Written By: Tyler
Platform Played On: PC
Rating: 9/10
Verdict: Divinity: Original Sin could use a little bit of polish here and there, and there are some minor design choices that I don't agree with... but despite all that this is a fantastic RPG in the vein of the classic computer RPGs.
Are you tired of games that hold your hand and tell you exactly where to go, who to see, and even help you wipe your own ass? Enter Divinity: Original Sin, the latest installment in the Divinity series.
In Divinity: Original Sin, you play as Sourcehunters and you're doing what that name implies. trying to rid the world of that pesky Source (not the game engine, though that would be neat considering I got the game on the platform that Valve owns). You begin your tale as two characters that you get to create, and the first main quest you end up doing is investigating a murder. From there, things get deeper and more complex.
Character creation seems like a good place to start. When you start a new game, you have the opportunity to create two characters who will end up interacting with one another throughout the game. There is a good variety of classes to choose from, abilities and traits to choose and statistics to level up. Leveling up ends up being in-depth but not overly so. It never reaches the point where you're confused but some levels allow you to level up three different things, but most levels allow two: abilities and stats. The only problem, at first, with this is that the game doesn't really explain much about things like skills so there's a little bit of trial-and-error involved. Of course, it all becomes clear but that initial creation screen is a little daunting because of it.
There's a reason that you create two characters as opposed to one. You can actually play this game co-op because of this, though that's not something I have done because it seems more like a single-player experience for me. However, I can see how co-op would be fun because the other reason you create two characters is because they end up having conversations with each other and you can choose whether they agree or disagree. Maybe your one character is more violent and goes one way, only to have the other be a voice of reason. Or perhaps they just agree with each other. The joy of Divinity: Original Sin is that not only can you make these choices, but they actually impact the game and your own statistics.
For example, my male first character agreed with the female second character, and "Romantic +1" flashed on the screen. You will see things like this continuously throughout the game, and if you press I, which is your inventory/character screen, you can keep track of what their relationship is. This will provide bonuses or debuffs.
It's important to note that you can develop your character however you see fit, basically. You can put points into anything, but obviously you'll want to specialize in some things to get the maximum effect. You don't put points into learning spells and techniques, but rather you acquire skill books. How many spells you can have of each type is dependent on how much you've leveled up each particular skill. Divinity: Original Sin has a system where you can choose to forget spells in order to replace them with another. But be careful, because these aren't like your first heartbreak -- once they're gone, they're gone, and the remains of that broken alliance will not stay with you. The spells will leave too.
Choice reigns supreme in this game on pretty much all fronts. If there's something you want to do in the game and it makes logical sense in context of the world, then you very well might be able to do it. I'll just give a few examples of some of the things you can do.
- You can't unlock a door because you don't have the key. No problem! Just break it down using your weapon (but be careful because they have levels of durability). Better yet, just use magic to do it.
- You are a kleptomaniac and you're standing in a shop, but there are people all over the place and you're trying to keep a good reputation among the townspeople. Just use your party members to distract the people by getting them involved in conversations and use one character to walk around and loot the place senseless. This is incredibly satisfying.
- There's a troll guarding a bridge, and he wants toll money. You don't have any, so you could intimidate him, reason with him or charm him. This will bring up the funny yet alluring rock-paper-scissors argument system where you have to win a few games of it, unless your charm is infinitely higher than the other person. It sounds silly, but I like it.
Those are just three examples, but it all adds up to a game where you feel like you can influence what goes on around you. Between how you interact with the world and how you level up your characters, it's very easy to feel like you're actually involved in this world.
This choice is a double-edged sword in ways too. There's a brief tutorial at the beginning if you want it, but it probably won't prepare you for what this game has to offer. It gives the basics, but it's all a little disorienting once you begin. The game harkens back to a time where there was very little hand-holding. There won't be waypoints telling you where to go all of the time, and the journal doesn't always tell you where to go so it's best to try to remember what people say to you because if you forget you may not be able to easily find out again.
Once a while something will flash on screen to give you directions, and the journal will on occasion be enough, but there's no denying that this game wants you to pay attention. You can look through previous dialogue but that's just a pain because there isn't an easy way to sort through it. In this day and age where games often lead you along, this could be seen as a refreshing game mechanic to some. I am torn on it, if I'm being honest, and I'm not afraid to lose my gamer-cred by saying this: I don't mind being able to click on a quest and get told where to go.
