Review: Divinity: Original Sin II

Players can spend hours upon hours combining items to try and make new ones through trial and error in Divinity Original Sin 2 . Once they have some basic recipes under their belt, they should feel free to have fun experimenting with their own combinations to see what they come up with n

The player is free to create a custom original character to fit their own design as was the case in its predecessor, but the option of selection a premade character with an origin story is available. These characters come with their own unique background that are closely linked to the main narrative. Origin story characters not selected by the player can still be encountered as NPCs and possible join the character's party. The origin story will be an evolving element of the character that is shaped through completion of origin story quests. The specific origin stories will influence how the inhabitant of Rivellon react to the player and will provide additional dialog options. There are currently four origin stories available in the Early Access with the plan to add more as the SLG game units continues to develop. To give an example of what makes origin stories unique, the character Lohse has an entity that communicates with her, something akin to demonic possession mixed with schizophrenia. It is possible for Lohse to enter a state of temporary insanity if she fails to win a challenge against this thing that dwells within her.

The first thing a player must do in the campaign for Divinity: Original Sin II is either select an Origin character or create a new character. There are technically eight races to choose, though that number is slightly inflated because of the Undead. The options are Human, Elf, Dwarf, Lizard and the Undead versions of each of these classes. Dwarfs are sturdy and begin with talents that contribute to vitality, dodging and sneaking. Elves gain bonuses to lore and may gain the memories of the dead by eating their corpses (yum!). Humans gain bonuses to critical chances, initiative and bartering. Lizards gain resistance to heat and poison and persuasion and have a useful function of being able to dig up secrets without a shovel. All Undead have the undead talent which causes healing items to harm them and poison to heal them and one of the other traits associated with their race when they were alive, plus they can also attempt to pick locks with their bony fingers and no other tools.

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 game'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.

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 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.