Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition

one if my favorite games of all time .

Great game! Challenging battles, a fun storyline, great voice-acting. Highly recommend to all DnD fans.

I really, really, really like the base campaign and its thoughtful dungeons and encounters. The expansions become really dumb and unfun quickly, not to mention pretty darn short. Still, I've been replaying the old D&D videogames making my way to Siege of Dragonspear and Elemental Evil as I've never played those before, and IWD1 was a good cleanser against how terrible Kingmaker and Wrath of the Righteous were.

Grew up with this. Still the best.

Love this game, ranks right up there as one of my all time favs, top ten best game I have ever played. If you like Baldur's Gate 1 & 2, you will love this geem.

Icewind Dale is in my top 20 best/favorite games without question or reservation. The story is light but evocative, the environments are beautiful and painterly, the combat takes a bit but is really fun. My six woman team lives forever in my heart, and I can't wait to play another campaign.

It is an excellent RPG and we need more in this format

I like the IWD games a lot. Somehow, for me at least, they hold up better than BG1 and BG2 (even though they are great). It has a strong directed story which works well for this kind of title. The art is awesome. It's old and so lacks the QoL features of modern games but they aren't too irritating once you adjust. Really strong game.

For all those with an addiction to Baldur's Gate and just want more.

Just as good as Baldur's Gate 1 and 2

Yes, it's not BG2 and some spells are nerfed but it's an interesting linear old school cast 'n slash game

You cannot go into this game expecting something like Baldur's Gate. It might look similar when comparing screenshots, but it's a different game. It's foremost a dungeon crawler focused on combat and a pretty hard one at that. If that is your thing, then go for it. I you come in for the storytelling and exploration of Baldur's Gate, you will be dissapointed.

i like it

Icewind Dale probably made a greater impression on my younger self than BG1 and BG2.

a timeless classic!

Great game !

This is a quintescential old school classic RPG - hard to get tired of it

five star game only problem is when i try to play multiplayer it boots me every now and then but overall amazing game

Fuck this game

One day later edit:

I wrote that previous review after dying on a tough fight due to pathfinding issues twice in a row and was "Big Mad".

I'm not sure about recommending this game, it isn't bad, but it's mostly just a combat focused dungeon crawler. If you've played Baldur's Gate 2 and really wanted less roleplaying and plot, and more fighting than this game is for you. I don't think it's bad, but it's got a lot of frustrating jank such as the aforementioned pathfinding issues. If you're not willing to save scum it's extremely difficult, especially early on when a couple of unlucky roles can immediately send your tankiest character to an early death. The difficulty definitely levels off after a while, but as someone who beat BG2 and is familiar with the genre, but is not an expert I found it pretty hard.

Overall, I don't think this game is bad, I just wouldn't recommend it unless you know what you're getting with it. For me, I think I miss the more exploratory parts of other RPG's and would prefer to play a dedicated tactics game for this type of combat. For retro RPG's I'd recommend checking out Baldur's Gate 2, or Planescape Torment, or Fallout 2 if you're looking for something more story focused. I'm leaving it at a thumbs up, because I did have fun with it and I'm pretty sure I got it for like $5 at one point and I got my money's worth

The game was boring. I was hoping it would be similar to Baldur's Gate, and while the interface and overall design resembled it, the experience fell short. The story wasn't as captivating, and I didn't feel connected to or drawn in by the characters.

Good classic D&D

Very fun!

...Tales follow you and tales await you, as they always do for those whose hearts yearn for adventure and glory ....

Recommending if you don't mind a very rough start. At least if you go in with no experience with other Infinity Engine games. Once the controls start making sense, there's lots of goblin-slaying to be had.

The character-creation menu is a nightmare and the pre-made characters seem to be a red herring. The pre-made mage doesn't have Magic Missile, which is the spell you actually want for deleting mobs early on.

The sage advice I got was to use a party of 4 instead of 6, focus-fire one target at a time, and spam Magic Missile. With that, I got unstuck and started figuring shit out.

Set the game to auto-pause whenever you spot an enemy and kill an enemy. Combat goes smoothly on Deck with A to pause/unpause and touch screen buttons along the right side of the screen. Tap each hero icon, set their weapon, then tap Select All and click a target to have them all focus-fire with that weapon.

The inventory system is still trash though. It feels asinine to have both a bag space limit AND a maximum weight. It's asinine for my Fighter to have 20 Yeti pelts while feeling cool as a cucumber, but then he suddenly can't fit a ring in his backpack.

love this game

Fun dungeon-crawling and monster-slaying.

