I usually ask for YOUR thoughts and feelings on a game(s) to try and see outside of my wheelhouse, but this time I am asking for your thoughts / suggestions based on my interests.

I've had a copy of Baldur's Gate for quite awhile but never loaded it up -- I'm just not a huge fan of dialogue-heavy isometric RPGs. But with that said, I am playing through Pathfinder Kingmaker and it's ok (I'm playing in turn-based mode)... and I have had a good time with the Drakensang games... although those aren't isometric.

I am a fan of fantasy action RPGs -- Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen being one of my favorite games of all time... and... I had quite a lot of fun with Greedfall.

And BTW, I do sometimes enjoy isometric ARPGs like Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance or even The Bard's Tale.

If I was to play either the Baldur's Gate or Icewind Dale series, which would you suggest?

Many thanks in advance for your thoughts!

I would not call the first Baldur's Gate dialogue-heavy, mostly it is about exploring the areas, giving smart directions to party members in the real-time-with-pause combat, and managing character growth through levels and equipment. Icewind Dale is even less about the dialogue.

Apparently, in terms of script length (lines, number of words) Baldur's Gate is actually shorter than Icewind Dale, but those are only total numbers so I do not know how long the 'critical path' script is.

I think the choice is more about what kind of story you are interested in - Baldur's Gate is more a 'chosen one' storyline, whereas Icewind Dale is about an adventuring party going on missions. Baldur's Gate as a series also has more of a continuing storyline since Baldur's Gate 2 continues from the first game, whereas Icewind Dale 2 is mostly a separate storyline from the first one.

I always thought that Icewind Dale is more combat focused. Though I have to admit that I have never played it.

While the Baldur's Gate is more rely on its story. I have played only one game that can beat Baldur's Gate on this aspect - Planescape: Torment. Even Pathfinder Kingmaker didn't reach this level of story integrity, in my opinion.

Also, Icewind Dale is like winter themed game, while Baldur's Gate is spring or summer themed.

Anyway it's always up to you if you want to play either Icewind Dale or Baldur's Gate. I would recommend to play both of them.

Play both.

The Icewind Dale series is more linear and has the weaker stories, it's more focused on the combat than great plot or free exploration but if you enjoyed BG: Dark Alliance, that doesn't have to be a bad thing. BG:DA is closer to IWD than BG (even though it's really different from both).

For me, the main draw in IWD was that you can create your own party - it is completely up to you how your party is built, and you yourself can decide on who they are, how they look and act, but that also means most of it is left to your own imagination. Whereas in Baldur's Gate, you only create one character and this character has a vague backstory and destiny already, and then you meet other characters along the way that can join your party, and they already have fixed classes and backstories and may flirt or bicker among each other or with you. So if you don't like dialogues and want to focus on the tactics of combat, IWD would probably be the better choice, since in BG you also have to talk to the companions and listen to their stories, while in IWD they are silent (because you made them), and while you can fully control your whole party in both games, IWD gives you even more control by letting you decide about their classes etc. If you want e.g. three mages in the party, you don't have to go on a long, long journey around the world until you find some standing around somewhere waiting for you to pick them up, you can just create them right at the start.

My personal favorite of all four games is BG2, because IMO it has the most interesting storytelling and quests, but then again, I like Planescape: Torment even better, and that is probably the worst choice for someone who does not like dialogue-heavy isometric RPGs. ;P If you prefer fighting over talking, go with the IWD series, and if there is still too much talking for your taste, just skip it, you won't really miss out on much. ;)

Right, Baldurs Gate is a two part, and whilst you can play just part 1 you do miss most of the story. The first is a bit more like a prolog. It is good in its own right, but if it was just that then I would suggest IWD. If you want the full experience, play BG1 + BG2 using big world setup which is a large mods combining many npcs, quests, updated AI etc, which really expands everything and there are three options on how difficult you want it. I believe it also works now for the “enhanced” versions, but I would ditch spear of PC’ness as the original story does not need it. 2 is a lot more dialog, and is huge though.

