⏰ In a rush? Don't worry, I gotchu'! ⏰
What Works:
✅ Classic RPG Experience: Both Planescape: Torment and Icewind Dale Enhanced Edition deliver authentic RPG experiences rooted in classic Dungeons & Dragons mechanics and lore.
✅ Rich Storytelling in Planescape: Planescape: Torment excels in narrative depth, focusing on a captivating story with the player assuming the role of the immortal "Nameless One."
✅ Combat-Driven Gameplay in Icewind Dale: Icewind Dale offers a robust combat-focused adventure, with solid narrative elements supporting intense battles and strategic play.
✅ Variety of Difficulty Modes: The inclusion of multiple difficulty settings, including Icewind Dale's “Story Mode,” accommodates players of different skill levels and preferences, enhancing accessibility.
✅ Improved Controls for Switch: The option to use analog stick controls and various shortcuts via the ZL and ZR buttons provide a smoother gameplay experience on the Nintendo Switch.
What Doesn't:
❌ Steep Learning Curve: The absence of tutorials and the games' brutal difficulty levels can be daunting for newcomers, requiring substantial patience or prior knowledge of D&D rules.
❌ Outdated Graphics and Interface: Despite graphical improvements, the visual elements and interface remain outdated, potentially detracting from the overall experience, especially on the Switch Lite.
❌ Text Visibility Issues: Text size, even with visibility adjustments in settings, remains insufficient and can cause discomfort, particularly in Planescape: Torment.
❌ Limited Appeal in Portable Mode: The games are not particularly accessible or visually appealing in portable mode on the Switch, limiting their playability on the go.
⏳ The Evolution of the Nintendo Switch
When the Nintendo Switch console was launched, its limited initial catalogue led many fans to label the console as a Zelda machine (due to its flagship launch title). Two years later, the situation has changed drastically, with even twenty-year-old classics being ported to the console. It's a case of how things change, but with this release by the Canadian developers Beamdog, some things remain unchanged despite the passage of time.
⚔️ Classic RPGs: Planescape and Icewind Dale
Planescape: Torment and Icewind Dale Enhanced Edition are RPGs in their purest form, drawing heavily on the mechanics and lore of what was once extremely popular and inspirational: Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). For many fans of the era, the term “role-playing game” was synonymous with “D&D.” However, unlike the release of Baldur’s Gate I and II, which showed a clear progression from the first iteration to the sequel, this release offers a pleasant contrast.
📜 Planescape: Torment – Story First
Both games deliver what you'd expect: main and side quests, abilities to purchase and use, and experience points to accumulate and level up. However, Planescape: Torment places a strong emphasis on storytelling, with combat taking a backseat. Here, the player assumes the role of the “Nameless One,” an immortal being who seemingly cannot die permanently. To enhance a sense of customization, players can choose the attributes in which their hero will excel (such as strength, intelligence, wisdom, etc.) before the adventure begins.
🛡️ Icewind Dale – Combat Focused
Icewind Dale, in stark contrast, begins its odyssey with six adventurers in a tavern. This one’s more combat-focused, with the story taking a secondary position. Although its narrative is solid and enjoyable, the primary focus is clearly set on combat. Nevertheless, due to the auto-pause feature, which activates whenever an enemy enters the characters’ line of sight, both titles resemble BioWare's Dragon Age more than a true turn-based RPG.
🎲 Old-School Challenge
It's important to remember that both offerings are twenty-year-old experiences. While the extensive range of system options includes a control reference guide, the absence of tutorials is notable. This, combined with brutal difficulty and unintuitive gameplay, raises the entry barrier, requiring either a heavy dose of patience to learn from mistakes or substantial knowledge of D&D rules. However, without altering and modernising the experience too much (for better or worse), Beamdog included various difficulty modes for both games, with a particular spotlight on Icewind Dale's “Story Mode.” This mode delivers exactly what it promises, making it almost impossible for the six characters to die, allowing the player to follow the story with minimal hindrance. Even so, despite the appeal of character creation in this game, it is advised that newcomers use the premade team to avoid potential frustration. However, with perseverance and patience, the reward lies in one of the best RPG moulds to date.
🕹️ Switch Experience: Hits and Misses
Regarding the experience on the Switch, particularly on a Switch Lite, the outlook isn't entirely positive. Despite the graphical improvements brought by the Enhanced Edition, the graphical interface and environments remain outdated and unattractive. However, there's now the option to control characters with the analog stick rather than point-and-click (although that option remains). This, along with various shortcuts accessible via the ZL and ZR buttons, ensures a smoother transition from the original platform to the console. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for text, which, despite the option to make it more visible in the system settings, remains insufficient and requires uncomfortable effort, especially in Planescape: Torment.
🔮 A Relic of the Past
Setting aside the fact that they are not particularly accessible or appealing in portable mode on the Switch, Icewind Dale and Planescape: Torment are true relics of a bygone era. Despite being pioneers in their genre, it's hard to justify their place in 2019. However, patience invested is eventually rewarded with many hours of content and enjoyment, something rare these days.
🌟 M I S C 🌟
◻️ 🌳 Visit my Linktree for more content.
◻️ ⚠️ Review originally written for FNintendo (defunct website) and published on October 31st, 2019.
◻️ 🙋♂️ Explore more reviews written by me.
◻️ 🎮 Discover Nintendo Switch video games I've played.
