The Computer Role-Playing Game (CRPG) genre has, against all odds, experienced a magnificent resurgence in recent years, captivating a new generation of players with sprawling narratives, deep character customization, and impactful choices. Titles like Baldur’s Gate 3 have redefined what’s possible, reaching unprecedented heights of popularity and critical acclaim. Amidst this new golden age, it’s worth looking back at the games that paved the way, even those that didn’t quite reach the same legendary status as the original Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2. Neverwinter Nights 2, while a great adventure in its own right back then, certainly had its kinks, and its new Enhanced Edition offers a chance to revisit its unique charms.
A classic tale of adventure
The original Neverwinter Nights 2 thrust players into the richly detailed Forgotten Realms, a setting beloved by Dungeons & Dragons fans. The core campaign begins with your character, a simple villager, entangled in a mystery surrounding a powerful, shattered artifact known as the Shard of Night. What starts as a local skirmish quickly escalates into a grand saga involving ancient evils, political intrigue, and the fate of the Sword Coast itself. Along the way, players gather a diverse cast of companions, each with their own stories, personalities, and interjections, making the journey feel truly collaborative.
Classic Clunky
Gameplay-wise, NWN2 offers the classic real-time-with-pause combat that defined many CRPGs of its era. Players can pause the action at any moment to issue commands to their entire party, strategically positioning characters, casting spells, and executing special abilities. Character creation is remarkably deep, allowing for intricate multi-classing and feats, offering immense build variety. However, the original game was notorious for some significant flaws that impacted the player experience. Chief among these was the utterly frustrating camera system. It was clunky, often getting stuck on environmental objects, making navigation and combat unnecessarily difficult, and at times, it almost made the game unplayable.
Great Expansions
Thankfully, the game’s three expansions, Mask of the Betrayer, Mysteries of Westgate and Storm of Zephyr, significantly improved upon the base game, both in terms of narrative and gameplay mechanics. Mask of the Betrayer, in particular, is often lauded as a masterpiece, offering a darker, more philosophical story that picks up directly after the main campaign, and introduces fascinating new mechanics and companions. These expansions are widely considered the best parts of the NWN2 experience and, crucially, are included in this Enhanced Edition.
A more complex ruleset
One of the defining characteristics of Neverwinter Nights 2 is its adherence to the Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 Edition ruleset. This is a double-edged sword, especially for modern players accustomed to the streamlined D&D 5th Edition rules used in Baldur’s Gate 3. D&D 3.5e is far more complex, with intricate feat trees, skill points, and a myriad of conditional modifiers for everything from combat rolls to spellcasting. For veterans of tabletop D&D, this complexity can be a deep well of strategic customization and character optimization. For newcomers, however, it can be an intimidating barrier, requiring a significant learning curve to grasp its nuances.
Even enhanced it is hard for new players
This Enhanced Edition of Neverwinter Nights 2 addresses many of the original’s technical shortcomings. The game now runs very smoothly, a welcome change from its often-stuttering past, and looks surprisingly good given its age, with sharper textures and improved lighting. While the camera is still a little off and occasionally requires wrestling, it works much better than it did originally, no longer actively hindering the adventure. While the recommended play order is the main campaign first, followed by the expansions, you are free to dive into the expansions first, though this might be a steep start for new players, it is totally worth it for the superior narrative and mechanics.
Conclusion
Ultimately, revisiting Neverwinter Nights 2: Enhanced Edition has been a pleasant nostalgic journey. It brings back memories of simpler times in CRPGs, where complexity was king and character builds could consume hours. However, it is still just that – a nostalgic trip. While the enhancements make it far more playable, there are far better alternatives out there today for anyone new to the genre, with Baldur’s Gate 3 being the undeniable pinnacle.
It is hard to say who this game really is for today. Only a true fan of the original, someone yearning for that specific brand of D&D 3.5e CRPG goodness will enjoy it to the fullest, as a meticulously preserved piece of their past. If you are new to the genre or just fell in love with it after experiencing some of the newer, more accessible games, you will probably have more fun playing those again. But for what it is, Neverwinter Nights 2: Enhanced Edition is a solid game and an important piece of CRPG history presented in its best possible form.
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