Larian Studio’s crowd-funded RPG, Divinity: Original Sin 2 flew in the face of convention. Its sterling dedication to old-school role-playing is practically the polar opposite of the Action craze seeping its way into most of its contemporaries. The praise delivered upon its release still holds true. DOS2 is an immersive and uncompromising RPG of unparalleled purity – one that has finally found its way to the Xbox One and PS4 respectively. It’s an experience that translates beautifully due to slick design and a rock solid core. The tale of persecuted sorcerers and dark gods is fantasy gold, while the foundation for role-playing it provides is unrivalled. The world of Divinity, ripe with fascination and quality, remains one more than worth exploration by both the hardened and newcomer alike.

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For the latter, Divinity: Original Sin 2 is an isometric, party-driven Role-Playing Game centered on engaging turn-based combat and real-time exploration. Players create a fantasy hero from the ground up – delving into backstory, vocation and visual appearance – and partake in a lengthy campaign either as an individual or as a team. Character creation is extremely fluid in terms of how the character actually functions – allowing for any combination of abilities to create a truly custom class. Where it does lack is in visual options, but this is somewhat abated by how backstory and race affect dialogue and quests – often opening up alternative dialogue options and the like.

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The writing in generally is noticeably excellent. Divinity is bursting with flamboyant and compelling fantasy performances, excellent plotting, fully voiced dialogue options and all manner of paths to travel when it comes to completing quests and managing your relationships with the bevy of interesting NPCs littering the gorgeous (at least at a distance) world. The persistent narrator really helps drive home the virtual Dungeons And Dragons feel the game evokes and characters like The Red Prince and Fane are melodramatic in all the right ways.

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On that note, one easily amasses a colourful posse of controllable compadres with which to quest. Group dynamics is key regardless of whether the game is played solo or with friends. Balancing one’s party in terms of ability is paramount, as is tactically dividing up your group in order to take advantage of the environment in combat or the way certain character’s skills gel. It can be unforgiving in its early hours, as many of the nasties populating the opening area Fort Joy overpower the player and party easily, but the intelligent, context-heavy combat makes the struggle a pleasure to disassemble and understand.

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As with fellow isometric title Diablo 3, the control scheme morphs gracefully onto consoles. The right analogue stick controls the camera – allowing one to tilt to either side or pan in and out – while the left controls character movements. The ability bar is assigned to triangle on the PlayStation, allowing access to what would be hotkeyed abilities in a PC version. The console version furthermore brings with it the addition of split-screen multiplayer. It revolves around the distance between both players and will split and conjoin dynamically depending on how near or far they are to one another. The game will assign control of the party to one player and both characters are required to individually activate and hand-in quests, which can be a minor annoyance. Finally, the Definitive Edition has seen a number of technical fixes: including rebalancing elements like persuasion, armour prices, levelling and the damage of certain previously overpowered skills.

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Divinity is very much the title it was when it originally released. There is no new content to speak of per se, but what has been delivered is a monumental role-playing experience that can be compared to very few. The breadth of stories to discover and parts to play is astounding, while its combat is top notch and tactical with a capital T. It’s undoubtedly built to appeal to more of a hardcore RPG audience and does not exactly hold the player’s hand, but Divinity: Original Sin 2 is unquestionably amongst the year’s unmissable titles.

Last Updated: September 7, 2018

Divinity: Original Sin 2 Definitive Edition
This singular vision is perfectly at home on consoles. The experience is mirrored more or less perfectly on the controller and the addition of split-screen is a welcome one. Its characters, world and combat are a breath of fresh air in a stale genre. Though new content would not have hurt this supposed Definitive Edition, Original Sin 2 is perhaps the most compelling Role-Playing Game in a decade
9.0
Divinity: Original Sin 2 Definitive Edition was reviewed on PlayStation 4
92 / 100

26 Comments

  1. Original Heretic

    September 7, 2018 at 14:46

    I’m getting this, oh yes, I’m getting this real soon!!

    Reply

    • schitsophrenic-toothbrush

      September 7, 2018 at 15:39

      Finished the first one on PS4, loved it. Buying the second is a no brainer

      Reply

  2. For the Emperor!

    September 7, 2018 at 15:02

    Just need to look at the character creation before I decide. I really need a solid RPG in my life since I cannot find DnD on the Garden Route 🙁

    Reply

    • Original Heretic

      September 7, 2018 at 15:06

      Did you play the first Divinity? It was awesome.
      Reminded me of the old Baldur’s Gate/Icewind Dale games.

      Also, another one to check out in that vein is Pillars of Eternity. Great RPG. If you want an awesome PC (or console) DnD experience, highly recommend this one. I think PoE2 is out on PC as well.

      Reply

      • For the Emperor!

        September 7, 2018 at 15:30

        Thanks. Think I need something on console as I find it more and more taxing to sit in front of a PC at work and at home (reason for wanting more table-top in my life). Thanks for the recommendations!

        Reply

        • Original Heretic

          September 7, 2018 at 15:32

          I’ve got PoE1 and Divinity 1 on console. Both are so awesome, cannot go wrong with them if you enjoy a good, nay, a GREAT RPG experience.
          PoE is about as close to DnD as one can get without doing the actual tabletop.

          Reply

          • For the Emperor!

            September 7, 2018 at 15:46

            PoE2 also has the Critical Role team involved! They are my favourite DnD stream to watch (OK, only one I watch!)

            Between PoE2 and DOS2, which one would you recommend I play first, oh Heretical One with the knowledge I seek!

          • Original Heretic

            September 7, 2018 at 15:47

            I haven’t jammed either!
            PoE2 is still only PC and D:OS2 is a recent release, so still too pricey for my taste, I’d rather wait for a sale to get it cheaper.
            I played the first of each, and those were both awesome.
            If you wanna jam on console, get either of those. Doesn’t matter which one you decide to hit first, you’ll love ’em both.

          • For the Emperor!

            September 7, 2018 at 15:49

            Thanks man, appreciate it 🙂

          • schitsophrenic-toothbrush

            September 7, 2018 at 15:51

            Yeah dude, best bet is to flick a coin

          • Original Heretic

            September 7, 2018 at 17:52

            Ha! Very well put!

          • Original Heretic

            September 7, 2018 at 15:51

            Anytime, m’man, always happy to assist a fellow roleplayer.

  3. MaSeKind

    September 7, 2018 at 15:09

    I’ve got an extra Steam key for the game if anyone wants it. Not trolling/spamming/etc.
    Originally backed the Kickstarter but also bought the Collectors edition so I have an extra key.
    If you like gingers and am nice to me you can have it 🙂

    EDIT: (Mods, hope I don’t get into trouble for doing this. Please remove post if this is not allowed)

    Don’t know the best way of giving this away to someone so easiest is probably send me a DM on Twitter @jlocraf and I can give you an early xmas present in the form of a kick-ass RPG

    Reply

    • Original Heretic

      September 7, 2018 at 15:14

      If only I jammed on PC, I’d take you up on that offer… Not without paying, though, cause that’s how much I’d value getting to play this game.
      But if you charged me full price I’d track you down and stick my fingers in your nose. Because, honestly now, who WANTS someone else’s finger in their nose?!

      Reply

    • Ghost In The Rift

      September 7, 2018 at 15:32

      Who would say no?!?! Would not mind trying the game since nothing’s scratching the itch The Witcher left.

      Reply

      • MaSeKind

        September 7, 2018 at 15:44

        Check my edit

        Reply

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