Divinity Original Sin the the Fantasy RPG I’ve Been Waiting For
I’ve loved Fantasy RPGs for most of my gaming career. I grew up playing Diablo: 2 and Baldur’s Gate. Fable: The Lost Chapters and Dragon Age: Origins got me back into gaming after a pretty hefty lapse. Being able to run around in the fantasy worlds I had previously only been able to read about felt like a revelation. The camp and silliness of Fable instantly captured my attention and kept me playing long after I had finished the main campaign and DLC, and I was always mystified by the world of Diablo, even though it was too difficult for me to really advance through as a kid.
Playing Dragon Age and Kingdoms of Amalur on my PS3 kept me relatively sated, but once I started considering transitioning to the PS4, its fantasy landscape seemed incredibly bare. Of course, there was The Witcher 3 and Diablo 3, but I had already experienced both and was really looking for something new. I bought Tyranny on my laptop to scratch this itch, but I just don’t like playing on my laptop all that much. I’m a console girl at heart.
Eventually, I gave in to my console-love and got the PS4, despite its lacking fantasy library; there were plenty of other titles to keep me busy. I was still hankering for a good, new fantasy RPG though, so my google search history was repeatedly filled with ‘fantasy rpg ps4’, in desperate hope that I would find something. I continuously stumbled upon Divinity, and was continuously turned off by the turn-based combat. I’m generally not a fan of turn-based, and didn’t want to get my hopes up just to be disappointed. This changed when I started hearing details about Divinity: Original Sin 2. I listened to a podcaster (I think someone on RebelFM, but I’m not totally sure) talk about elves getting the ability to eat flesh and learn about people’s pasts. I was immediately interested (what can I say? I’m a sucker for cannibalism). Having so many different, weird abilities seemed unique enough to finally draw my attention. It only being $25 used didn’t hurt either.
Within the first 15 minutes, I was in love. The silly dialogue options, variety of combat, optional multiplayer, and Diablo vibes immediately made me feel right at home. As a fan of camp and things that are cheesy on purpose, I appreciated how shamelessly ridiculous the humor is. While the friend I was playing with groaned, I laughed out loud at the talking sea shell with a Moby Dick pun name.
While the tutorials are a bit gratuitous, I appreciate that the systems in Divinity allow for varied approaches to combat. Playing through with my friend, we took out an entire group of enemies with one fire spell and a pool of oil. During my solo run of this dungeon, I just ran in screaming and smashed the skeletons with my sword. Combining different party member abilities has some unique results and definitely makes the combat more interesting. I was resistant to trying the turn-based combat at first, but it has actually provided me with a welcome challenge to my usual preferences.
The only real problem I have with Divinity is its lack of objective markers. Finding where you’re supposed to go on the map can be confusing and frustrating at time. I guess I’ve just gotten spoiled thanks to modern fantasy RPGs. Luckily, the magic of game guides relieves this frustration when I can’t seem to figure things out on my own. Wandering around trying to find my objective has also lead me to some interesting side quests: I joined the local adventurer’s guild in an attempt to romance one of its members, only to have her dash my dreams and try to sell me weapons at the member price, and hurled a talking clam into the ocean in exchange for his treasure. This is the kind of game I know I’ll have all kinds of memorable stories from, and I honestly can’t wait to discover what’s next.
With so many games coming out in the past couple of months, and more on the horizon, I won’t be able to spend as much time as I’d like with this game. But it has a timeless quality to it, and plenty of content, so I’ll definitely be back whenever I have some spare time, or a real hankering for a fantasy game. Despite only scratching the surface on this first game, I’m already eagerly anticipating the release of its sequel on console. Hopefully it’s sooner rather than later.