Old school D&D whats not to love.

holy fuck holy fuck holy fuck it so so so so gooood

this is the game where RtP combat clicked for me

IWD is a classic power fantasy adventure about mindless killing, based on completely archaic, insanely clunky and straight up unplayable AD&D system, which for some reason, we absolutely love.

Cons of Enchanced Edition:
- still no spell range indicators after 20 years, although wiping your team every time you cast fireball is very true to original experience
- OG players would remember cleric scrolls and mage scrolls used to have different art, not anymore
- added katanas and other samurai nonsense for manga kids, but this also means more weapons so it's kinda a plus too, they're just out of place a bit

Pros of Enchanced Edition:
- it works
- UI improvements are good
- you can zoom out very far and seriously, it's a big change
- new classes add new depth but you can also keep things classic
- new eq is cool and sense of progression still seems balanced and well thought out; gear upgrades hit you in perfect timing, power spikes feel rewarding and satysfying and the whole adventure is quite addictive

Conclusion:
It could be improved, but I still gladly gather my party before venturing forward. If you like ADnD games, little inconveniences shouldn't bother you too much, 'cause you're a masochist anyway.

Old D&D classic game, same genre as Baldur's Gate 1. Third person view, combat is computer controlled once you order your characters to attack, allows pause during combat to prepare spells, change weapons, follows classic D&D structure for hit points, armor class, weapons damage, spells, etc. Allows frequent saves so that us wimps who can't stand to get all our characters killed by some unusually lucky goblins don't have to start over. Not open world, you get missions and need to focus on them to progress the game plot. A nice game for those of us lacking the dexterity to enjoy first person combat RPGs.

"Icewind Dale" is praised for its immersive, cold atmosphere, strong tactical combat system, compelling storytelling set in a unique "Ten-Towns" environment, detailed world-building, and a well-crafted D&D experience with challenging encounters, all while maintaining a similar quality to other classic RPGs like Baldur's Gate, with its own distinct flavor and story elements.
Key strengths of Icewind Dale:

Atmospheric Setting:
The icy, snowy landscape of the Icewind Dale region provides a unique and visually striking environment.

Tactical Combat:
The game features deep, strategic combat with a focus on positioning and party synergy, similar to other classic D&D RPGs.
Compelling Story:
While not as linear as some other RPGs, the story in Icewind Dale is engaging and well-written, with interesting characters and moral dilemmas.
Ten-Towns Exploration:
Players can explore multiple settlements within the Ten-Towns, offering a sense of freedom and diverse quest opportunities.
Character Building:
The character creation system allows for a wide range of builds and playstyles, fitting within the D&D ruleset.
Quality Music and Sound Design:
The game's soundtrack effectively complements the icy atmosphere.

Good

Pretty good for such an old game.

RTWP

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I want an enhanced edition of IWD2...

The old real-time-with-pause goodness, set in the cold, icy lands. 10/10.

An all time-classic

Fantastic update to an old friend.
It is amazing that this game is 20 years old - it still stands the test of time and is a fantastic play.
The second edition rule-set, while old, works extremely well for dungeon crawling.

Beautiful game, very challenging

Liked this game, because you can save you loot, then reload it to a new toon.

Fun, pulpy AD&D nonsense. It's pretty hard going, the rules are a bit obscure to say the least

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Great graphics. Great music. Simple combat fun. Having max level of 30 make soloing with F/M/T or Dragon Disciple very easy and enjoyable.

If you like Baldurs Gate 3, check out this blast from the past. One of BG3s predecessors, and a real fun ride. Plus you can create all of your party members, and none of them try to touch your no no spot.

i love it

A great revisiting of an old classic CRPG!

A wonderful return to a classic I greatly enjoyed when it first came out, over 20 years ago. It has aged very well.

I love DnD. I want to like this. I've picked it up and tried it at least a half-dozen times. I want to get hooked and see the story, I want to experience more of the Forgotten Realms.... But it's just too old and lacking what I expect from a game made after 1995. The Divinity Original Sin games have made it impossible for me to enjoy all original DnD RPGs.

Review in Progress

Overall I have found Icewind Dale to be just as entertaining as it was so many years back, i thought it was great then, and it's held up very well.

Icewind Dale is very similar to the Baldur's Gate series, using the same game mechanics and general game play, but differs in the party approach. Icewind Dale is designed for the play to build a party, and take the whole party through the game, where Baldur's Gate is designed for one character to be generated, and a party built around that character from various other characters encountered throughout the game. The advantage to a Generated "Party" approach, for game play, is that the game doesn't end when the central character dies, as there is not central character, which in my opinion, reduces frustration from lucky critical hits on the party. The drawback to this approach, is that the story has to be more general, there isn't a personal story central to any character. Though I think the story for this game is told as-well-as or better than any other RPG of the time.