A product of its time, but rather boring. Baldur's gate was more engaging

6.5/10

Icewind Dale is the pallet cleanser adventure your group has after a tough and emotional adventure. You know, like the one in the first Baldur's Gate. In a game not known for it's writing, it has some stellar writing. The sarcastic voice I picked for my Priest said things like "Stop...poking...me!" and "I'm going to have to start charging you by the click" when I selected to do stuff.

My half-orc fighter spoke only in grunts.

And the dialog choices include things like "My, oh my. You are one...black...hearted...♥♥♥♥♥." Mind you, the NPC is, in fact, a black hearted ♥♥♥♥♥.

My favorite dialog option was "Thanks...you know, you seem pretty easy-going for a man who lives in constant fear of his life." You'll have to click on that one yourself if you want to know what the NPC's response was. The game is often funny, sometimes poignant.

And you get out of it what you put into it. You make a whole party and they have no in-game story. There are no companions to pick up along the way. You have to imbue your PCs with personality though how you play them. It's not better or worse than either Baldur's Gate or Planescape: Torment, but it is different.

If you love role playing games. If you love D&D, then this 20+ year old game is just right for you.

Its an update of a retro game, so your feelings on that will influence your experience. If you like that kind of thing, you'll like this.