I’m honestly quite surprised that we’re seeing full reviews for Larian’s Divinity: Original Sin II already, considering how expansive the game is. But if you’re currently unsure whether or not you should get the latest turn-based fantasy RPG from Larian Studios and immerse yourself in the world of Rivellon, this early batch of overwhelmingly positive reviews may help you make that decision:
PCGamesN 9/10:
In the solo (and, optionally, co-op) campaign that will be most players’ first port of call, the strengths are much the same as they were the first time around. Larian have wisely leaned on the elemental combat that powered Divinity: Original Sin – the same system that turned every battle into a bubbling broth of status effects. Fire arrows still ignite poison gas, rain spells extinguish flames, and electrical jolts turn steam into lightning clouds. The path to victory usually lies in catalysing an explosive reaction or three, and then making sure your opponents don’t get a chance to recover. It can be tough, since even the lowliest guard can take a fireball to the face and keep slugging. But finally felling your enemies, through wit and persistence, feels fantastic.
The genius lies in the way Larian’s meticulous simulation trickles out of the combat and into the game world at large. Where many turn-based RPGs tend to separate out roleplaying and conflict – church and state – in Divinity, one bleeds into the other. It’s not only that one character in your party can be having a chat while another flings fireballs in the next room. It’s that, when you wander past an open fire, the ‘warm’ effect is attributed to you for a few seconds. Or, if you cast the same teleportation spell that allows you to drop enemies into burning oil slicks, you might throw a companion over a ravine into an otherwise inaccessible area.
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Divinity: Original Sin 2 stands as a remarkable example of three genres: the classic roleplaying game, the online arena battler, and the tabletop-style adventure enabler. If its campaign fails to shake off some of Larian’s unfriendlier habits, those flaws are mitigated by the ways in which the studio have shaped a genre moulded by nostalgia into genuinely new forms – changing more than just the keyboard shortcuts for the better.
GameInformer 9.75/10
Puzzles are a prominent feature, and range from placing weights on pressure plates to fiendishly intricate mysteries that require multiple items and creative problem-solving solutions. While the immediate reaction may be to reach for a walkthrough when stuck, I found immense satisfaction in coming up with convoluted solutions to some of the late-game conundrums. One puzzle near the end of the game is particularly esoteric and has multiple solutions – all I can say is if you ever think your solution might be too insane, just try it. You can always reload that save file!
While this fantasy gem is almost flawless, some meddlesome quirks are drilled into the framework with random character freezes, running through closed doors, puzzle pieces not operating properly, and quests not completing. These bugs are frustrating, but if you’re saving often anyway they should be mostly painless. I didn’t run into anything that stopped me from enjoying the game.
Multiplayer is also available for up to four players, but things can get messy quickly if your friends are troublemakers or want to take things in different directions. You’re going to be on the hook for your buddy when he gets caught stealing or decides to kill that dwarf you’re trying to make friends with, but that chaos can be fun, too. A Game Master mode lets players set up their own campaigns and adventures, which is sure to give creative mapmakers and modders a lot to enjoy and add longevity to the game.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 is one of the greatest PC RPGs of all time, and Larian’s continued dedication to creating incredible freeform adventures inspired by tabletop lineage is inspiring and commendable. A few bugs and frustrating encounters are small prices to pay for a lavish ensemble of the genre’s best and a one-of-a-kind experience.
Trusted Reviews 4/5:
And that, really, is the only place Divinity: Original Sin 2 falls down. Thanks to the game’s incredible density, you can often find it hard to progress. The game can throw so much at you that, sometimes, it can be overwhelming and you have no idea what to do next in order to succeed. You are going to fail some quests. People are going to die. And Original Sin 2 really requires you to be on board with that, otherwise you’re going to have a bad time. If you’re a completionist that needs to clear an area completely before moving on, Original Sin 2 may not be for you – it’s a game that needs you to go with the flow and accept the world is going to move on, with or without you. If the game had an alignment, it would be chaotic neutral – and that’s fantastic.
VERDICT
This is a great game for RPG fans to get their teeth into: over 20 hours in, you’ll notice the story only just starts gaining traction, and you may only just start getting familiar with the game’s myriad systems. The game is unforgiving, often mercilessly so, but if you have the patience to penetrate the density and crack open the core gameplay, there’s such a wealth of well-written RPG content, it’s impossible not to recommend.
Hardcore Gamer 5/5:
Divinity: Original Sin II pulled off the impressive task of taking the kitchen sink approach to game design by cramming as much into it as possible yet somehow making it all work, making it a fantastic title for solo or multiplayer gaming. Playing the Divinity: Original Sin is not required to enjoy this title or its story, though having played the first game will make the experience more rewarding. Everything about Divinity: Original Sin II is of the highest quality and any negatives that could be said are basically nitpicking, such as the camera angles might obscure characters one percent of the time or the inventory set up isn’t as nice as you’ve seen in some other games. No game is perfect, but this one comes closer than most. Larian Studios created a masterpiece with Divinity: Original Sin and using that as a template and listening to player feedback during the development process, they challenged themselves to create a superior successor and accomplished that goal. Divinity: Original Sin II is not only a contender for best game of 2017, but one of the best RPGs ever created. The game could easily take a hundred hours to complete and the interplay between the well-constructed story, gameplay mechanics and player freedom creates a world I could see myself revisiting with different parties just to watch the story unfold differently. Simply put, Divinity: Original Sin II is truly divine.
Game Skinny 9/10:
I’ve been trying to think of things I legitimately don’t like about the game and can only come up with minor quibbles, like the fact that some of the standard key bindings don’t quite make sense to me. Why does the G button bring up the crafting screen instead of the C button? Why does tab switch to combat instead of highlighting the stuff on the ground?
Other than that, and my distaste for comic relief, there’s really nothing about Divinity: Original Sin 2 that doesn’t scream “RPG of the year!” It’s got everything an RPG fanatic could want: crafting, 10 types of skill categories to choose from, different build foci, robust combat, interesting characters and quests, and plenty more. Basically, if you love anything cRPG related from the Infinity Engine forward, you need to buy this game.
