Neverwinter Nights Gameplay

Somehow, I suspect that if you sneaked into the office where Neverwinter was developed, you'd be less likely to find a design document than a very, very big roll of free bubblewrap. Neverwinter is a free-to-play RPG that somehow nails that sense of second-by-second popping satisfaction, often despite itself. Pop, a monster goes down. Pop, a sparkling light trail to get you straight to the next one. Pop, the chime of a new level earned. Neverwinter is a game of cold proficiency, built with experience and understanding of these moments and how to create them.

Too bad it's also one of the least creative games ever to waste the chance to do something interesting with them.

Where Dungeons & Dragons Online at least attempted to offer a more in-depth dungeoneering experience, Neverwinter follows the standard genre template to the letter (except for those letters it's discarded). It's a game where I swapped armour pieces a thousand times only to look exactly the same, and one that has nearly as many currencies as it has character classes – three and five respectively. As a tiefling Control Wizard, I spent my time hurling a very limited set of elemental attacks at enemies, while trying not to mind sounding like the Captain Planet 'heart' ring owner of fantasy gaming. “I'm a Fire Wizard, I mastered fire!” I imagine one of my arcane rivals boasting with pride wherever it is that mages gather. “I'm a Control Wizard, ” I awkwardly reply. “I can leave half a Pringles can un-eaten!”

Even with that name, Control Wizards do the business. They don't have many tricks, but the ones they've got are good, including turning an enemy into a walking area attack spell, freezing foes on the spot, smashing everything in sight with a 'Daily' super attack (which is actually charged by kills and can be used every few minutes), and my favourite, a rapidly recharging Force Push attack for knocking foes out of melee range. As with the rest of the bubblewrap, all these feel good – even magic missiles feel like they have some weight behind them. Neverwinter also provides a companion after a few zones, to help counter your class's weaknesses. They have exactly zero personality, but you get to choose who you want. I still went with a tank, obviously, but could have hired another mage.

Sadly, what Neverwinter mostly does with this potential is waste it. Never have the Forgotten Realms been quite so forgettable. The main questline could be largely replaced by a box that says “Watch Netflix for 30 hours, then click here for a free hat.” The characters are personality vacuums with little to note but their awful accents. Competitors like Pandaria and Guild Wars 2 have advanced MMO questing to the point that even bits of Neverwinter that actually try to offer some spark can barely gaze upon them without being instantly struck blind. At times, it seems wilfully unimaginative, most notably with the constant repetition of the same basic boss template: a tank who spawns minions to mildly inconvenience adventurers who just want their damn quest rewards.