The weakness to this approach is that it's unlikely to stick with you like Planescape Torment or Baldur's Gate II, and you're equally unlikely to fall in love with the setting over the course of the hundred hours you spend in it. At its best, Divinity feels like sitting down to play D&D with its writers. The tone of the game reminds me, more than anything else, of the pen and paper campaigns I've played-particularly how even serious moments tend to get undermined by the players and their sense of humour. That said, one bellowing cheese merchant in Cyseal hawks his wares with such character that I'd probably buy a wheel from him in real life. Sporadic voice acting adds life and variety but leaves serious bitemarks in the scenery. If neither of your characters have the 'Pet Pal' perk, for example, you'll miss out on being able to talk to animals-including at least one brilliantly-written dog, and rats scurrying in every dungeon that offer clues and the odd bit of philosophical perspective. There are some really standout bits of dialogue, much of it hidden away. ![]() Your characters are Source Hunters in pursuit of evil magic users called, er, Sourcerers, and that pun sets the bar for how seriously any of it should be taken. The narrative is standard fantasy stuff, enlivened by Larian's knowing sense of humour and lively writing. A strange moment, as the person controlling both, but a story point that felt specific to me and my campaign. The archer begrudgingly signed up for cult membership, and the characters liked each other less. My rogue suggested that this might be a way to get access to the wizard's knowledge and resources and won the subsequent argument. When my archer was invited to join a creepy female-only cult by an imprisoned wizard, she refused. When your characters disagree-or when you fall out with your partner in online co-op-you pick who wins the argument by playing rock-paper-scissors against yourself. Your choices affect certain plot points and sometimes provide stat boosts, but are otherwise there to encourage you to roleplay. This establishes the relationship between the two, which can be hostile or cooperative, even romantic. You can choose any arrangement of gender and class that you wish, and during key dialogues you pick separate speech options for each character. I keep saying 'characters', and that's because Divinity: Original Sin doesn't have a single protagonist-it has two, and you create both of them when you begin the game. ![]() It's a liberating feeling, even when its implementation is this simple. The problem and its solution are presented to you without the hand-holding you might be used to. If you happen to have water magic to hand you can summon a raincloud to douse the flames, earning you a healthy experience boost and increasing your reputation in the town. ![]() This is a quest, but nobody tells you what to do. Choose to investigate and you'll see a group of dockworkers crowded around a burning barque, struggling to contain the blaze. Very early in the game your party reaches the city of Cyseal. It's about the freedom you're given to chart your own course through the campaign, freedom enhanced-and sometimes swiftly curtailed, as per my blood-lightning accident-by a sprawling set of readable, consistently-implemented rules. That this is a throwback to Baldur's Gate and Ultima means more than the isometric camera, the fiddly menus, the sharp difficulty curve. When you explore Larian's crowdfunded old-school RPG you're exploring a network of interesting, intricate creative decisions that comment on the genre's past and sketch out a new map for its future. It's one of those "well, shit" moments that tell you everything you need to know about a game's designers.
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