◻️ 📜 Review Number 004
✨ F I N ✨
What Works:
✅ Classic RPG Experience: Both Planescape: Torment and Icewind Dale Enhanced Edition deliver authentic RPG experiences rooted in classic Dungeons & Dragons mechanics and lore.
✅ Rich Storytelling in Planescape: Planescape: Torment excels in narrative depth, focusing on a captivating story with the player assuming the role of the immortal "Nameless One."
✅ Combat-Driven Gameplay in Icewind Dale: Icewind Dale offers a robust combat-focused adventure, with solid narrative elements supporting intense battles and strategic play.
✅ Variety of Difficulty Modes: The inclusion of multiple difficulty settings, including Icewind Dale's “Story Mode,” accommodates players of different skill levels and preferences, enhancing accessibility.
✅ Improved Controls for Switch: The option to use analog stick controls and various shortcuts via the ZL and ZR buttons provide a smoother gameplay experience on the Nintendo Switch.
What Doesn't:
❌ Steep Learning Curve: The absence of tutorials and the games' brutal difficulty levels can be daunting for newcomers, requiring substantial patience or prior knowledge of D&D rules.
❌ Outdated Graphics and Interface: Despite graphical improvements, the visual elements and interface remain outdated, potentially detracting from the overall experience, especially on the Switch Lite.
❌ Text Visibility Issues: Text size, even with visibility adjustments in settings, remains insufficient and can cause discomfort, particularly in Planescape: Torment.
❌ Limited Appeal in Portable Mode: The games are not particularly accessible or visually appealing in portable mode on the Switch, limiting their playability on the go.
⏳ The Evolution of the Nintendo Switch
When the Nintendo Switch console was launched, its limited initial catalogue led many fans to label the console as a Zelda machine (due to its flagship launch title). Two years later, the situation has changed drastically, with even twenty-year-old classics being ported to the console. It's a case of how things change, but with this release by the Canadian developers Beamdog, some things remain unchanged despite the passage of time.
⚔️ Classic RPGs: Planescape and Icewind Dale
Planescape: Torment and Icewind Dale Enhanced Edition are RPGs in their purest form, drawing heavily on the mechanics and lore of what was once extremely popular and inspirational: Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). For many fans of the era, the term “role-playing game” was synonymous with “D&D.” However, unlike the release of Baldur’s Gate I and II, which showed a clear progression from the first iteration to the sequel, this release offers a pleasant contrast.
📜 Planescape: Torment – Story First
Both games deliver what you'd expect: main and side quests, abilities to purchase and use, and experience points to accumulate and level up. However, Planescape: Torment places a strong emphasis on storytelling, with combat taking a backseat. Here, the player assumes the role of the “Nameless One,” an immortal being who seemingly cannot die permanently. To enhance a sense of customization, players can choose the attributes in which their hero will excel (such as strength, intelligence, wisdom, etc.) before the adventure begins.
🛡️ Icewind Dale – Combat Focused
Icewind Dale, in stark contrast, begins its odyssey with six adventurers in a tavern. This one’s more combat-focused, with the story taking a secondary position. Although its narrative is solid and enjoyable, the primary focus is clearly set on combat. Nevertheless, due to the auto-pause feature, which activates whenever an enemy enters the characters’ line of sight, both titles resemble BioWare's Dragon Age more than a true turn-based RPG.
🎲 Old-School Challenge
It's important to remember that both offerings are twenty-year-old experiences. While the extensive range of system options includes a control reference guide, the absence of tutorials is notable. This, combined with brutal difficulty and unintuitive gameplay, raises the entry barrier, requiring either a heavy dose of patience to learn from mistakes or substantial knowledge of D&D rules. However, without altering and modernising the experience too much (for better or worse), Beamdog included various difficulty modes for both games, with a particular spotlight on Icewind Dale's “Story Mode.” This mode delivers exactly what it promises, making it almost impossible for the six characters to die, allowing the player to follow the story with minimal hindrance. Even so, despite the appeal of character creation in this game, it is advised that newcomers use the premade team to avoid potential frustration. However, with perseverance and patience, the reward lies in one of the best RPG moulds to date.
🕹️ Switch Experience: Hits and Misses
Regarding the experience on the Switch, particularly on a Switch Lite, the outlook isn't entirely positive. Despite the graphical improvements brought by the Enhanced Edition, the graphical interface and environments remain outdated and unattractive. However, there's now the option to control characters with the analog stick rather than point-and-click (although that option remains). This, along with various shortcuts accessible via the ZL and ZR buttons, ensures a smoother transition from the original platform to the console. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for text, which, despite the option to make it more visible in the system settings, remains insufficient and requires uncomfortable effort, especially in Planescape: Torment.
🔮 A Relic of the Past
Setting aside the fact that they are not particularly accessible or appealing in portable mode on the Switch, Icewind Dale and Planescape: Torment are true relics of a bygone era. Despite being pioneers in their genre, it's hard to justify their place in 2019. However, patience invested is eventually rewarded with many hours of content and enjoyment, something rare these days.
🌟 M I S C 🌟
◻️ 🌳 Visit my Linktree for more content.
◻️ ⚠️ Review originally written for FNintendo (defunct website) and published on October 31st, 2019.
◻️ 🙋♂️ Explore more reviews written by me.
◻️ 🎮 Discover Nintendo Switch video games I've played.
◻️ 📜 Review Number 004
✨ F I N ✨