Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition

The game starts off wonderful, acts 1 and 2 are paced excellently, the characters are interesting, the fights are challenging but fair, and the game is a load of fun. In act 3 it all comes falling down. The pacing isn't very good and some of the fights (looking at you, consulate) are not fun and borderline unfair. Not to mention completely removing the ability to respec in act 3 due to a decision that sounded bad over an hour ago in act 2 was rude and made the final battle nearly impossible for my party due to someone running with low CON. Also, it would be nice if I was dead to be able to at least listen to the conversation and watch the cutscene. 3 hours of work finishing that fight for naught and I'm not doing it again. I had to look up the ending on YouTube. Finally, the ending on the ship was awful. We spend the entire game making friends with Lohse and Ifan, completing their questlines and engaging in weird, awkward sex (protip, give me an option to turn the sexy off when I'm playing with friends, it's weird) only to have them hate our guts at the end without any option for really chatting with them. I also feel the need to address the sex in this game, I don't really have an issue with the fact that it's there but it really shouldn't be so integral to the game. I'm up above a tavern with a prostitute working my way through awkward dialog sex and my friends are listening in. That's not awesome, maybe there should be a flag for conversations that people can and can't listen to or an option to make conversations private where appropriate.

Larian Studios actually did it! They improved upon the prequel in every way. For one this is the first divinity game that have selectable races. The graphics look far more sharper than Original Sin. Not to mention the story is way more enthralling than previous games. The game plays just like Original Sin so you still get that tight RPG experience. Can we just appreciate that we get a divinity game where you are trying to achieve divinity? Do I recommend this game? This is a game where you can ♥♥♥♥ a lizard prostitute! You tell me!

Okay so I'm really into Divinity II. Like 70 hours into it and spent an obscene amount of time (other than being a master theif...) exploring the world and reading though every bit of world build text etc. that I can. My one real gripe with the game is that once the world opens up to you the difficulty spike, or rather game balance, is kind of poorly planned. It feels that you're punished for wanting to explore, even when you're given objectives that point you in a certain direction, and it very much feels as though you're being forced to follow a rather linear path. I don't mind the occassional enemy that you should consider avoiding until later but it gets a little heavy handed when all but one direction has this going on. Quite often you're ambushed by these types of encounters which then leads to wanting to save scum and kind of becomes a chore to avoid. That said - combat, story and character interactments are extremely fun. There are often several ways to deal with people and avoiding straight up fighting often yeilds better rewards long term. Well worth a look at for any DnD fans.

...If you're not on a budget. If so, check out Underrail (which I can also recommend). In short, this game is what my mind likes to remember Fallout and Neverwinter Nights being like when I first played them 20-ish years ago - a beautiful colour palette, a sweeping and epic story, characters that DEMAND you role-play them in order to get the most out of their skills - all with the modern flourishes like HD graphics, stereo audio, multiplayer (co-op) and an adjustable camera. Remember, I am talking about a CRPG so these things would have been absolutely mind-blowing back in the day. Much like another CRPG that I hold dear to my heart, Battletech, D:OS 2 takes the classic formula and brings it into the modern era. I absolutely adore it but I can understand why the idea of a turn-based, wall-of-text game might not appeal to some. The story, without spoiling too much, begins in a prison. The Divine, conduit of the Seven Gods, is dead. You have been arrested for engaging in Sourcery - the use of magics that attract demons known as Voidwoken. This simple premise takes characters, none of whom can claim to be truly evil or good, on an adventure that will shape all of Rivelleon and may bring about the rebirth - or final end - of some of the races that inhabit this land. The character and story building are why most would play in the first place and here, at least, it shines. Each character you can have in your party have their reasons for wanting power and may eventually try to kill you for it. They, and you, have shady backgrounds that make for interesting dillemas at key points in the story. You can be a hero, a villian, a self-serving a**, or something in between. If you like fantasy stories that have heroes and villans be one in the same (which includes some of your own party members - maybe even you) enjoy deep character development over dozens of hours and love the stragetic planning that comes with turn-based combat then Divinity: Original Sin 2 is for you.

Maybe it is just me, but everything you do in the game seems to be work. And when the story isn't good, the question is what am I even working for. Perhaps I didn't play long enough but 5 hours should be enough to know if I want to put anymore time into it, and I really don't.