[ Download Link ]

Mod authors(s): Lord Mirrabo, TCDale, Vanatos

Version used for review: 4.1.2

The Imoen Romance is one of the most controversial mods to grace the Baldur’s Gate community, completing a rather unfortunate trio of black sheep in the modding world. The mod as it stands today, however, is of markedly higher quality than its controversial brethren.

First, a quick history lesson. The mod’s own page has a section for its storied past, but the core thing to know here is that there are two versions of this mod available. The original version, created simply by one Lord Mirrabo, and the modern version that came over a decade later, created over time by the authors mentioned above. This review covers the modern version, and it’s the only one you should play — the original version is responsible for the mod’s largely negative reputation, and for good reason. It is, in a word, terrible. There are some comically bad lines in the original version, and for your viewing pleasure, I shall highlight some of them at the end of this review.

For now, though, I will focus on the mod that people should actually play if they want to experience the Imoen Romance, because despite the elephant in the room, it actually has a shocking number of redeeming qualities. It’s got a lot of good concepts and a surprisingly charming soundtrack, but it still stumbles a lot, especially early on.

Let’s tackle that elephant, though. Imoen is your half-sister. Both, by the fact that you were raised together, and that you are both Bhaalspawn. The player character is as related to Imoen as they are to Sarevok, and that’s a fact that the mod isn’t particularly shy of, but not in a way that feels overly fetishistic, either.

Whether or not the fact that the blood you share is that of a god is enough for you to handwave the relation as a technicality, the mod does use the word “incest” to describe your relationship at multiple points, but it rarely does it in a self-congratulatory way, and if the player attempts to lean into it, stating that you “enjoy the thrill of it,” then Imoen is extremely quick to shut that line of thought down and exit the relationship. Regardless, due to the circumstances of the player’s relationship with Imoen, the mod’s depiction of the romance is not the unhealthiest one that I’ve seen in a Baldur’s Gate mod (see: Saerileth, Fade).

I concur, however, that it is generally muddy territory. I am personally not the sort of person willing to handwave the specifics of the relationship so that it enters ethical territory. For the sake of this review, though, I was willing to meet the mod where it is at.

So where is that?

Well, I don’t think that the large majority of the Imoen Romance in Shadows of Amn is written very well. The script was adequately salvaged by TCDale, but there is still a layer of discomfort around the content for me.

After Imoen has been captured by Irenicus, she — or a version of her — begins appearing before you in a series of dreams that play out after the sequence of Irenicus-centric visions. These dreams are probably the weakest link in the entire mod, but I think that it’s a good concept if one is trying to keep Imoen’s presence in the game felt. My main issue with these dreams is the lack of the player control. No dialogue options are presented as in the other dreams, and no way to frame the dream thematically from a personal point of view. The only point of view that the dreams have time for is the author’s.

The dreams all focus on memories (whether or not they are real is a point of contention in the mod itself) of Imoen and the player character as children, providing context for the romance to begin once she is rescued from Spellhold. They see the player rescuing Imoen from a goblin, going swimming as teenagers, and being taunted by Imoen posing as ‘the taint’.

Since they do not offer the player any control or dialogue responses, it makes it hard for anyone seeking to take the ‘friendship route’ through the mod to justify the dreams, since they are explicitly romantic.

Once Imoen has been rescued, there are many conversations to have with her, many of which aren’t romance-specific. They’re not terrible, but they lack subtlety. She goes into detail on the experiments that Irenicus performed on her, including sexual-assault by one of the duergar that worked under him. A lot of the dialogue at this point is lengthy and morbid. A lot of people feel like the romances with Aerie and Jaheira have you acting as a therapist, and that is doubly true here.

Once you’re out of the Underdark, things really take a turn. The relationship turns explicitly romantic and you sleep together with a fade to black. It’s portrayed as a spur of the moment thing, but there are several options that specify that you’ve been “waiting a long time for this” which feels weirdly predatory.

It could almost be cute. But I was just uncomfortable throughout this scene.

You’ll note that there is a heavy use of parentheticals denoting the actions, which is a common red flag in mods for many, and its presence here is about what you could expect from a mod of this type. It’s generally simple prose, so if that doesn’t bother you, then you’ll probably have a better time with the mod than I.

