Divinity 2: Developer's Cut

If I try to launch it from galaxy it literally just does nothing. If I try to start the game from its folder bin it goes to fullscreen, shows the larian logo for a few seconds then closes itself. Being scammed by gog feels awesome...

Let's be honest, I'm only half the game while writing this review. I'll probably finish it, because it is a nice reasonably challenging game. The interface and the game mechanism are well balanced, quite open (there are many ways to win fights and you have most of the time different ways to finish a quest), and have nice specific features (mind-reading, skills-centric character development,...). So if this soft is good at the G of RPG, it is really lazy on the RP part of it. The story line is really poor, full of cliché, very predictable and totally uninteresting. The dialogs are uninteresting at best. You don't play a role as your action have no influence on the behaviour of NPC, and there is absolutely no idea of moral, no way of knowing what would be profitable for your character. The whole game offers different possibilities, but you end-it not caring at all for which one you choose, because it doesn't change anything fundamental in the end. Good luck if you want to identify yourself to your character... This game suffers strongly from comparaison with games like Planescape of the Witcher. Oh yeah, it's a detail, but characters design is very different depending on gender. Again, women body in this game is overtly sexualized (it's even ridiculous if you play a women character and can't choose but have a F-size breast).

Divinity 2 is a really original game - it's got personality, unique (but frustrating )mechanics and it is MASSIVE in scale. But honestly, it's not that satisfying to play. The combat and spells feel floaty, the voice acting is hit and miss and the graphics are as B grade as they were when the game first came out. You can skip this one and go straight for Larian's later games - they'll hold your interest a lot longer than this one.

Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad game per se, and Oblivion is far from perfect. Also, they are not particularly similar, but they use the same engine and there is a certain similarity in graphics and atmosphere. And while the writing in Oblivion is mostly not great, especially the main quest, I did like what I saw in Divinity 2 so far, and I even enjoyed the humorous aspects of it, that have always been part of the Divinity series. But the game world is much more restricted and feels somewhat less real (if you can call it that in a fantasy game), which is in part because there seems to be no ownership and stealing mechanic. NPCs never complained so far when I took something from their houses. The interiors are also more static, with only a few items that can be picked up and used, while in Oblivion you can take almost anything you see on tables or shelves. In combination with the third person perspective it becomes a bit tedious to figure out which things can be taken and what is just backdrop. Then there is the combat. Not going to say much about it, but it sucks. I think I liked the combat in The Witcher 1 more, which is saying something. This is another aspect where Oblivion also has its issues, but I still prefer it by far. It's a shame because I'm sure the story and quests are good, if not great, but if I can't get used to the irritating combat I don't know if I'm going to finish it. Ah, one more thing, the music is excellent once again, which goes without saying for the Divinity games. Even Beyond Divinity, which was an awful game, had an amazing Soundtrack. Good thing the music can be enjoyed without having to play the games.

I just finished playing this game and my last feeling is one of disappointment. Let's go over the good things first. The Good: - Beautiful, very unique soundtrack - Lots of optional secrets to discover, encourages exploration - That moment when you first turn into a dragon and fly... The Bad: - The story goes nowhere - Other than the dragon thing, it's very uninspired and often boring The game almost had me. I was willing to overlook it's mistakes and just love it for that dragon moment alone. But the dragon gameplay didn't last that long. The game ends with a sudden Haha! ending and then it delivers one of the most boring, mundane, uninspired expansions to finish it. You see, this game consists of two parts: the original game and the expansion. The expansion doesn't build on the more ambitious ideas of the original game, but ends the story in the most uninspired way. Becoming a dragon, flying around was the best part of the original game. It wasn't the poor Diablo inspired combat, the silly npc's, the slow pacing that makes you lose interest, the boring dialogues... no, it was flying around as a dragon that was the best part of the original game. If only the expansion would have delivered a more ambitious ending, this game could be a cult classic. It did have potential. But as it is now, it's just a poor forgettable experience.