Divinity: Original Sin 2 is a masterpiece. Its precursor has caught many unprepared, and although we had expected the same good things from the sequel, Divinity: Original Sin 2 has delivered even more than that. We are talking about a game that can stand right next to the cult RPG classics for PC such as Fallout 2 and Baldur’s Gate 2.
The world of Rivellon in Original Sin 2 is darker than ever before. It’s still a colorful fantasy place where you’ll talk to animals, but in its shady parts, some very bloody things are going on. Conflicts are raised because of racial discrimination, and the greatest threat are the dark forces of Voidwoken that are like closely tied to those who practice Source Magic.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 introduces some fresh ideas into the cliché material of fantasy genre. For example, there is a race of reptiles which considers slave ownership quite a normal thing; as well as a race of immortals that rip faces off of their victims to take over their identity.
You will get acquainted with the specifics of all the races through all the different characters, provided you do not play as a lone wolf instead of a team of four. You can choose between six characters and each of them is so interesting that it is a real pity that you cannot take them all with you.
What is particularly interesting about these characters is that their stories are interwoven. At a certain point, two characters will have the same target – one wants to kill it, and the other needs it alive. Discussing and arguing in such situations can take the characters in different directions, and this is emphasized when other players are controlling them. Up to four players can play Divinity: Original Sin 2 cooperatively and it is one of the best multiplayer experiences you can have in the RPG genre.
The most beautiful moments in Divinity are not even part of the quests, but the incidental scenarios that you create yourself. The quests are layered so you can untangle them in several ways. Resolving them is the fastest way to strengthen characters.
The battles in Divinity: Original Sin 2 are never simple but the unexpected situations can be to your benefit with smart tactics and even seemingly cowardly moves. The key is still in combining elements (gas + fire = boom, water + electricity = shock, etc.), but in Original Sin 2 there are several things to keep in mind. Fighting has a vertical dimension now, so if you are on an elevated surface, you have a more effective attack. More freedom was given in setting up team formation, and the individual positioning of characters on the field before the battle was never more important.
There are lots of new skills and spells available to you, but the way you earn and combine them is a bit different than in the previous game. The number of skills is limited by a new item – memory or character memory, and besides the classic hocus-pocus skills you also have the Source Magic for which separate Source Points are used. The news is that most characters now have two types of shields – physical and magical, and these shields determine the success of setting a status, such as atrophy or the inability to use a weapon, or to convert an enemy to a chicken.
Fights in Divinity do not adjust to your experience level so you can expect your enemies to kick your ass every once in a while, even when you are stronger than them. Without teamwork, strategic element, and occasional experimenting, Original Sin 2 will not let you taste the sweet victory.
Encouraging different approaches is important because the game lasts for about 70 hours and can be stretched to about 100 hours, and if that is not enough for you, Divinity: Original Sin 2 has the Arena mode for advanced testing of your general capabilities, as well as the Game Master mode that is a kind of an editor for creating your own missions, scenarios and entire campaigns. For any other high-budget title, we would the price of DLC packages for such things. However, Divinity not only delivers them with the game itself, but it also offers 100+ hours of content for 45 euros.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 may not be the most visually beautiful game you’ve ever seen, but for one isometric title it is very detailed. Compared to the previous game, the lighting is somewhat more natural, there are some additional animations and effects, the camera is unlocked and everything looks pretty nice.
Although this is primarily a PC game, the developer has tried to offer two types of interface and control schemes so you can also play Original Sin 2 on TV with a controller.
From a technical point of view, one may possibly object to visual chaos during the battle. Sometimes it is difficult to even discern the enemies from the powerful effects, let alone target them for an attack. This was the case in the previous game, and it is even more highlighted here, however it only happens occasionally and is not a serious problem.
This is a game of countless opportunities and unscripted events; it is at its best in the cooperative mode, but no less interesting in solo performances. The amount of quality content exceeds most other titles on the market and costs less than them.
This phenomenon happens once in ten years and that is why you should definitely put Divinity: Original Sin 2 on the list of games you need to play in your lifetime.