IWD as mentioned is far more combat oriented, from memory as it’s a while since I played it, I found it just to be map after map you had to fight through. It’s not bad though. IWD2 seems weaker to me.

I wouldn’t call either of them action orientated though. They can be played strategically, with pause, and you can solo with some experience, but neither is going to be anything like DDogma. Also it depends on time you want to put in, the full BG experience with the mod I mentioned can take 10’s of hours, if you solo it would be longer. IWD is much shorter. You can create your own party in BG also. Create a LAN game, then create each of the characters you want and start it (it’s just a local game), and you then have as many of the characters you want. The story is setup of course for one main protagonist, so whichever you create in slot 1, that is intrinsic. Also, if you create all your party you do miss npc side quests which may not be an issue as you will likely max out anyways. You could create 4 characters, then drag one npc around for their side quest and drop them of course.

Icewind Dale is more hack n slash, Planescape Torment is more dialogue heavy and story driven, Baldur's Gate is a good balance of both.

You're also supposed to create your entire party in IWD, but in BG you hire other characters into the party as you meet them.

I think both BG and IWD are excellent games, but my personal favorite is BG. Both BGs are among my all-time favorite games. They are both great in their own ways, and their tone is very different. BG1 is jolly with a "let's go on a adventure" vibe, but BG2 is very bleak and dark. But I like that too.

TLDR; I think IWD is definitely worth playing, but I would go for BG first.

Play IWD. Geralt_of_rivia_pl, or whatever he's calling himself now, keeps saying that BG2 is the Greatest Game of all time, so I'm forced to conclude that IWD must be the better game.

It seems Icewind Dale may be the option that's more attuned to your tastes. Play it if you enjoy aRPGs over RPGs, exploration and that style of combat over plot and character development.

Icewind Dale is more focused on throwing waves of enemies at you whilst Baldur's Gate establishes a narrative which reaches its peak in Baldur's Gate II (a much better and more refined game).

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

I'm the oddball - an RPG fan who doesn't like either. I just think that the result of this super-faithful implemantation of AD&D rules, already a pretty obtuse and arcane system, to a computer game where pretty much only its limitations persist with little of the freedom provided in a tabletop game, results in very tedious gameplay.

Since you're a fan of more combat-heavy games that would suggest Icewind is more for you, but since I think combat is really one of the more tedious aspects of these games, I'd still suggest going with Baldur. At least for all it's mechanical frustrations the story is more likely to keep you invested. To be perfectly honest though, if you just want to have fun with a classic action-focused RPG, you're be better off with Dungeon Siege.

You complain about tedious combat in BG and IWD - fair enough - but then you recommend Dungeon Siege instead?! XD I must have missed something when I gave it a try, to me the combat felt slower and less engaging even than the one in NWN. But admittedly I never reached the point where you get a full blown party, the first hour or so was just too boring ...

That being said, if my memory doesn't deceive me, I think kai2 is familiar with DS already?

imo combat is actually one of the best aspects of those games (I know, a matter of taste), especially so with Baldur's Gate 2 with its mage battles, something which few other games provide.
The weaknesses of those games are more in the quest design imo, often you simply don't have enough choice, so role-playing often feels somewhat restricted (also heavily skewed towards playing a good party).

Anyway, regarding OP's question, I'm not sure he'll enjoy either the Baldur's Gate or the Icewind Dale games tbh, it sounds like they might not be his kind of game (even IWD with its focus on combat isn't exactly an "action" rpg imo).

Honestly, it's been so long since I played it I can hardly argue the point. I just don't recall it being nearly as prone as BG or ID to having ten people just standing around waving their weapons and hitting once in a blue moon :D

Maybe. He didn't mention it in the OP, so how would I know?

It likely gets better with with higher level. More spells, more options, and not nearly as much of just standing around and missing everything.

But to me combat entirely dependant on dice rolls when you can't even roll the dice yourself is just a bad idea. It feels like watching other people play D&D. Miss. Miss. Hit. Yay. Miss. Really uninvolving. In a tabletop game failures can be fun, with a good DM failures can be distinct, funny or surprisng, lead to unique situations. In a game like BG a bad roll is just a bore.