Luckily though, they've done a pretty good job of making being lost a viable action. It's a beautifully realized, colourful and vibrant world so exploring it is nice on the eyes. It's also not a cinematic RPG so it doesn't take you away from the game.
There are also a lot of quests in this game, and even if you don't know where to go, wander around and you will find a quest. They're scattered throughout the world, and the best part of them is that they're actually fun to do.
That's because they aren't just fetch-quests. Sure, in any game like this there's that element, and I'm okay with it, but there are a bunch of ways to do things a lot of the time, and because the game doesn't hold your hand, there's enjoyment in discovering it yourself. Even the beginning of the main quest, where you investigate a murder, ends up actually being a murder investigation where you walk around, talk to people and get involved. It's not L.A. Noire by any means in the way it handles a crime scene, but for an RPG of this type, it's pretty genius quest design. It doesn't stop there, but I don't like to give away much of games when I review them.
While I don't actually think that the plot is anything innovative or intriguing, it does handle it relatively gracefully with a lot of reading and a sense of humour. Some of the quests are a little silly, and the characters alternate between light-hearted and deadly serious, and this extends to the NPCs as well. There are also funny little touches thrown in here and there, such as your character disguising himself as a rock, or a bush, when he/she is sneaking around.
I have a few minor gripes that I should finally touch on because I've basically been gushing this entire time. The shop system is a lot different than most RPGs which makes an experience we've done a million times feel fresh, but I'm only half into it. You can walk around and barter with anybody in the game that isn't an enemy, and they may have money or they may not. They always have items to sell but it may not be much. It's an amusing take on the economical structure of the world because a lot of people appear to be poor, but sometimes it's annoying walking around town trying to find someone you can sell yourself to. It'd be nice to just have a go-to hub where you can sell everything once in a while.
The game makes it a little annoying to do mundane tasks such as comparing your inventory when you're shopping. You can't just press the button to scroll to the next one, you have to actually click on the character portrait on the side in order to choose them. Otherwise you could be comparing a weapon that someone is selling with the weapon you're holding, only it's focused on the character you're currently controlling rather than the inventory screen that you have up. The lack of polish in some of the areas of the game add length to the game that shouldn't be there, and having to walk around town trying to find someone to sell things to is not what I call "real" gameplay. It's fluff, it's pretend, it doesn't make playing the game more positive and only extends it in the most superficial way.
Keep in mind that those criticisms are extremely light and do very little to detract from my own enjoyment. I just found that sometimes inventory management was more of a chore than it should have been.
I purposely left the combat until the end because it could be the best part of the game. It is turn-based, and not unlike what we've seen before in that regard, but the developers have put a lot of effort into making each battle its own entity, rather than just a series of "blah" encounters.
You have your bar at the bottom, and they all have cool-down periods. You have so many action points per turn, which can be preserved and added to the next turn, and everything takes up an amount of points. Obviously AP is key in combat, and as a side-note, you can equip weapons that are above your level but your AP usage will be higher because of it.
The game allows you to manipulate the elements in fascinating ways. Here's a very basic scenario to explain what I mean. I'm in combat, and it's an area that has a lot of fire on the ground. Not wanting to be inflicted with a burning status (which will take away my HP each turn, much like poison), I cast a rain spell that puts out the fire and allows me to walk on it freely. In the process I've just made myself, my team and the enemies "wet," which is also an ailment. The enemies were on fire before but now they are normal, and there was one particular enemy who would have exploded once hit but the rain put out his fuse, rendering him useless. Not only have I made the enemies less dangerous, but if I use a shock spell I will inflict more damage because, as you know, if you blend water and electricity together... unfortunate things happen.
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| Before I learned to settle all disputes with Smash Brothers, I used Rock-Paper-Scissors. |
That's just one example of what can happen, but it's something that makes battles interesting. If you decide to play Divinity: Original Sin, be prepared for this kind of thing to happen. Also be prepared to be frozen, tripped, poisoned, lit on fire, and a host of other things in your playthrough, because the enemies are nasty. Be smart, and use the environment to your advantage, and you will survive.
As you can see, if you've put yourself through reading my crap, Divinity: Original Sin is one of the best RPGs of the year. So far it's probably the most complex. Though the story isn't outstanding, and there's a lack of polish in some miniscule ways, it's a compelling, addictive RPG that is easy to sink a lot of hours into. Just be prepared to work for everything you accomplish because while the game isn't crushingly difficult, it likes to slap you around a bit.
