Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition

Introduction

Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition is Beamdog's remaster of the 2000 Infinity Engine classic, developed and published by Beamdog and released on 30 October 2014 at NZ$28.99. It follows a party of adventurers through the frozen Icewind Dale region in a campaign built around dungeon crawling and tactical party-based combat, using the same engine that powered Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment. It sits at 90% positive ("Very Positive") across 2,292 English-language Steam reviews. This review read the 100 most-helpful negative reviews of 235 total, plus a sample of the 100 most recent English reviews.

Measured against its own family

The single most consistent complaint across a full decade of reviews this review sampled is a direct comparison to Icewind Dale's Infinity Engine siblings. "Of the IE games (Baldur's Gate, Planescape Torment, Icewind Dale, etc.), Icewind Dale was always the weak[est]," reads one review, and this review found the framing in 33 of the 100 negative reviews read — reviewers consistently describing Icewind Dale as the combat-focused entry in that family, with thinner story and characters by comparison. "Icewind Dale doubles down on combat in an RPG engine where combat itself is a chore. Unlike Baldur's Gate and Planescape Torment, it has nothing else going for it," reads a more pointed 2023 review. This review found the comparison's frequency stable across every year sampled, from 2015 through 2026 — a durable, structural critique rather than a fading launch reaction.

A recurring multiplayer bug, and some EE-specific friction

This review also found a specific, recurring technical complaint about online multiplayer connectivity, appearing in 14 of the 100 negative reviews read. "I bought it here purely for the multiplayer and that just does not work. This is a common issue that's been around for over a year and there is still no solid answer for [it]," reads one representative review. A smaller, distinct complaint concerns Beamdog's own additions to this Enhanced Edition specifically, with some longtime fans of the original arguing new scripted content behaves differently: "The scripts don't work quite the same as they did in the original game, and the new ones they made make the characters do some really strange things," reads one detailed review with over 140 hours logged.

Verdict

Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition remains a well-regarded, faithfully preserved classic CRPG whose reputation as the combat-focused, less story-driven member of its Infinity Engine family has held remarkably stable for over a decade — reviewers consistently make the same comparison to Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment whether writing in 2015 or 2026. That's a durable characteristic of the game rather than a flaw introduced by this remaster, and recent sentiment (92% positive) shows no sign of declining regard. Worth it for CRPG fans who want tactical dungeon-crawl combat first and story second — just check current multiplayer connectivity reports if that's a primary reason for buying.