into the Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition at no extra costs.

Take new quests
Take new quests

Multiplayer

The option to play with friends has become a very important feature for RPG titles lately and the folks at Beamdog were aware that an Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition without the multiplayer aspect would not be that appealing for newcomers to the series.

One of the most important additions to the enhanced edition of the game is the cross-platform multiplayer mode, which allows PC gamers to play with their friends who own the Android/iOS version of the game.

The multiplayer aspect gives Icewind Dale new life, so those looking for a nice RPG with cross-platform multiplayer that can be played even while on the go, Beamdog’s take on Icewind Dale should set you up for quite a long time.


The Good

  • Great replay value
  • Huge world to explore
  • Lots of new content added
  • New UI and nifty features added
  • Hearts of Winter and Trials of the Luremaster included

The Bad

  • No graphics improvements
  • Too harsh on newcomers to the series
  • No D&D ruleset system tutorial

Conclusion

Icewind Dale isn’t a perfect game, but it’s one of the best RPGs of all times. Obviously, the Enhanced Edition is also among the best in the genre, but it only brings minor improvements into the mix.

The problem is that the original Icewind Dale plays the same and looks and feels just like the Enhanced Edition released by Beamdog.

However, if you want the new content added in the Enhanced Edition, like for example several new quests, around 60 new items, more than 30 new class and kit combinations from Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition and more than 120 new spells, then by all means you should give it a go.

I’m not going to tell you if it’s worth the price because I have already bought the original Icewind Dale twice, so if you’re keen on trying out an old-school RPG, this Enhanced Edition has everything you need.

story 7
gameplay 9
concept 9
graphics 4
audio 7
multiplayer 8
final rating 8
Editor's review
very good
 
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Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition screenshots (18 Images)

Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition coverChoose your starting campaingHrothgar's houseHighlight interactive objectsEasthaven
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