Dungeons & Dragons Neverwinter Nights 2: Enhanced Edition Review

Everybody has that one game that brings back endless fond memories, and for some, it's a tabletop game that can sometimes confuse some people. That's right, good ol' Dungeons & Dragons. There's just something about creating a character and setting everything up that almost gets your blood flowing, but there isn't always time to do it...

Or there's simply too much brain work involved, to the point where it seems a little overwhelming. Luckily, technology has come a long way, and gaming already had us covered in 2006 with Neverwinter Nights, even more so with Neverwinter Nights 2.

However, that was a very long time ago, and while everything has moved forward, our old fan favourite stayed in the past, until now. This is where Aspyr Media comes into the picture. We've all heard of this American studio, which has been around since 2005, and they've delivered some excellent work.

Unfortunately, their more recent remasters haven't been that great – With their most recent releases including Star Wars: Bounty Hunter and Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Starring Lara Croft. The fact is, both were received mostly well by the various gaming communities, but both have their downsides and bugs, as well.

This brings us to Dungeons & Dragons Neverwinter Nights 2: Enhanced Edition, an age-old classic that has brought so many people together. Granted, this time the release of this remaster is a sight for sore eyes, but it's not all sunshine and rainbows because it might be a case of bringing an old classic to life again; it doesn't always mean it'll be great. So, let's take a closer look at what's under the hood or, what's under the pen, so to speak.

The world of Dungeons & Dragons Neverwinter Nights 2: Enhanced Edition is definitely not quite what you'd expect. You'll essentially be taking on the role of the Shard Bearer, and you're the only one who can put an end to the King of Shadows.

Granted, this is easier said than done because Faerûn is absolutely massive. Luckily, you won't have to stand alone, and you'll likely find allies in the most unexpected places. Though, as can be expected of anything related to Dungeons & Dragons, there are hundreds of paths to explore, but the outcomes are simple: save the land as a hero or become the villain.

Before you can start your epic adventure, you'll need to create your character, and this is where things become a little hairy. Anybody who knows about the inner workings of DnD will know that there's always been your incredibly amazing builds, races, and classes, but also some really terrible choices to make there.

For instance, nobody simply decides to play a wizard on a whim because they're notoriously squishy… We've all seen the memes where the wizard dies from simple emotional damage, and that's still very true for Dungeons & Dragons Neverwinter Nights 2: Enhanced Edition. 

So, character creation is definitely not that simple, as it goes in-depth. You'll need to choose a race, class, alignment, origin, deity, feats, and the list goes on, but you can probably imagine that it's not something you can just rush through.

DnD is initially just about planning because if you make a mistake in your early game, it will undoubtedly come back to bite you later on and ruin the rest of your run. However, this is why anything related to Dungeons & Dragons is so popular, because it's not a casual game you just dive into; there's a certain level of strategy mixed in along with the constant gamble from dice rolls. 

With character creation out of the way, you're officially ready to dive into Dungeons & Dragons Neverwinter Nights 2: Enhanced Edition. However, this is one of those cases where you need to keep in mind that this is a remaster, or it's supposed to be, but a little disappointment is to be expected. 

We all know that a remaster is supposed to include cleaned-up textures, bug fixes, and perhaps minor improvements, while retaining the original appeal. However, Aspyr might have missed the memo with this one.

Right off the bat, you'll become very well acquainted with the uncanny valley style characters from 2006, but this time it's in 1080p. This is still easy to overlook, but the real issue emerges, and it becomes quite clear very early on. The issue in question is NPC pathing. Naturally, you'll have a party in this adventure, which means they'll follow you around and fight alongside you. 

Unfortunately, much like the original version of Neverwinter Nights 2, your party members will literally get stuck behind random branches, rocks, and even invisible walls for absolutely no reason. This might look like a small issue, but you'll quickly change your mind when you're missing half your party in the middle of a fight because they got stuck behind a tree.

Taking a page from Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine - Master Crafted Edition might have yielded better results in the end because that was at least properly remastered, even if not perfectly. The fact of the matter still stands, though, and this isn't the first time Aspyr has done less than the bare minimum when labeling the game as a remaster, but it seems more like a simple port.

Some bugs and exploits are acceptable to leave in because they don't cause gameplay issues and can make things more interesting; however, bugs that negatively affect gameplay or make things more tedious should be addressed.

With the rant over, it's time to take a look at the rest of Dungeons & Dragons Neverwinter Nights 2: Enhanced Edition, which brings to what really counts in the coming adventure, glorious combat. As can be expected, combat is not quite what you'd think it will be.

You'll still have to play by DnD rules; the only difference is that all the dice rolls are automated, along with any other heavy lifting. However, if you don't know what you're getting yourself into, combat will seem painfully slow, but that's because it's a roll for initiative, cooldowns, enemy attacks, casting time for spells or skills, and much more. It all adds up and will make things seem unnecessarily slow.

As mentioned before, your starting class can make all the difference in Dungeons & Dragons Neverwinter Nights 2: Enhanced Edition. Unfortunately, it's impossible to build a Jack of all trades, so you'll likely have to sacrifice a few things early on until you have a party that can fill the gaps. 

However, exploration and combat aren't all there is; certain dialogue options or interactions will need specific attributes or traits to make life a little easier. This does open things up a bit more because the same dialogue options and your choices going forward can also affect your alignment. 

And just as you think the end is in sight, there's one more major aspect to look forward to. In most cases, you can technically use your starting class as is until the end, or even opt for a multi-class build, but you can also go for specialization classes, too, like Red Mage.

However, jumping to a specialized class isn't quite as simple as it sounds; you'll need to meet certain requirements, such as having the right starting class, alignment, certain feats, and skills. The plot thickens every step of the way, but it's well worth it if you pay attention.

There's much more to explore in Dungeons & Dragons Neverwinter Nights 2: Enhanced Edition, and the more you look at it, the longer that list will become. The biggest things to look forward to with this remaster are the three expansions: Mask of the Betrayer, Storm of Zehir, and Mysteries of Westgate. Each expansion is in its own a separate story, but they also add new classes to the overall game as well, though you'll likely only get to those much later. 

Dungeons & Dragons Neverwinter Nights 2: Enhanced Edition has endless paths to explore and even more potential, but while it is labelled as a remaster, it doesn't look the part. The visual side of things can come off as really lacking and possibly a bit rushed.

We've seen what Aspyr can do with textures and actually improving things, the prime example being Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Starring Lara Croft; it's just a pity that they couldn't do the same here. Understandably, these things take time, but even a slight retexturing would make a world of difference, especially with the uncanny valley faces.

On the other hand, seeing is one thing, but what you hear is just as important. Dungeons & Dragons Neverwinter Nights 2: Enhanced Edition hasn't failed to impress with its background music during the original release, and the remaster still carries that same ambient music with it.

However, maybe removing some of the NPC voice lines or adding more delay between them would have been a good idea because they tend to repeat themselves very often when you're just exploring a town.

Overall, Dungeons & Dragons Neverwinter Nights 2: Enhanced Edition comes with a lot of good points but just as many bad points for a remaster. If you can look past the issues, there's loads of potential, and it's a great way to get into Dungeons & Dragons if you're new to it. Sadly, nostalgia goggles can only do so much, and the fandom may not view minor improvements as a genuine remaster in this case.