The game that many believe sounded the death knell for classic computer role-playing games (CRPGs), The Temple of Elemental Evil, returns with a revamped and improved version, courtesy of Sneg, now available on Steam. Dungeons & Dragons fanatics can now dive back into the infamous mega-dungeon originally created by Gary Gygax and Frank Mentzer for the tabletop game, and check if the many fixes, enhancements, and quality-of-life improvements will clean up the controversial legacy of this game.
The Temple of Elemental Evil was published in 2003 by Atari, which held the rights for D&D games for decades through some complex corporate shenanigans, and developed by Troika, a studio known for releasing buggy but ultimately fascinating and compelling games (Arcanum, Vampire: the Masquerade – Bloodlines). Their attempt at a D&D game was, indeed, a buggy mess, but it was also the first to faithfully reproduce the turn-based combat system from the tabletop RPG (previous games, such as the Baldur’s Gate series, opted for a mixed “real time with pause” system), updated to D&D 3.5 rules. Unfortunately, bad sales and waning interest in the genre meant that this was the last example of a CRPG for almost a decade (excluding Neverwinter Nights 2), marking the end of the golden age for this type of game.
This Steam release is based on the efforts of the modding communities that have supported the game for years, Circle of Eight and Temple+. According to a news release, it introduces more than 1,000 fixes and enhancements, from improved stability and AI to smoother performance, a refined UI, and numerous quality-of-life upgrades.
More than anything else, The Temple of Elemental Evil suffered from the choice of adapting a tabletop module that was not best suited for a CRPG. Gygax and Mentzer’s module was a sandbox mega-dungeon crawl that focused on exploration, where an emergent narrative was shaped by the way that players interacted with the various factions inside the temple. So, don’t expect a sweeping story with memorable NPCs like the ones in Baldur’s Gate or Planescape: Torment, nor the chance to explore vast scenarios as in the Neverwinter Nights series.
However, this is still a classic game that has an important place in the history of D&D adaptations and CRPGs in general. It’s also one of only two D&D video games set in the world of Greyhawk, the original setting where Gygax’s modules took place. Sneg is doing commendable work in porting all the classic Dungeons & Dragons games, including the entire Gold and Silver Box series. If you’re a retro gaming and classic D&D fan, you should check out this new version of The Temple of Elemental Evil.