Beaten: Aug 10 2021
Time: 20 Hours
Platform: Switch
Well, it's the last of the 2e infinity engine games. This one's core design is something you don't tend to see in western CRPGs much anymore. This is a dungeon-first game, with almost none of the exploration that characterized Baldur's Gate, nor the story heft of Baldur's Gate 2. Honestly, it reminded me most of Planescape Torment.
Now that might be a weird comparison, since Planescape is known for having almost no combat, and Icewind Dale is pretty much combat front to back, but hear me out: Planescape and Icewind are games that compliment each other better than nearly any other set of games. They're distillations of the Infinity Engine's systems into two pillars, storytelling and action. In Icewind Dale's case, the "action" side of things, we have near-pitch-perfect dungeon design, encounter design, and the perfect amount and style of world-building to tie it all together
The dungeons lean more on the side of interesting layouts than maze-like, which is definitely for the best. You feel like you're exploring caverns and decrepit buildings, rather than sweeping back and forth through something that was designed to be disorienting. They can be big and complex when they want to, but for the most part that's not where the interest is. Instead, the encounters are where the focus lies.
The encounters in this game are a thing of beauty. Every time you get into a brawl, it feels very tight and well thought out. Even the bosses are manageable for the most part! When there's a group of enemies, they're fragile enough for an area spell. When there's a tough one, it's beatdown time. When that doesn't work, try some other spells. It's a game that calls you to adapt your strategy over the course of the game, but doesn't seem too interested in frustrating you for not realizing that. You'll be able to tell when you're doing something wrong every time, and more often than not you'll have time to adapt. Granted I was on easy mode, because I'm Bad at these games I love so much lol, so it's safe to say it can be more punishing at higher difficulties if that's what you want.
Those two were largely what I expected. Icewind Dale is known as the combat-heavy Infinity Engine game, and it definitely lives up to that. What I wasn't expecting was the world outside of the dungeons to be so fully realized!!!!
From the small town where the game opens all the way to the last minutes of the game, there's a wealth of characters to talk to, to learn about the game world from. Every place you go feels like it has history, and when you talk to the people there (some of them are even mid-dungeon!!!!) you get to piece together that history. Different cultures tell of long rivalries with others, and the other cultures have their own side of things to learn as well. The way I'm saying it might seem a little basic, and sure it's not as outwardly complex as many rpgs tend to be, but the depth on display here, the texture of the world beneath your feet, it's intoxicating. And in that way only Black Isle (and obsidian lol) know how to do.
I wouldn't start your crpg journey with this game. Hell, even if you've played more modern games, I wouldn't play this before Baldur's Gate. There's not much in the way of a tutorial, and you can and should make your own six-character party when you start. That being said, if you like the other Infinity Engine games but want more content, more rigor, and more of that sweet sweet Black Isle writing, you'd be doing yourself a disservice for skipping this one
Time: 20 Hours
Platform: Switch
Well, it's the last of the 2e infinity engine games. This one's core design is something you don't tend to see in western CRPGs much anymore. This is a dungeon-first game, with almost none of the exploration that characterized Baldur's Gate, nor the story heft of Baldur's Gate 2. Honestly, it reminded me most of Planescape Torment.
Now that might be a weird comparison, since Planescape is known for having almost no combat, and Icewind Dale is pretty much combat front to back, but hear me out: Planescape and Icewind are games that compliment each other better than nearly any other set of games. They're distillations of the Infinity Engine's systems into two pillars, storytelling and action. In Icewind Dale's case, the "action" side of things, we have near-pitch-perfect dungeon design, encounter design, and the perfect amount and style of world-building to tie it all together
The dungeons lean more on the side of interesting layouts than maze-like, which is definitely for the best. You feel like you're exploring caverns and decrepit buildings, rather than sweeping back and forth through something that was designed to be disorienting. They can be big and complex when they want to, but for the most part that's not where the interest is. Instead, the encounters are where the focus lies.
The encounters in this game are a thing of beauty. Every time you get into a brawl, it feels very tight and well thought out. Even the bosses are manageable for the most part! When there's a group of enemies, they're fragile enough for an area spell. When there's a tough one, it's beatdown time. When that doesn't work, try some other spells. It's a game that calls you to adapt your strategy over the course of the game, but doesn't seem too interested in frustrating you for not realizing that. You'll be able to tell when you're doing something wrong every time, and more often than not you'll have time to adapt. Granted I was on easy mode, because I'm Bad at these games I love so much lol, so it's safe to say it can be more punishing at higher difficulties if that's what you want.
Those two were largely what I expected. Icewind Dale is known as the combat-heavy Infinity Engine game, and it definitely lives up to that. What I wasn't expecting was the world outside of the dungeons to be so fully realized!!!!
From the small town where the game opens all the way to the last minutes of the game, there's a wealth of characters to talk to, to learn about the game world from. Every place you go feels like it has history, and when you talk to the people there (some of them are even mid-dungeon!!!!) you get to piece together that history. Different cultures tell of long rivalries with others, and the other cultures have their own side of things to learn as well. The way I'm saying it might seem a little basic, and sure it's not as outwardly complex as many rpgs tend to be, but the depth on display here, the texture of the world beneath your feet, it's intoxicating. And in that way only Black Isle (and obsidian lol) know how to do.
I wouldn't start your crpg journey with this game. Hell, even if you've played more modern games, I wouldn't play this before Baldur's Gate. There's not much in the way of a tutorial, and you can and should make your own six-character party when you start. That being said, if you like the other Infinity Engine games but want more content, more rigor, and more of that sweet sweet Black Isle writing, you'd be doing yourself a disservice for skipping this one