Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition is the next remake/remaster based on the dungeons and dragons franchise to come to the consoles. The transition from PC/Mac games to the consoles worked reasonably well for the likes of Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale so Neverwinter Nights might just be the cherry on top.
A classic from 2002
Neverwinter Nights and it’s successor aptly named Neverwinter Nights 2 were on top of the competition back in the days. With a steady supply of extra content in the form of big expansion packs and smaller ones called modules, the game amassed a huge fanbase. After the mostly 2D-ish looking games, Neverwinter Nights made the transition to first-person 3D action. This more or less introduced a new way of playing. Some sacrifices were made in favor of the new 3D view but the overall classic Dungeons and dragons feeling were kept very much in place.
Enhanced edition
Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition bundles the first game together with all its expansions and all the premium modules ever released. The amount of game time you get with this bundle is extremely massive. Hours and hours could be spent in the world of the forgotten realms with everything packed in Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition. With the many possibilities available to you to give your character shape, you also get a lot of replay value. Playing Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition as a bearded looking barbarian will feel vastly different from playing like a nimble female rogue.
Not intended for console
The original game was obviously not intended for consoles. Most old school D&D games make use of the many buttons a keyboard offers for quick decision making actions. As often done with ports to consoles, Beamdog decided to go for a hidden wheel menu type. Meaning you press a button that makes icons appear in the form of a wheel. Some sub-menus even unfold when you select a piece of the wheel with the joystick. All this was done to cram as much as possible in a small easily accessible menu. The intentions were good and after some time spent with the game, I got the hang of it but much rather have my keyboard and mouse to play this game.
2D vs. 3D
Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition hasn’t aged very well. This version deserves (and needs) a visual update but sadly didn’t get one. The polygons are a atrocious to my 2019 adjusted eyes. It’s almost like playing an N64 game on an HD TV. Although Neverwinter Nights was a great game with many great adventures to be experienced, I had trouble enjoying it again because of the graphics. The clipping which occurred all over the place might also not be beneficial for my enjoyment. A remake of a 2D game like Baldur’s Gate is fine when not much is changed graphics wise but a 3D game like Neverwinter Nights is just looking atrocious.
Conclusion
Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition was released about a year ago on PC and should’ve probably stayed there. The game is not intended for consoles despite the adjustments made to the menu. The game feels like a quick cash grab intended at console gamers who are feeling nostalgic. I predict the feeling of nostalgia will be replaced with disappointment with this version.
