Divinity: Original Sin II Is Divine

It would make sense that the player may want to build out a party that is balanced all the way through. If the player has a character that performs ranged area attacks, then they might want to have fewer melee characters that could be hit with friendly-fire. Summoners can help fill the gap created by having fewer melee players. Players will also want to avoid party member builds that cancel each other out, such as a one Air magic and another with Earth, or one with Water magic and the other with F

Limited hands on time with the early build of Divinity: Original Sin II can only paint a very limited picture of what will be forthcoming in the sequel, but the information available should assure fans of the original that they can remain optimistic about what is to come. The enormous world and the near limitless freedom to explore it returns, as will the lauded combat system. Veterans of the original will feel at home in combat, though several improvements have been added.


Weapon Abilities include Single-Handed, Two-Handed, Ranged, and Dual Wielding. Defense Abilities include Retribution (Damage is reflected back at the attacker), Leadership (Increasing Bonuses are granted to the party), and Perseverance (Grants Physical and Magical Armour when certain conditions are met). Players may put points into these as w

The first Divinity: Original Sin offered almost unbridled freedom to the player, and it looks like the sequel is prepared to offer even more. Divinity: Original Sin II is designed to be played however the player wants. NPC conflicts can be handled by attempting to talk one's way out of trouble using the tag system, whether it be through charm, logic, or intimidation. Of course, the option to kill anyone in the game exists as well. Killing a quest giver might cause the player to miss out on an interesting quest, but they will still be able to complete the game. Even if every single NPC is sent to an early grave by the player's hand, it is still possible to complete the game. If a treasure box is out of reach teleportation or telekinesis are viable options. If a locked door is preventing your egress one can hunt for a key or if they have nimble fingers pick the lock. If neither of those options is feasible, bashing it down or setting it ablaze work just as well. This is not a game to hold your hand and instruct you what to do and how to do it. You will be given an objective and goal, and how you wish to achieve it will be determined by you.


Perhaps players want to throw caution to the wind and create a team that consists entirely of melee or ranged characters, even though each of those will present unique challenges. Some players prefer to go all-in on one damage type, whether it be physical or magic. It can make some battles harder, but the overall experience more enjoyable. Some prefer to min/max their characters and party. If the player is unhappy with their builds, they can change the specs of the characters later on in Divinity Original Si

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.

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.

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 SLG game Units 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.