Divinity: Original Sin II Review

Original Sin 2 is a bit of a triumph. Markedly improved graphics, deep tactical combat, and superb character-driven storylines with interesting things to say make for a brilliant RPG.

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Keep Sinning?

The Divinity series has been a mixed bag, from humble isometric PC origins to grand 3rd-person open-world roleplaying spanning a number of consoles too.

But with this kickstarted, PC only prequel, have Larian finally broken out from their cult following and into the mainstream?

Story:

Larian has always been good about making sure their stories are inclusive, and “Divinity: Original Sin II” is no exception. Despite being a sequel to a prequel (to a series many know little about), it becomes quickly quite clear the previous heroes lived hundreds of years ago and have faded into legend.

Original Sin 2 stands on its own two feet, and you don’t really need to know anything about any other game in the series to enjoy it. Furthermore, the game has genuinely interesting things to say, and draws parallels to the world today and some of the issues we face about discrimination and how to best deal with it. The main part of the story revolves around the “sourcerers”, who are magic users, but who are rounded up, have collars placed around their necks to prevent them from using their abilities, and are generally rounded up and treated like crap.

The storytelling is deep and interesting, but also has incredible depth. Unlike most RPGs, almost everyone you meet has some piece of lore or snippet of information to impart, and you can even learn an ability that lets you talk to animals (of which there are plenty!).

Gameplay:

The solid turn-based, tactical combat of the first game returns and has generally been enhanced in lots of neat ways. You still progress through the world in real-time, but combat automatically pauses you and is played out in a turn-based manner. You still then get a number of action points based on your constitution rating, and use these to move, attack, take actions and cast spells. Thankfully many of the issues from the previous game have been resolved. A number of difficulty levels helps those who are mainly in it for the story, whilst movement is no longer so prohibitive, so you aren’t best just firing and casting spells from a distance. There’s also more tooltips and hints, which help you take advantage of your surroundings.

The environment, which was always a useful part of the combat, is now almost essential to winning combat encounters (or even in the story sections). There are almost endless solutions, whether its teleporting objects into people, setting them on fire, or even using high ground to your advantage. Even more important is the fact that this time around there are even more opportunities to talk or sneak your way around combat, and you have a very rich system. The approach goes even further than that, as certain decisions can then affect future quests (even to the point of locking you out from them).

Like last time around, the game is seriously old-school throughout, refusing to hand-hold you at all. When exploring, there are very few map markers, and you’ll constantly be forced to consult your map and journal to interpret where you need to head next.

Good

  • Character stories
  • Tactical Combat
  • Beautiful engine

Bad

  • Lack of voice acting
  • Pathfinding
8.8

Great

Story - 9
Graphics - 9.5
Sound - 8
Gameplay - 9
Multiplayer - 8
Value - 9
Editor - Reviewer GamerKnights

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