Divinity: Original Sin Reviews
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
Divinity: Original Sin is a western RPG that dives head first into the nostalgia pool; while it doesn't exactly reinvent the contents, it manages to make its own ripples.
It might have its limitations, but it's still probably the best modern rendition of a classic PC role-playing game, one that is born out of love, and one that will surely stoke long-dormant passions for the genre, as well as spark some new ones.
Overall, Divinity Original Sin is a fantastic game. There is variety in weapons and abilities, and choices in the ways you solve your problems. The world is full of life: Every corner of the world has treasure, or curiosities like a bull that can tell your fortune, or even a severed head that still speaks. The combat is fun, with elemental effects turning large battles into sort of a puzzle, with your spells and abilities being just half of the pieces. The story isn't as engaging as say, Baldur's Gate II, but it's still serviceable in support of such fantastic gameplay hooks
Plan to lose hours of your life thanks to great character customization, stellar combat, random loot, puzzles, bosses, and mysteries.
Certainly, I have no hesitation in recommending Original Sin to RPG fans old and new, provided that you're up for a challenge from very early on and don't expect to romp through, Diablo-style. While Skyrim is obviously more freeform and immersive, and the likes of Mass Effect are more cinematic, Divinity: Original Sin is hands down the best classic-style RPG in years.
While in my opinion it has a few flaws that hold it back from true all-time-classic status Divinity: Original Sin is an excellent, beautifully designed and engaging RPG that absolutely never gets boring.
Divinity: Original Sin is an homage to a RPG style that as long since faded, with the genre now flooded with overblown storylines and photorealistic cinematics. Yet there is still a strong audience that has been clinging to the hope that a quality turn-based fantasy would reappear. Larian Studios has delivered on our wishes by providing a world ripe for discovery, and gameplay that gives as much freedom and roleplaying options as we could ever hope for.
If I was Swen Vincke, I'd make sure to work on this engine and release a few more games using the same exact gameplay scheme. What he has here is the basis for a very lucrative new (old?) breed of CRPG and it would be criminal to not take advantage of it. Original Sin is his masterpiece, and with it he has filled a void that a lot of old school RPGers came to Kickstarter looking for. Congratulations Larian, you did the impossible. Now make more.
Fans of old-school PC RPGs that don't hold the player's hand and focus on depth and freedom will adore this game. Audiences without that experience will also find something to love in Divinity: Original Sin, because depth and player freedom never become dated.
A game any true RPG fan should be impatient to play.
When I play Divinity: Original Sin, I'm back in my parents' study, gleefully skipping homework as I explore the vast city of Athkatla. I'm overstaying my welcome at a friend's house, chatting to Lord British. And it's not because the game is buying me with nostalgia, but because it's able to evoke the same feelings: that delight from doing something crazy and watching it work, the surprise when an inanimate object starts talking to me and sends me on a portal-hopping quest across the world. There's whimsy and excitement, and those things have become rare commodities. Yet Divinity: Original Sin is full of them.
A little obtuse in places, but otherwise this is the best new RPG in years. Demands your time and your brain, but it's worth it.
Against strong odds, Larian have fulfilled the early promise and the extra time, effort and money has all been invested wisely. The sausage has become a steak, succulent and flavoursome, and I have a new toy to play with and return to over the coming months and years.
Eventually Divinity: Original Sin might find it's most blissful balance, but right now it really needs to be considered a work in progress.
With more than 80 hours of gameplay and a toolkit to create your own levels Divinity: Original Sin harks back to the golden age of single player RPGs. This is a very good thing.
Outstanding tactical combat and engaging quests make Divinity: Original Sin one of the most rewarding RPGs in years.
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.
Divinity: Original Sin is a modern take on the old school RPG mechanics, offering a level of freedom that many of us had long since forgotten. Fans of the genre should consider this a must-play.