Divinity: Original Sin Previews

Even more impressions are available for Larian’s upcoming Divinity: Original Sin, seemingly all based on the current Early Access build of the title. Just as a reminder, you can currently purchase and try it for yourself, although considering it’s still incomplete, you might want to wait until the official release.

Eurogamer:

These are the kind of issues to be expected in an alpha RPG though, and for the most part Original Sin is both playable and shaping up solidly. As an Early Access purchase specifically, it’s difficult to recommend – but that’s more down to what it is than what it does. Narrative games in general deserve to be seen when all the pieces are in place and without your saves getting nuked with every patch. That said, if you don’t mind these factors, this is a satisfying chunk of the early game that offers about 10-15 hours worth of sneak-peek without spoiling too much, and with enough flexibility that a second run won’t be a big hardship.

While it remains to be seen whether Original Sin manages to be the Ultima successor that both Larian and I want it to be, it’s in with a fighting chance. Much rests on how it develops its elemental mechanics and main storyline, and if and how decisions you make come to influence what comes later. So far, it’s the best attempt I’ve played in a long while, and one that offers plenty of hope that Larian can pull it off. Certainly, it’s the first Divinity game that has hooked me in like I’ve wanted since the series began, to the point that I feel sad that – rough as it inevitably is – it’s only a slice of the game. That’s a great start for a RPG with big ambitions, and I eagerly look forward to continuing the quest in the spring.

Dealspwn‘s write-up is brief and serves simply as an introduction to their video:

You can jump into Larian’s latest RPG — Divinity: Original Sin — over on Steam right now thanks to Early Access. The game is currently in alpha, meaning that bugs and placeholders and limited options abound, but you can actually get a really good feel for things, and the co-operative roleplaying element of Original Sin is on show for all to see.

There are two main characters in this game — making it a perfect title to play with a friend (you can team up or split up whenever you want) — and you have the opportunity to assign them to one of three classes at the start, but little beyond that at this stage of development. However, from then on, everything’s pretty much open. You get plonked down in Rivellon, assigned to investigate a recent murder, and that’s about it. You can go off and pretty much do whatever you like.