Review: Divinity: Original Sin II

Divinity: Original Sin II pulled off the impressive task of taking the kitchen sink approach to game design by cramming as much into it as possible yet somehow making it all work, making it a fantastic title for solo or multiplayer gaming. Playing the Divinity: Original Sin is not required to enjoy this title or its story, though having played the first game will make the experience more rewarding. Everything about Divinity: Original Sin II is of the highest quality and any negatives that could be said are basically nitpicking, such as the camera angles might obscure characters one percent of the time or the inventory set up isn't as nice as you've seen in some other games. No game is perfect, but this one comes closer than most. Larian Studios created a masterpiece with Divinity: Original Sin and using that as a template and listening to player feedback during the development process, they challenged themselves to create a superior successor and accomplished that goal. Divinity: Original Sin II is not only a contender for best game of 2017, but one of the best RPGs ever created. The game could easily take a hundred hours to complete and the interplay between the well-constructed story, gameplay mechanics and player freedom creates a world I could see myself revisiting with different parties just to watch the story unfold differently. Simply put, Divinity: Original Sin II is truly divine.

Divinity: Original Sin was met with universal acclaim when it was introduced over two years ago. This should not be surprising, as the title featured a massive world to explore had almost no restrictions on how the player went about completing it. This story driven adventure featured a multitude of side quests that could be handled in a variety of different manners, resulting in a game experience that becomes uniquely tailored to the player's choices and play style. Creating a worthy follow up to to such a quality game is no small task, but Larian Studios seems to be up to the ambitious task of creating a sequel that doesn't simply match the quality of its predecessor but also surpass it.

There are some RPGs that hold the player's plan, at least through the beginning parts of the game. Divinity: Original Sin II **** is not one of these games. The player is given objectives and some hints at where they might need to head to accomplish them, but nearly unlimited freedom is given to the player in how they wish to go about it. This freedom on top of proverbially being thrown to the wolves level of hand holding can be overwhelming for players not used to it, but this means how the game unfolds is entirely up to how the player wishes to accomplish the myriad tasks. For example, if you have ever played an RPG and wished you could just hack everyone to death and not have to attend to the errands of an annoying NPC, that freedom exists. I am not suggesting that killing every NPC in the game will lead to the optimal experience with this title, but the freedom is there for anyone who wishes to try it. The barbaric blood path is a choice, the numerous dialog options as well as other behavior choices could make completing the story a very cerebral experience.

Things are a little bit different this time around. For starters, the Divinity: Original Sin **** II takes place over 1,000 years after the events of the original. The Divine is no more, and the Void is ever expanding and will consume the world if allowed to grow unchallenged. In addition to the great time gap between the two games, the role of the player in relation to the magical force known as Source has been completely flipped. No more are we engaged in a witch hunt but instead we step into the shoes of a Sourcerer and get to experience what being on the receiving end of said witch hunt feels like.

Several weeks ago I was fortunate enough to get some hands on time with Divinity: Original Sin II at PAX . That experience only gave a brief glimpse into what is offered in this build and I imagine I will feel the same way about the Early Access build when the complete game is released. The predecessor was a massive choice-driven RPG that was in the vein of classic computer RPGs. The bar was set high by Divinity: Original Sin and everything that made that title so great returns here and then some. Making any definite declaration about a slg game cheats's quality prior to its final release is impossible and I do not want to over hype this title to the point of having expectations it can not reach, but anyone who enjoyed its predecessor needs to keep this one on their radar, regardless of whether they want to wait for the final version to come out or if they want to dive into the early build right away.


The sheer number of options can be daunting to any new player of Divinity Original Sin 2. For this guide, the term "abilities" will cover Attributes, Combat, Civil Abilities, and Skills. Here is an overview of abilities for beginn

Divinity: Original Sin II is projected to be completed sometime in 2017. The Early Access build is accessible in Steam with a preorder. This version is obviously not the full game and may not have the same level of polish the final product will, so those wanting the complete final build would be advised to wait until it becomes available. For those wanting to get into the new Original Sin now, this build is worth the asking price. The first act of the campaign is available for both single and multiplayer modes which is easily a dozen hours of content and letting the players get their feet wet in experiencing the unbridled freedom of choice that is offered. The PvP Arena is available with select maps playable now with more coming in the future. Approximately half the skills are available across eight of the ten schools of magic. Those who take advantage of Early Access will naturally be upgraded automatically to the retail release upon completion.