Neverwinter Nights 2 Is The Perfect Game For Baldur's Gate 3 Fans

Forbes

3 hours ago

Neverwinter Nights 2
Aspyr
While Baldur's Gate 3 might be the current favorite jewel in the crown of Dungeons & Dragons media, it's far from the first. The franchise which began as a tabletop roleplaying game and has since morphed to include blockbuster movies, game of the year-winning video games, best-selling novels, geek culture-defining podcast series, and so much more, has a storied legacy of dozens of classic PC games. And Neverwinter Nights 2 was always one of the most elusive, until now.
Developed by Aspyr, Neverwinter Nights 2 Enhanced Edition releases on July 15 for PC (including Steam Deck verified), Xbox, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch. Pre-orders are now live! This Enhanced Edition will include all three of the game's original expansions: Mask of the Betrayer, Storm of Zehir, and Mysteries of Westgate.
The original Neverwinter Nights CRPG from BioWare shares a lot of DNA with the first two Baldur's Gate games in that it's from the same developer and is similar in overall gameplay style, but came out several years later under a different publisher. The sequel, Neverwinter Nights 2, was actually developed by Obsidian Entertainment, the folks also known for Pillars of Eternity, Knights of the Old Republic II, Fallout: New Vegas, Grounded, Avowed, The Outer Worlds, and so much more.
Plus, Neverwinter Nights 2 takes place in the exact same campaign setting (the Forgotten Realms) as Baldur's Gate 3 so many locations, factions, and overall themes will be familiar.
The reason this is the perfect next game for you if you love Baldur's Gate 3 actually goes even deeper than that, though. Besides the DNA and development similarities in genre and franchise, the core gameplay, camera systems, dialogue trees, and overall game feel are also very similar. However, the main difference is that while Baldur's Gate 3 utilizes a fully turn-based combat system, Neverwinter Nights 2 is actually real-time with pause like the first two Baldur's Gate games and the first Neverwinter Nights.
What real-time with pause (RTwP) combat entails is similar to Dragon Age: Origins and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. When combat is happening all of your characters are acting in real-time, but you can then pause the game to issue commands about which abilities to use and what to target. This mixes the slow-paced strategy of a turn-based game with the immediate and intense visceral reactions of a real-time combat game.
From what we've seen so far, this remaster is going to be wonderful. I've played the Enhanced Editions of Baldur's Gate 1, Baldur's Gate 2, Neverwinter Nights, and Icewind Dale, so if you've dabbled in any of those as well then you understand what to expect here too. Fortunately, you don't need to have played the previous game to jump right in here.
Neverwinter Nights 2
Aspyr
The base game hasn't aged very gracefully though and, arguably, it's been the most in need of a remaster of the whole bunch if you ask me. Upgrading performance, improving resolution, and streamlining the janky bits so it runs well on modern machines (including consoles for the first time!) is just what the cleric ordered.
Fans of Baldur's Gate 3 should definitely have Neverwinter Nights 2 Enhanced Edition high on their to-be-played list for 2025.