I read a number of older posts with regard to this same issue, but it seemed that the only real fix for it would be to just start a new game?

 

I am hoping there is another way because I really don't want to start a new game if I don't have to...

 

The quicksave/restart option does absolutely nothing for me.

 

I noticed that once I got to the Gilded Vale, this issue started happening. I will often notice important items that I want to pick up, but can't.

 

Unlike some others who would notice their icon change to the hand icon and hear the sounds of their character opening a drawer or rummaging through something, I get nothing.

 

My icon never shows the hand icon and nothing happens when I try to click on an area highlighted in blue or any areas where the magnifying icon pops up.

 

It is discouraging because this is a really fun game and I want to continue playing without all these major issues.

 

Can anyone help me fix this?

Since there hasn't been any reply to this yet, just this: You should have posted this in the Technical Support forum, a bit down in the list of forums. Giving a few details, such as the screen resolution you use, operating system and version, and uploading a savegame file to some public place, would be a great idea, too. With the savegame, a developer (or somebody else) could test whether the problem is reproducible. Also, can you confirm that the earlier areas, Cilant Lis and Valewood, are not affected?