Original Sin - Review Roundup #4

Dragon Commander was a strange idea, but it was clearly an idea. I’m not sure Original Sin has a clue what it’s about, beyond “feeling like an old game.” It gets more strung out as you go along, introducing towns that feel curiously bereft of quests and dungeons padded out with tedious switch hunts. There’s no strong character to center it, no perspective to ground it, no consistent challenge to weight it. It’s an impressive novelty, but it fades fast.

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Divinity: Original Sin is able to both channel the roots of its old-school RPG ancestors such as Ultima and Baldur’s Gate, while also improving the genre as a whole in the process. From start to finish, Divinity: Original Sin is an incredible experience that is full of deep and engaging roleplaying. The true turn-based combat is a breath of fresh air in an industry obsessed with quick satisfaction and it brings you back to a time of tactics and thought. The roleplaying potential presented in quests and dialogue options puts Divinity: Original Sin decidedly above its peers in most aspects, but leaves room for improvement down the line. Larian Studios is on a strong path to returning their long-running franchise to the spotlight, for fans both new and old.

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Divinity: Original Sin is one of the most rewarding RPGs to come along in years. Its quests and combat compelled me to think hard about my actions and choices, which is more than I usually get to say about contemporary RPGs. Its depth, personality, and combat challenges easily allow it to hold its own against the likes of heavyweights like Dragon Age: Origins. These systems invite constant experimentation throughout dozens of memorable hours of combat and cheeky storytelling, and its rich modding toolkit provides the framework for enjoyable player-made adventure for years to come.

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Divinity: Original Sin is a masterpiece, it really is. It's an unashamedly old-school RPG that prizes player freedom over heavy-handed storytelling and leading people by the nose, and it goes about its business extremely well. Games this ambitious and expansive in scope will always have their flaws, and there are flipsides to the design decisions that Larian have taken here. It might not necessarily be a game that you look back on five years from now and pronounce one of your favourites of all time, but for however many tens or hundreds of hours you put into Divinity: Original Sin, you're still going to have a fantastic time.

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Divinity: Original Sin has a lot of secrets to stumble over. Hidden rooms and sidequests are just part of the story. It’s a joy to find new ways to interact with the world Larian has created. From getting a dog’s help in tracking a killer, to crafting voodoo dolls by putting together a wooden figurine with a needle and pixie dust, you’ll be doing new things all the time. The most creative turn-based combat seen in an RPG, combined with a dash of humor, has resulted in a fine stew of gaming. Plus, the game has something important to say about life: “No one has as many friends as the man with many cheeses.”

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Much of the time, when dealing with epic RPGs like Skyrim or Dragon Age, it’s easy and accurate to talk about how their ambitions are somewhat thwarted by interlocking systems that don’t entirely work but how the entirety of the game makes up for the weakness of certain individual parts. Divinity: Original Sin is the surprising reverse of this: it has dozens of components, all of which seem to work on their own. It's when these systems combine that the game struggles a bit, particularly in terms of quest and progression systems.


Still, that’s a minor price to pay for a game that manages to combine the best of 1990s...More information.

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joxer said:

Ovenall, do use the pyramid sometimes.

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joxer said:

Ovenall, do use the pyramid sometimes.

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azarhal said:

Why bother with the pyramids when you can just click the "homestead" button and teleport to one of the two gates in the town? Works everywhere.

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Black Rune said:

"No one has as many friends, as the man with many cheeses!" Haha!

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Thrasher said:

I was a bit disappointed by the manual. No details about classes, spells, skills; no keyboard shortcut list; just basics. Well written though.

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Alrik Fassbauer said:

One of my favourite lines !
Or the one that the excuse for not buying any cheese "has as many holes as this fine Gorgombert !"

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JDR13 said:

In other words, it's an average modern game manual.

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Carnifex said:

Excellent progress, 20 or so more patches and I'll be ready to play!

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Vindicator said:

Don’t you just love it when some wannabe critic loser (Chris Breault) tries to get noticed by bucking the trend of positive reviews simply to throw off the Metacritic average?

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