If you are able to convince Imoen that, actually, incest isn’t so bad because we love each other so much in a lengthy and melodramatic conversation after fighting Bodhi, then the romance continues into Throne of Bhaal. There are several requirements to get to that point, though, involving dialogue options that only appear with adequate ability scores.

The content in Throne of Bhaal, which came a long, long time after the content that precedes it, is decisively the best part of the mod.

At this point, the relationship with Imoen is well established and there’s a lot less drama surrounding the taboo aspects of it, allowing Imoen to simply be a partner and companion confident in her place. She has many conversations in Throne of Bhaal regardless of whether or not she’s being romanced, and the writing in them is quite solid. Imoen has conversations regarding each of the Pocket Plane trials as well as each of the Five, though sometimes she starts talking about her “Taint” and suddenly I find it harder to take her seriously.

It still trails off the deep end sometimes, like with a massively overlong (but optional) sequence with the Solar revealing Imoen’s backstory that I would actually rather enjoy had the time it takes been cut in half. Same with the Gorion Wraith scene. They’re good ideas, just carried out a bit too excessively.

There is no room in the relationship with Imoen for asexuality. If you’re doing the romance, you’re going to be doing it, rather frequently. The romance is available regardless of player race or gender, and at multiple points Imoen makes comments about finding drow women attractive (particularly Phaere and Diaytha). That particular point feels as though it stems more from the authors’ preferences rather than Imoen as a character. The mod, all the way through, is unashamedly horny — but the context of the relationship as half-siblings is never the source of that.

On top of the romance and friendship talks, there are also new banters between Imoen and many of the other companions. In particular, she and Aerie have a lengthy friendship that advances through from Spellhold to the final hour of the game, to the point that Aerie gets a notable mention in Imoen’s new epilogue slide. I found it to be generally quite enjoyable, though unsurprisingly it does slip into some rather clumsy talks about trauma and self-hatred from time to time.

Both Shadows of Amn and Throne of Bhaal portions of the mod sport a wide variety of new music that plays during Imoen’s talks. Sometimes it switches between two or three different tracks in a single conversation, which usually feels a little odd, but at certain points it elevates the mood and tone nicely. The music is presumably all made by the original creator, and surprisingly enough, it ended up being my favourite part of the mod. A lot of it doesn’t necessarily fit into the style of the game perfectly, and the production is rather amateur, but simultaneously I find it ridiculously charming; it’s strange to say, but the Imoen Romance soundtrack is excellent.

So, does this mod deserve all of the vitriol and mockery it often receives online? I don’t think so, no… with one caveat.

The original 2003 release of the mod is a product of a bygone era that, while still available to play today, really has no business being as bad as it is. The music is its only redeeming feature, in my opinion. If anything deserves the mockery, it’s the version of this mod that was made over 20 years ago and retired in favour of the newer version.

As promised, here are some of my favourite insane lines from the classic Imoen Romance.

(It seems you weren't clear enough: grab her by the neck and punch her face with all of your strength to make her understand.)
(It seems she didn't understand you well enough: grab her neck and slap her face until she understands.)
(You've had enough; time to get violent. Leap at her cut her throat so she will understand in the last seconds of her life that you don't like repeating yourself.)

(Imoen doesn't know how to respond to your bipolar insanity.) <CHARNAME>, just what's going on? What's wrong with you?

(Imoen wipes some blood from the corner of her mouth with her index finger, shakes her head, and turns away from you, muttering under her breath.)
~WHAT!? Are you MAD?? Didn't you have another way of letting me know that, you stupid, paranoid, goat-fucking bastard!~

~Admit it, you were just trying to get in my panties the whole time! All that kindness, you and your naughty incestuous thoughts, plotting to see me naked and gasping before you!~
> I ADMIT IT IMOEN! I only wanted to have my way with you, and now that I've done it you are nothing but another harlot I have spent a night with.

So, yeah. It was bad, and there is much worse still that I’m not comfortable posting here. All trace of the above have pretty much been scrubbed from the mod’s current version, and it’s still left with a rather impressive amount of content.

The Imoen Romance isn’t nearly as bad as most people likely remember the original release to be. I don’t necessarily think that it’s good either though, but if you’re okay with the weird dream sequences and having to actively tell the game that you’re not interested in romancing your sister, then I think that you could genuinely justify downloading it just for the expanded interactions and banters that Imoen receives. If you are interested in romancing your sister, then… I suspect you’ve already played this mod.

Thanks for reading.