Review - Divinity: Original Sin

Divinity: Original Sin - by far one of the most challenging, varied, and fun games I have played in a long time. It combines the best of many RPGs - challenging, complicated turn-based combat and the excitement and stunning visuals of action-adventure games.

I won't spoil any plot - but suffice it to say that the plot escalates in scale very quickly. D:OS is set in the land of Rivellon (like previous Divinity games) where magic, monsters, and everything in between reside. However, along with magic, there is a corrupt semi-divine-energy called Source that many wicked folks use: These wicked folk are called Sourcerers (har har). You play as a Source Hunter - a guild of folk dedicated to dealing with Sourcery (har har). Starting in the small coastal city of Cyseal, you investigate the murder of a city council member. However, not everything is as it seems and very quickly you become embroiled in cults, conspiracies, and plot threads of cosmic, world-ending proportions.

While the world-ending threat level might be a familiar trope for many experienced RPGers, one thing D:OS does to set itself apart is that it gives you two protagonists to create and customize. You are able to control both of them in terms of skills, dialogue and combat - along with two other NPC companions. This gives you a whole new layer of options, mechanics, and playstyles to mix and match as you explore and fight your way around Rivellon. Furthermore, there are an immense number of options, items, skills, and powers to learn. A lack of preset builds means you can mix and match any combination of skills, stats, and abilities as you wish. However, it would behoove you to complement the two protagonists skills and abilities (ie. One tank and one mage, or one tank and one archer). This will give you more options in combat, preventing yourself being caught in a corner that you can't get out of (and believe me, there are plenty of opportunities already to make your encounters harder without handicapping yourself with limited options).

The combat and mechanics is where D:OS really stands out. Terrain, like high ground or wet puddles, actually makes a difference, and being able to leverage your surroundings adds new depth to the combat that I had never experienced before. Moving barrels and carts around the fighting area and destroying them as needed to create cover is just one of many things you can do with your environment. You can even blanket the ground under your enemies with elemental traps and obstacles. Facing a lot of enemy archers? Just throw an oil barrel (yes, throw, but you need a strong character) and drop in a fireball - the resulting smoke cloud will blind enemy archers and prevent them from firing at you. Fights are challenging, and D:OS does not do any sort of hand holding when it comes to figuring out which combination of elements work. It gives players the opportunities and openings throughout the game to discover mechanics by yourself. I cannot recommend enough to explore the elemental combinations any time you can - D:OS is a game where knowledge is power, and tactical know-how can change an incredibly difficult encounter to something that ends satisfyingly quickly, because you came prepared.

The combat isn't where the only place D:OS stands out - it lets you experience the chaos with a friend. Along with giving you two protagonists, the developers included a co-op mode. You and your co-op buddy each take one of the two protagonists and build them however you each wish. Of course, while you will have to work together in combat and dungeon crawls (whether you like it or not, really), you're welcome to disagree on how you want to roleplay or make choices. You can settle your differences over a healthy game of Rock, Paper, Scissors (best of 5, but winner decides how things go down if there's disagreement). Along with some semi-friendly RPS, you and your friend will have "dual dialogues" between the protagonists where you can express thoughts/concerns over recent events and happenings. Be careful what you say though - your responses/comments will provide you "trait points" which can provide useful bonuses suiting your character.

Overall, D:OS is an onion: it's got a lot of layers you won't find unless you explore, there are a lot of different ways to handle it, and there will be some tears (both from combat frustration and lamenting over the consequences of some of your choices). It is a brutal, unforgiving game that leads you through an ultimately delicious and rewarding journey, and there is a distinct sense of victory and satisfaction when you complete the game. You can probably play through it casually without much thinking, but then you would miss out on the various hidden gems this game has to offer. It takes a tongue-in-cheek story with fantasy tropes and cosmic scale and weaves it into an original, surprisingly refreshing plot where stakes feel real. The combat is fresh, dynamic, and forces the players to strategize. Chaos and fun alike are doubled when you play with a friend. It stands unrelenting and proud in it's complexity and rich detail, particularly in an age of gaming where many games settle for walking their players through all their mechanics. Divinity: Original Sin is truly one of a kind, and sets a high bar for any RPG I'll be playing in the future.